We have an entire safe full of 5.56mm ARs (well, there’s also an old AR-10 in there) along with the safe of other stuff. But for a lot of people one AR is a major investment, and any more than that take food off the table or otherwise crimp the family budget more than practicable. If you could only have one service rifle, what would it be?
This Larue PredatAR is a fine firearm, but its features and price (over $2k before optics) mean it’s not Everyman’s one and only AR. Unless Everyman is well heeled.
Depends, of course, on what you want it for. Hunting has a variety of needs, depending on where you are and what your quarry is; and those needs are different than target shooting or self-defense. Even all target shooting is not the same: competing in 3-gun is different from competing in service or high-power rifle bullseye events. And all of these are different from just having an AR for fun, which in turn is different from home defense.
If you don’t know what you want an AR for, you might be in the same position as someone who wants an AR for multiple purposes. You’re looking for one all-around AR. And yes, trust us on this: you really want an AR, not an AK or G3 clone or Valmet or AUG or Tavor. You want simplicity, reliability, and commonality with the greatest quantity of parts, accessories, information, and ammunition: you want a 5.56mm AR.
For the average Joe’s Everyman’s Carbine, we’d recommend the following:
- a good name-brand gun, with
- a telescoping stock (it doesn’t matter which one, these are readily customized for short money when you want or need a change);
- a 16″ chrome-lined barrel — if you just want one gun, you don’t need a stamp, and chrome-lined has advantages in durability and heat management;
- a good single-point optic, not Chinese junk;
- a practical sling;
- at least six spare magazines, ruthlessly destroyed and replaced when they begin to malfunction; and
- nothing too exotic.
By Point 7 we mean don’t need bizarre alloys, trick billet construction, ambidextrous controls (unless you’re left-handed, but try a righty AR first and see if you can run it OK), quick-change barrels, and locavore organic anti-walk pins (if the receiver is drilled and reamed right and the springs are in the right places, pins don’t walk. Ever). That stuff is all marketing. It’s supposed to make you want to spend more money.
Want to spend more money, anyway?
Spend it wisely. Buy ammo and get training. That gives you two things that can never be confiscated, experience and knowledge.
As we were thinking about this a friend flagged us to a Kyle Defoor Instagram posting on a very similar subject — the simple carbine Kyle has been using lately.
Apart from being an SBR, it’s similar to our 7 points above. It’s a minimalist, lightweight approach. Here’s how Kyle describes it:
I was asked a few months ago if I could have only one carbine what would it be/what is a good all around carbine for most people? This would be my answer to both with the only caveat being barrel length as I know some don’t want to deal with ATF stuff. It doesn’t get any lighter, more reliable, or smaller than this keeping the ability to engage realistic targets (IPSC B/C) out to 200. I now have about 5k through the barrel so I’m confident it recommending it now. All other parts are proven, affordable, and easy to attain;
BCM 11.5″ ELW w/KMR rail [ELW = “enhanced light weight”; KMR=”keymod rail” — BCM likes three-letter acronyms -Ed.]
BCM buttstock (defoor version- not rubber) w/rigger band
Aimpoint Micro T w/Bobro Q/D mount
Kyle Lamb sling mounted mid and castlenut w/ Q/Ds
Streamlight TLR-1HL custom mounted at 1 o’clock
Bobro Lowrider sights.
Many people spend more that that and wind up with less gun for their money. Note that the Quick Detachable mounts Kyle recommends only make sense if you’re going to be removing and reinstalling the sight, maybe to go with a scope sight for longer range or a NV sight for the time your area of operations faces away from the sun. But most of your one-gun practical shooter guys are, for the same reasons they have one gun, one-optic guys, too. So, what advantage does QD buy you?
With the sling, you need to ask how you are going to use the sling. Part of being a Real MP5 Guy back in the day was learning what seemed to be 113 different ways to use the H&K sling. But most guys, even when they learned the whole Teutonic sling drill, would find one or two ways they’d use the sling. You might use it as a tactical sling, a shooter’s stability aid, or a handy way to give you two hands to work on something with without using your gun, but you probably won’t use it as all three.
