So you're saying Gucci-spec for the guys who don't know what they don't know and are super gear focused, mil-spec for the guys in their prime, give or take, who know better, and PSA for Private Schmuckatelli who doesn't know, doesn't care to know, and isn't a gunslinger by calling...Originally Posted by JodyH
In a civilian context, particularly for firearms selected for self-defense, there's a lot of overlap with what a law enforcement officer would require. A pistol would be exposed to sweat, temperature shifts, being knocked into things, potentially being dropped, and various other environmental factors -- though not to the extent it would if you, say, fast-roped with it. A long gun would be less exposed, given that it's likely sitting in a climate-controlled home. All of that is very different from a military firearm, which -- for example -- may be exposed to a lot of dust and debris being kicked up from a helicopter, explosion, or some other thing. A civilian firearm doesn't need to be able to be functional after being accidentally dropped off a truck in the middle of an Iraqi dust storm. An accelerated firing cycle isn't strictly necessary. However, the user should have absolute confidence that the weapon will function through the magazine or two they'll realistically need. Getting that confidence... may require an accelerated round count.
I don't hunt, so I can't speak to that. I do think it's fair to say that being knocked around and exposed to water, temperature shifts, grime, dirt, and mud are all possibilities, so the gun/optic/accessory combo needs to be able to stand up to that and still work through the weapon's load of ammunition.
In a training junkie context, I would say that there's an emphasis on the firearm/optic/accessory combination being able to withstand an accelerated firing cycle as well as be reliable through that. A decent training class will require students to fire more rounds in a single day than many casual shooters will fire in a year. Magazines and such may be dropped on gravel or in mud. I went through Tom Givens' Combative Pistol last year and fired about 700 rounds. It's a whole lot easier to learn when you're not having to screw with your gun.
I think there's a lot of overlap between guns that are suited for the above and guns that are suited for military use, primarily because the reliability and durability qualities that are desirable for that use just so happen to be desirable for civilian self-defense/training use. No need to re-invent the wheel: why not just let the military/law enforcement/other intensive users vet the design?
Will you get kilt in the hallway if you select a $600 Smith and Wesson over a $2500 HK MR556? Unlikely.
@Lost River and @Malamute pictures always make me jealous.
Here's a hard use rifle. After stacking bodies in Korea with a M1 Garand, my dad came home and bought this Remington Gamemaster Model 760 in .30-06. Many Deer and Elk have fallen to this rifle, it even made a couple trips up to Canada for Moose. It put a lot of meat in the freezer for our family over the years. Iron sights too, Dad never mounted a scope to it. He was never into AR's, but he wasn't a Fudd who didn't think we needed them, they just weren't his thing. Sometime in the mid to late 70's before I was born, he used it to hold two prowlers at gun point while my Mom called the police, they were prowling around the crew bus he drove as a logger. He showed me years later how it all went down, how he sneaked out the back door barefoot, pie'd the corner and yelled at them to freeze and get down on the ground. Not exactly what we teach these days about hunkering down unless you have to confront them, but it was a different time and he wasn't gonna see his and the crews chainsaws stolen. They needed those to make a living. This was the first gun my Dad bought for himself, the first one I shot, and the first one I killed a deer with. It doesn't see a lot of use these days, but I still get it out once or twice a year and crank out a few rounds in memory of the greatest man I ever knew. It will be passed along to my kids one day.
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I'm much more concerned about my optics being built for "hard use" than I am my rifle, to be honest.
As long as my ARs aren't garbage from the factory, the small amount of bouncing around they do in my the back of my car on the way to/from the range is unlikely to hurt them. The optics, however, not quite as much.
Last edited by Nephrology; 09-25-2019 at 07:41 PM.
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