The saying goes, "Beware the man with one gun, he probably knows how to use it." Then, Chris Rhines said, "I'm not too worried about the guy with one gun; he probably just bought it and threw it in a sock drawer. It's the guy with two or three identical guns, all well-worn, that worries me."
That's the philosophy I've tried to adopt. Sometimes though, finding "The One" can be difficult due to several factors: money, technology, experience, etc. As always, the mission drives the gear train. I think for many, especially in the beginning, defining the mission can be difficult. We search for information on the gear from those who are "experts" on the subject and in reality what we find is usually either over-specialization from those who are deep into rabbit holes or oversimplification from those who either have limited experience and/or are burnt out on trying to explain things for the 100 millionth time. The purpose of this thread is to share some of my experience in assembling my "The One" rifle.
A wise man once said "begin with the end in mind." That works as long as you know what the end is. As someone who has chased a bunch of different rabbits over the years, I'll tell you that the biggest factor is the law of diminishing returns. Whether it's cost, weight, speed, precision, somewhere you get into diminishing returns and for what you're paying in money or weight, you're not gaining anything and/or you're losing things like speed, durability, etc.
The modularity of the AR15 is it's greatest strength and it's greatest weakness (if applied incorrectly). We've all either been that guy or at least stood next to that guy. You know, the one with the 15+ pound AR15 with 2 or 3 (or more) different sighting systems and more bolt-ons than a teenager's Honda Civic.
My perspective comes from that of what I'll call a "trained enthusiast." I've spent 15 years as an avid student of the AR15. I've attended multiple certified armorer trainings, I've worked in one of the largest shops/ranges in the Atlanta Metro turning wrenches on them, I've taken multiple carbine courses, I've shot 3gun with one, I've hunted and killed game with one, I've spent lots of time talking and training with advanced LEO and MIL users who are close friends.
In my opinion, a carbine is first and foremost a fighting weapon. I don't tolerate anything that compromises reliability. When I compete (and do reasonably well for a non-pro) I use 5.56 pressure factory-loaded ammo, no adjustable gas, no light springs, buffers or carriers. Guess how many malfunctions I've ever had at a match...zero. In addition to reliable, the carbine must also be fast, light, and accurate.
There are components that can be left up to user preference: Furniture, trigger, light, sling, barrel length, muzzle device. Other components are critical to the success of the weapon. Barrel (more manufacturer than length), Optic, Ammo.
Barrel:
Stainless match grade barrels can be nice, but are expensive and I always felt bad using them for anything but shooting with match grade ammo. Like I was "wasting" the barrel. Especially if I did a higher volume drill and got it hot. I've chosen to use the Colt SOCOM 14.5" barrel for several reasons: 1, it is chrome-lined CMV steel, so it should have a longer service life. 2, it is still pretty accurate for a "non-match grade" barrel. 3, the profile mitigates suppressor POI shift and is overall more heat tolerant. 4, it is gas ported correctly and works well with a variety of ammunition both suppressed and not. 5, the length is short enough to be handy and maneuverable, but long enough to provide adequate velocity for good terminal performance at various distances.
Optic:
This is probably the most hotly-debated piece of the whole puzzle. I've had everything from an Aimpoint Micro up to a Nightforce 2.5-10 with offset MRDS. Too little scope and you limit the effective range/precision of the rifle. Too much scope and it's too heavy and not fast enough up close or while moving or on moving targets or all three. There's no free lunch and everything's a tradeoff. Quality optics are expensive and quality can mean durability, clear glass, reticle design, on and on. Really what you have to decide is what you're going to do the majority of the time with the gun, and then try to add the other capability if you can/want to. For instance, if your mission is mostly clearing houses, a 1X red dot (Aimpoint, Eotech, etc) is the way to go, but lacks ID/precision capabilities. If your mission is shooting targets at 600yds, an Aimpoint is not a great choice. A 25X scope might be, but don't try to use it clearing houses. We probably all understand this basic concept, but where it starts to break down is nuances of the crossover. Adding a 3X or 6X flip-to-side magnifier behind an Aimpoint seems like a great idea. The tradeoffs are weight, balance, cost, and then things that you can't read on a spec sheet like parallax, critical head position, small FOV, etc. A 1-4/6/8 scope seems to many like the ultimate best of all worlds. All you have to do is look at the changes in the LPV market over the last 5 years and you'll see a HUGE amount of demand and investment in this sector of the optics market. But again, there are things that don't show up on paper: Fisheye/image distortion at 1X, weight, cost, reticle design, illumination, battery life, on, and on. Even if you invented the absolute perfect LPV optic, the fact remains that you still have to throw a power lever to get to the ideal state for what you're shooting. I've seen this simple operation throw me and other even more highly-skilled shooters at critical moments. Whether it was a 3gun stage or a deer hunt, there was a target that needed to be shot in a critical time and we had to slow down to adjust the scope to do it. In some cases, targets were missed because not enough or too much magnification (leading to too narrow a FOV) was used.