The light is optional, depending on the probable use of your gun. Home defense? Get the light, because crimes take place on criminals’ schedules, and by and large they’re up and active when the honest folks are asleep. But if you’re going to lock it in the safe and take it out a couple times a year for a trip to the range, a light is just a container for dead batteries.
If money is really tight, you can build your gun or buy it a piece at a time. But it’s usually cheaper to buy one that already has most of the features you will want. These are not extensively customized guns of the sort that require just the right customer; if saving money is important to you, you can probably find some used guns in the classifieds of your favorite forums, or on gunbroker, that will meet your needs.
Kevin was a former Special Forces weapons man (MOS 18B, before the 18 series, 11B with Skill Qualification Indicator of S). His focus was on weapons: their history, effects and employment. He started WeaponsMan.com in 2011 and operated it until he passed away in 2017. His work is being preserved here at the request of his family.
74 thoughts on “If You Had Only One 5.56mm Carbine?”
I like the V-Tac slings, certainly multi-purpose for me. It loops up well for support and I use it on my bolt for hunting with the addition of a non slip pad for African carry, so it goes back and forth between rifles with just a change of swivels.
Also paint your gun. I see guys buying all the latest multi cam everything and then go to the field or range with a black stick. The black stick is a giant target indicator and needs to be removed by painting your gun. Your AR is a tool not an investment or trophy to be shown off how shiny and new it is.
The Rhodesians do this in 1977, but if you did that in the U.S. Army at that time, you’d still be in the back row at Leavenworth, being fed by slingshot.
I agree with this whole heartedly! !! A black weapon sticks out like a so re thumb. Krylon is cheap and easy to remove if you wish and can change with the season..
Parkinson,
“Krylon….CAN change with the season.”
Was that a pun ? Fumny to me. Food one.
Damn keyboard….”Funny to me. Good one.”
I’ve got to use this tablet less or get smaller thumbs.
Dgb,
“….multicam everything and then go to the field….with a black stick.”
“Why not ?” I ask. These are the same ass clowns I see wearing camo of all patterns with the cuffs undone, rolled up midway to the elbow ! WTF is up (no pun intended) with THAT ? ? Why wear camo at all if you’re going to intentionally expose a large amount of your lily-white limb anyways ? Evidently it is the “look at me, I’m kool” bullshit mentality of the US military and the militarized clowns carry badges and guns.
Pitiful.
Thank you for supporting Mr. Lamb’s business.
“We have an entire safe full of 5.56mm ARs (well, there’s also an old AR-10 in there)”
I resemble that remark.
Roger that.
I’m hesitant to offer advice to an 18-B, de facto SME, but I think that if one had only one AR it should have the rifle length handguard and the longer sight radius. The longer sight radius by itself is a big deal as optics can fail, but the ability to grab the gun further out, to have add’l room to mount accessories, and to prevent burning one’s hand on a hot barrel are also benefits of the rifle length handguard. BCM, Bushmaster, and no doubt others, offer rifle length handguard w/ a 16″ bbl.
HTH
I would agree the “dissipator” uppers are pretty handy. If they’d be better or not is still maybe subjective but I like mine and shoot the crap out of it. I wouldn’t use the extra handguard length as an excuse to hang more junk off of it, but then again, mine just sport a MOE handguard.
Taking NFA off the table my preference is for a Mk18 style carbine. Handier size and with a can isn’t obscenely long and unwieldy.
“I wouldn’t use the extra handguard length as an excuse to hang more junk off of it”. Nor would I, but the longer handguard gives greater flexibility as to where to put a light, VFG, RDS, etc., which, as Martha Stewart likes to say, “is a good thing”.
BCM’s KMR handguard is astonishingly lightweight.
I recently got a 13″ one through a friend for an IPSC/3Gun upper build. When he handed me the cardboard box I first thought he was pranking me (handing me the box minus the rail).
Calimero,
As of this date, 31 JUL 15, I wish I could find a BCM KMR 9-incher. Can’t find them anywhere. And Bravo Company refuses to provide a “get-well” date of the KMR 9.
“you really want an AR, not an AK or G3 clone or Valmet or AUG or Tavor. You want simplicity, reliability, and commonality with the greatest quantity of parts, accessories, information, and ammunition: you want a 5.56mm AR.”
I wish I could use that self-evident truth as a requirements statement.
A nitrided barrel instead of chrome may offer advantages.
Also a larger hi rel RDS like the PRO can be used instead of T1 or T2. (Ts are smexy as hell but pricy)
Even the PRO’s a bit spendy, but if your optic wasn’t approximately as expensive as the rifle you hang from it you may have stinted yourself on optic quality, especially reliability and durability.
We have ONLY ONE AR – for each adult in the family…
And there’s an AR-10 in there too; if I could get enough magazines for it and wasn’t so big on stadardization with my loved ones it’d be my go-to.
Only one? Then I’d go with an M16a1. Maybe even an M16.
Of course where I live now any FA firearm is a pipe dream.
It may sound simplistic, but move to a state where they are not restricted.
My ’16 is one of the ( nope, not selling this one) guns I own.
That is in the planning stage. I’m no dummy. Commiefornia is doomed.
James in Australia
WFM-4 If I could get a license/permit for one.
Because its the only one made in my country, and the only source for parts.
As things are I’m planning on getting one of their straight pull versions ( as I qualify legally locally).
And its going to cost me $2.5K.
Learn lessons from other country’s – Don’t give an inch on your 2nd amendment rights.
In a better world I’d get an AAA 223 with no paperwork, as I could pre 96.
Oh believe me, the Australian example comes up all the time now in the American gun-control debate.
What’s really bizarre though, is now the anti-gunners point to Australia as what they want to do. After the Newtown massacre of December 2012, the anti-gunners here have really let the mask slip they normally don to fool the public.
I’ve seen at times M4geries advertised below $600. Not sure of the quality, but for basic self defense purposes, that is a heckuva bargain. I use the KISS principle, decent optic (Nikon), with decent light (Streamlight TLR-1), and inexpensive slings (caught a sale picked up 3 for $50). Invest in training and ammunition, that’s the best ROI.
If I can do a caliber change regarding your question, for around the house I would take the integrally-suppressed 9mm upper with a 158gr subsonic round. Quiet, no flash, and hits with a nice solid thud. And if I went with the FA lower, dumping a full mag sounds like a small air-piston cycling. ‘Course that’s really a 50-75yd/max toy but around the house it works.
Unless I missed some hidden sub-text the main point of the article is that one MUST have an AR to defend one’s home or hunt, no other firearm will do. I disagree with this premise.
My friend has been using ARs for forty years, he owns 3 of them but is still not sold on the design or performance
No, the premise is if you can only buy one MSR for one or multiple purposes, the one to buy is AR. If you can afford to and just plain like a variety of guns, that’s OK too. My “go to” tends to change depending on what I’ve built lately.
No, the premise is if you can only buy one MSR for one or multiple purposes, the one to buy is AR.
Fair enough. I actually standardized on calibers that can meet my needs; 9mm and .308W, then chose weapons in those brackets.
Springfield XD-9 and Kahr 9mm pocket-guns, and Remington 700P or M1A for long guns.
YMMV.
That’s a rational response. I find the M1 a awfully long. It’s what, 6 inches longer than a Garand?
Love the 7.62x51mm, M80 projectile. Mid-century modern style ammo, still doing what it always did. Reliable, reloadable, affordable, not over-optimized for any particular job, until you make it so.
apparently you miss a lot when you read ensitue
More PT and a 20″ barrel. Dozens of magazines, ruthlessly culled for wear, with some jammers painted orange for clearance drills. More gun (by weight and length), even cheaper, with A1 or A2 furniture.