Due to these experiences, I have personally chosen the 3.5X Trijicon TA11 ACOG with the red horseshoe reticle. This specific model matters too. Everything from the reticle design, to the FOV and eye relief just hit an absolute sweet spot. I'm never on the wrong magnification. The scope is short and light. It has daylight bright illumination and also a reticle that is bold enough to use without any illumination at all. It's rugged and durable. It's enough magnification for good ID and precision at distance while also being fast and accurate up close. The glass is crystal clear and image resolution is fantastic. The stadia lines provide a means of both ranging and holdovers for hits at distance. Compared to an Aimpoint, I'm no slower on static drills inside 7 yds. If I'm moving or the target is moving, I lose small fractions of a second (like a tenth or two depending on the drill) to the Aimpoint. However, at 25yds and beyond, the speed offset disappears and the precision offset swings heavily in favor of the ACOG. So what about precision at distance. Well, compared to a 10X Leupold with TMR reticle, I can shoot the same or slightly better size 10-shot groups with the ACOG. Meanwhile, the Leupold slows me waaaay down inside 50 yds, especially as movement begins (as you might expect). The best tools are as simple as possible while being effective enough to get the job done. The TA11H fits this role perfectly.
Ammo:
For a long time I had this idea that a carbine needed 3 different kinds of ammo: 1, bulk FMJ ammo for high volume fire, 2, precision "match grade" ammo for precision/long range targets, 3, "duty" ammo for effective terminal performance. Recently, I decided that was stupid and that 2 and 3 should be the same. What does it matter if my rifle shoots 1/2MOA with 55gr Vmax if I would never use that load for anything in real life? So I decided to see what the accuracy of some "duty" loads would be. I had some 64gr Gold Dots on hand and honestly, that's where the test began and ended. A friend had some other duty loads that we tried also and they all shot significantly worse than the 64gr Gold Dots, so I decided not to test any further. I found that out of my guns, the 64gr Gold Dot load consistently shot 1MOA for 10 consecutive shot groups +/- .2 MOA.
Folks have used the terms, "all-around," "general purpose," and various others to describe what we all strive for: A rifle that will cover as many requirements as much of the time as possible, with as few downsides as possible. My uses for the carbine are hunting deer (suppressed and not), 3gun and other games involving a carbine, training involving the carbine, an ultimately to defend myself and my family. I am fully convinced through experience (firsthand with all factors except self defense) that this carbine (components, optic, ammo) is capable of fulfilling anything I might use a rifle for. Rather than being over-specialized with a .338 bolt gun, and then a "recce" with a 1-6, and then an 8" 300 blk with an Eotech, etc, etc. Because for me, I don't have the time, the location, or the resources to learn to effectively use a .338 bolt gun, and also all the other specialized options. In a way, I've simplified the equation. It goes like this:
Rifle problem = rifle. The One.
Just like
Pistol problem = pistol. The One. Which, for me, is a Gen 4 Glock 17, with certain sights. Carried in a certain place, in a certain holster. Always. The same. Wash, rinse, repeat. With tens of thousands of good reps put in to make every operation second nature.
So, if you've made it this far...bravo and thanks for the time.
Here's the full component list (for both go-to and training backup, identical except where noted) and then some pics:
Colt 6920 base gun
Barrel swapped for Colt 14.5" SOCOM
Geissele 13" freefloating modular handguard (MK8 MLOK on go-to, MK4 on trainer. Lights and slings attached in exactly the same place)
BCM Gunfighter Mod 4 charging handle
BCM Gunfighter pistol grip
Geissele SD-E trigger
Magpul CTR stock with enhanced pad
AAC 51-T muzzle device pinned/welded (brake on training gun for gaming sake, flashhider on go-to gun)
Surefire M600 Scout Light in Arisaka inline mount @ 1:00
Trijicon TA11H ACOG in Larue LT-100 mount
I literally have to look at the muzzle device to tell them apart. Both are zeroed and run flawlessly with 64gr Gold Dots. Here's what they group like (10 shots at 100, benched front and rear bags):
And what they look like in "field mode:"
And proof of concept:
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Originally Posted by DanM