20″ barrel for proper velocity to get good performance from bullets. Tiny bullet needs to go wicked-fast.
I would get an sbr, but it needs to be select-fire and fit easily through the hatch of my MBT. No armor yet, so long & slow-firing carbine is the thing for pedestrians like me.
I vehemently disagree with the 20″ barrel performance argument makes for a better ARmalite, M16/M4 series weapon. SOCOM has been issuing 77 grain ammo to their assigned troops for use in their shorter-than-20″ barreled M4a1s, for quite some time now. The Israeli army has done away with the Stoner platform entirely in frontline units and most Reserve units, replacing those Stoners with the 16-inch barreled TAVOR, in 1/7 twist ! The issue ammo is 77 grain, 5.56mm Razor Core manufactured by IMI.
That 20 inch barrel argument is pretty much pointless as the benefits of the <20″ barreled weapons far exceed any argued benefits of a 20 inch barrel. Hell, if 20 inches is so good why not 24″ or 26″ ? While we’re at it lets just bring back the Brown Bess and Charlemagne muskets!
“Tiny bullets need to go wicked-fast”. Fine. But I’ll take the kinetic energy of the 77 grain, 2,700+ fps, 5.56mm MK 262 or 77 grain Israeli Razor Core over the Vietnam era/Black boot army’s M193 anytime !
My 14.5″ , 1/7 twist, barreled 5.56mm is zeroed at 100 meters with 77 grain Noslers with 23.0 grains of AR-Comp. The best accuracy of course is with the 77 grain rounds. But even with 55 – 62 grain ammo, all rounds hit within the combat effective zone at 300 meters. The question then is not as much accuracy as how much kinetic energy is dumped into the bad guy’s visually available body part(s). The 55 grain round has little energy going at that distance and beyond. But, to each their own. However, my money is one SOCOM and the Israelis.
I go with stainless over chrome-lined, but other than that, I’ve got several rifles that fit the profile.
I like the rifle pictured, but have some quibbles:
1. Not enough light. I would go with a Surefire P2X Fury in a Viking Tactics mount. 500 lumens is about the minimum these days, and the Fury has a very wide spill pattern that allows for better situational awareness at night.
2. Chintzy sling – don’t skimp on the thing that will make carrying that rifle a little less than the chore it is. Get a Viking Tactics wide padded sling.
http://www.vikingtactics.com/product-p/vtac-mk2.htm
3. All black rifle – this will be a target indicator in the field. Put some Krylon on it to break up the shape.
Other than that, I agree with all points made. I would also add that if a T-1 or a T-2 red dot is too rich for your blood, get a used Comp M3 or M4 for a small fraction of the price. Just because they are older tech does not mean they loose any effectiveness. Just a little more added weight and bulk, is all.
Mark, I think you’re spot on, the only caveat I would add is around your comment on the light. I love my 500 lumens X300 for outside work but find it overkill inside. I try to limit my (inside the) home defense guns to 200 lumens so I don’t wash everything out or blind myself if I accidentilly activate the light inches from a hallway wall. Just something to consider your mileage may vary.
500 lumens is awesome if you are outside with no NVGs, or in a mud hut. It’s awful if you’re in a house with white or other light shade walls.
Lefty here. I can run a right-handed AR just fine with the exception of the charging handle. The ambidextrous Raptor handle I use lets me charge the weapon without dismounting it from my left shoulder. It’s the only upgrade I’ve done to my $500 Palmetto State Armory basic rifle, and it runs pretty damn well.
Myself, I prefer the Vickers Two-Point slings, padded or unpadded as offered by Blue Force Gear:
https://www.blueforcegear.com/vickers-sling
I find the Viking Tactics sling to be manufactured of some kind of slippery, nylon-like material. Didn’t care for the composition of the material. Then again, it boils down to personal preference. Like just about everything else.
Anyhow, whatever one would do….practice with your chosen weapon and accessories.
I went to one of Mr. Vickers’ classes. I have a VTAC sling. I struggled with an excessive amount of free dangling strap when doing the shoulder swap drill. I asked him about it. He of course told me that his sling doesn’t have the issue with the free dangling strap. I bought one (the metal buckle version). I haven’t tried it to verify the claim yet.
John,
Not to hijack this into a sling thread BUT, better to have more sling than not enough. I’ve set my Vickers to where I want it. Then fold the excess andI zip tied it down. Works fine. Again, Lamb’s sling didn’t do it for me. The slippery nylon-like feel of the material was not to my liking. Although it functions fine.
I did an outlaw 2-gun yesterday. Sling was irrelevant, worked well. What I do need is MORE trigger time.
Oh and FYI, carbine was 5.56mm, 11.5″ BCM Keymod upper on a Spikes Tactical lower with ambi selector switch, Phase 5 bolt catch and a AAC 51T mount at the muzzle.
Contrary to remarks here against an ambidextrous selector switch, I use them on all my Armalite platforms. It is an inexpensive mod that is easily change out when one is shit-canning those GI grips that come with almost every platform sold. The ambi selector makes life more simple when switching shoulders. It again, is one more option that is not cosmetic.
Save more $ and skip the optic. IMHO, not really that necessary. Learn to shoot. Achieving 4″ groups at 100 yards with irons is possible in all positions one might assume except offhand. Offhand = standing. I can but hey, I practice this stuff weekly. But then again you won’t be able to achieve offhand 4″ groups offhand with an optic either. A good quality AR 16″ carbine w/ irons only will get 4″ groups @100 yards all day long. The approximate size of your chest is what? 16″-18″. 4″ groups plenty good. In prone, good shooters can hit 300 yard upright size targets with iron sights no problem. Know any Marines? There are others… Like I said, learn to shoot. Add the optic if you must say a year or two down the road. And then get the pricier one. If you haven’t or don’t plan on getting true tactical training, why are you spending $$ on that adjustable magpul stock? You don’t understand how to get the tactical edge out of it anyway. Just go with the less pricey nonadjustable type. There, I just saved you hundreds of dollars and guess what, if you learn to shoot, you’ll be more lethal than the guy with the $$$$$$$$ AR who never got good, proper, formal training. Besides that, shooting at longer distances with an A2 stock vs adjustable type yields better accuracy. If you learn to shoot, you learn all kinds of things like there are no free lunches with firearms. Now if you envision yourself ONLY needing the finest 50 yard tactical AR then sure, go for all the upgrades and lightweight options too. The 223 round is fully capable of putting a big hurt on aggressors at 300 yards and if you shoot really good, 500+. For the longer range stuff I really recommend the heavier 77-79 grain match ammo. It makes a difference. But then again, make sure you got the 20″ barrel. Match barrel not necessary unless you want medals too. Good luck in the search!
While it would certainly be better to have an iron sighted rifle than no rifle at all, the notion that one should make do w/ iron sights if one didn’t have to, is… fucking retarded.
I don’t mean to jump in your shit, but RDS are so much faster that they are a game changer. Iron sights for back up, RDS for serious social work.
There are stocks that adjust for pull length that are as stable as an A2 stock, but they aren’t inexpensive like a surplus A2 stock. I can wear soft armor (IIIa) and a jacket and still be okay with A2 stock as I am Medium-Regular size. +1 on HB 20″: medals. HB adds front weight bias ( reducing muzzle flip, reducing recoil, balance just in front of mag well), strength and inertia for proper bayonet operation. Also, fan of 20 round steel and poly magazines. More PT to move the HB at speed over the range, but still lighter than a scoped FAL (the other weapon of the free world).
Peeps are sturdy, cheap, and don’t fog. Hunnert bux adds glowing dots with no weight or daylight penalty. Peeps don’t have optical coatings detectable by automated counter-sniper systems. Peeps are low to the bore. Peeps are the primary sighting system, with fancy optics added later as old-man eyesight and budget allows, after mastery of peeps and stable unsupported body positions is achieved.
when you are under your bed or in some awkward position at night or with out the ability to use your normal shooting method, at night with those iron sights . you will see how un-neede a red dot it.
“save money and skip the RDS ” is one of the single most foolish and ignorant things every uttered
I’ll take the Marlin 336 in 30/30 please.
Oh it has to be an AR and in 5.56 mm?
Stock standard AR-15A2 please, no bells or whistles please.
KISS.
Last year I decided I wanted a .223 autoloader. After investigating available wares I got an AK-74 in 5.56×45 instead of 5.45×39. I would have preferred a Galil or Valmet, but my wallet only stretched to the ’74.
Eventually I’ll probably own some AR-based rifles, but I’m not enthusiastic enough about the .223 to see the need for two rifles in that caliber, so I’d probably build something in a different caliber. Maybe an A1 lookalike with the fixed stock and triangular handguard, but in 6.8 SPC or 6×45.
TRX,
I have an Arsenal AK-101 with an ample supply of Circle 10 mags. I never shoot it. I just prefer the ergonomics of the ARmalite platform.
As an aside, what does one do with a hard used, Kalashnikov platform when the riveted-in barrel is shot out ?
On the AK, the trunnion is what’s riveted to the sheet metal part of the receiver. The trunnion is the machined part that fits into the receiver and it contains two holes relevant to barrel handling. One holds the barrel, and the other holds a cross pin that pins the barrel in place. Here is a quick and dirty set of tools for managing these barrels with an ordinary shop press:
http://ak-builder.com/index.php?dispatch=pages.view&page_id=11
It’s actually easier to change an AK barrel than people think. You can drive out the barrel pin and the barrel whether the trunnion is in the receiver or not.
AK barrels vary widely in quality. Both factory military barrels (anybody think the Egyptian license production is as good as Russian?) and aftermarket barrels made in the USA come in quality from excellent to crap. Even the worst metallurgy barrel should have a service life of 5-10k rounds in an AK, still delivering AK level accuracy.
Thanks for the clarification.
Excellent article!
My answer to this question was a Colt LE6920 and Aimpoint ACO.
^this in the firearm choice and article. Not sure what an ACO is? LE6920, Aimpoint T1on Larue mount, Proctor sling, 1″ 600 lumen Streamlight. Proven shooter to 300 yards…
The dude talking about iron sights needs to get out and do some real training. Take a night carbine course and see how long the iron sights work for you.
Bdk NH: ACO is the Aimpoint Carbine Optic, new last year, red-dot decontented to bring the cost down, about $400 street price, illuminated by battery.
http://www.aimpoint.com/us/press/news/nyhetsvisning/article/aimpoint-launches-new-carbine-optic-192/
Hundred bucks gets tritium-lit iron peeps for A2 standard sights. No weight, fragility, size or daylight penalty, and you can see your sights at night (even though you might not be able to see sh!t out there). Even if you have a scope and nv, these are pretty-great/money-spent.
I mostly agree….BUT: remember that you may come across usable older 55-grain M193 ammo, or newer M855 62-grain [or thereabouts] ammo. My experiences with the *compromise 1:9 twist have not been very positive, so it may well be that those with the single rifle may want a second upper to run *the other ammo* if that’s what happens to come their way. Of course there are good odds that if a usably largish supply of ammo suddenly becomes available, a slightly used rifle with the appropriate barrel twist and chambering will come with it.
Didn’t do the other guy much good, did it?
Yep, I have more than one: a 1:12 twist M16A1 and a 1:7 M16A2 [my NM rifle] equivalent, an M4gery and a Brit L119A1 semi [M4, but with 16-inch 1:7 barrel] plus a .22 trainer and a pistol caliber 9-inch barrel shorty- that fireball from a real short 5,56 barrel is just TOO much at night, and I have a legal 9mm can.
Interesting too, that the USMC is now going all M4s.
Still a big fan of “Two is one, and one is none”, so I’ma go with a matched pair of simple M-4geries.
The bare pair goes now for about what one was selling for in the Late Black Gun Unpleasantness.
Besides ammo and training, for those who’re serious and have the means, a civvie-legal IR laser, and a companion PVS-14 or -7 confers a quantum improvement of one’s capabilities.
To the point of clubbing baby harp seals. Which is my idea of a fair fight.
Gen1 “toy-grade” NV (the kind that barely works under a direct half-moon without illuminators) is cheap and can see people with IR illuminators and IR targeting lasers. Betcha all the bad guys already have at least that much NV. Lots of paintball people have NV this good for under $300/set.
Listen, feel, smell in the dark and stop looking at your phone! I see people in cars at night with faces glowing from screens, night vision trashed, speaker-phone at 100% volume, acting like I can’t see them (or hear them). They are already dead.
Electronics and optics can’t fix poor behavior.
Aesop,
Ditto on the PVS-14 comment. Now, if I could only conjure up the loot to compliment the PVS-14 with an EOTech X640 !
Two posts by Dave Spaulding that reinforce Hognose’s OP;
http://handguncombatives.blogspot.com/2015/07/equipping-carbine-intelligently.html
http://handguncombatives.blogspot.com/2015/07/combative-carbine-training-focus-on.html
HTH
I’d go with a S&W MAGPUL or the cheaper Sport.
But if money is tight the TRS-25 is a decent red dot.
An AR is like a bag of golf clubs to me. You can have as many different uppers as necessary to fit the need.
If you go to the trouble of the SBR route, you can make one even more versatile.
I’ll agree with he principle. IMO, everyone should have at least one AR in their preferred configuration, more at their discretion. Today the AR is what I call the American Rifle, which I define as the closest thing to what the military is currently issuing.
A generation ago it would’ve been an M1 or M1A, before that an ’03 or ’17 and on and on further back.
anyone who has gotten this far reading the comments section in the future.
take every bit of “advice” seen above from people other than the author of the post, with a grain of salt. or probably best to dismiss it out of hand. there is some stunningly bad advice and suggestions in the comments section especially if you are looking for the right tool for a defensive weapon.
trust the website owner/writer.
So, if I’ve gotten this far your comments are not to be trusted either? Ha!
Such an article is bound to generate discussion and opinions. Opinions are like buttholes; everyone has one and they all stink.
^^^LOL. Amen.
My reply was to looserrounds. com. Another one got in between.
LooseR,
“trust the website owner/writer.”
Slurrrpppp !
I read many remarks here that I considered experiences, not advice.
Hell, Hognose is a fan of the Colt 6920. Myself, the acknowledged experiences of many Colt owners indicates the Colts’s are a quality
control disaster and function is erratic. And no. I do not own one. Not willing to spend the money to find out. Too many other quality ARmalite platforms to trust and choose from. But hey, if you have a Colt you can keep your Colt.
Nevertheless, based on your “advice” Looserounds, I should check with
Kevin before make any firearms decisions whatsoever. Me thinks not.
Oddly the same “advice” you offer readers here to dismiss other reader’s thoughts/opinions/advice/experiences, is exactly what you re spewing.
Looserounds, YOU are dismissed !
IF I had to choose just one, I’d take my 14.5″ pinned BCM ELW upper with 13″ KMR handguard. It’s a midlength gas system, very soft shooting, fairly lightweight even with the DBAL on it. T1 for an optic, CMC 3.5 flat trigger, Magpul CTR stock, Vickers sling.
Just don’t love either the platform or the round.
I much prefer my FAL Para.
It has outperformed the AR in talcum dust, never ever jamming. When my eyes were better I hit a 500 yard going many times is a row with it.
Much prefer longer distances rounds.
Everyone should know the gun, and maybe even have one, but it would not be my choice for a rifle for much.
Ruger Mini-14 tactical !