Mission essential AR15

[21tango]

This is so true of me at least ...as I have said when I was in the Army...we didn't have a lot of the items you see now on rifles....
We had various NVG's , the Starlight Scope and the occasional use of a suppressor on a M21...and this was when I was in assorted L.R.R.P / L.R.S.D units which were often "loaned" to other SF units...
So while I am not saying that I am or was with a "Badazz" type of unit...We weren't slackers either...

We were taught to use iron sights and yes even with iron sights you can make hits in low light and in the dark....
This takes lots of practice , to be effective...but it can be done.

Granted times have changed , thoughts and gear have been evolved since the last time I was in combat...
But a lot of guys are still around that remember a time when a rifle just had iron sights and were taught how to use 'em....and use 'em well...

And again...I am not saying to not make use of lights , lasers , scopes and whatnot....Just saying that one needs to be careful of being overly reliant on said items...
Gear can fail and usually it fails when you need it the most....so being able to use iron sights in all lighting conditions and practical ranges is a skill worth developing and keeping in practice with , even with the use of the above mentioned items....

I hope that no one is ever in need of taking a shot in low light or the dark with a "low tech" , non-tactical tricked out rifle...but I also hope that you don't end up dead 'cause you had no practice with iron sights either...

Failure to learn basic rifle marksmanship and skills with basic and simple iron sights , is not learning to be a "Rifleman" ... at least in my opinion.
Sure use a scope , lights and lasers or whatever else you choose...but after mastering the basics....
Gear can fail as I stated above...But a highly refined skill , that is practiced frequently , will seldom let you down...
Andy

Another overlooked skill that has been replaced by tech would be Land Nav, The GPS is king and most soldiers even within USASOC are not real competent using a map and compass. I always made sure my guys were well trained. I even taught my wife and daughter everything from how to read a map shooting an Azmuth Intersection resection, Lots of fun.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Land Nav with map and compass is seemingly a dying art.

Learning to read a map and compass , along with understanding just what the terrain features around you mean is very important...for many of us it means we won't get lost...for soldiers...if you don't know where you are going...how can you get to the fight...?
My old compass , protractor and pace counter...still in use today.
Andy

 

[21tango]

Land Nav with map and compass is seemingly a dying art.

Learning to read a map and compass , along with understanding just what the terrain features around you mean is very important...for many of us it means we won't get lost...for soldiers...if you don't know where you are going...how can you get to the fight...?
My old compass , protractor and pace counter...still in use today.
Andy
View attachment 450965

Very true. The GPS is great but if it breaks y

Land Nav with map and compass is seemingly a dying art.

Learning to read a map and compass , along with understanding just what the terrain features around you mean is very important...for many of us it means we won't get lost...for soldiers...if you don't know where you are going...how can you get to the fight...?
My old compass , protractor and pace counter...still in use today.
Andy
View attachment 450965

Nice having tech but even better knowing your good if its not available

 

[Tully Mars]

Learned to use a compass and map in Boy Scouts. Our final test was what would now be called geocaching only we didn't have a GPS-wasn't invented yet. We had to trek all over hell's half acre and find each item within a certain time limit.
Nowadays we have a couple of GPS units but really don't use them much. When I lived in Colorado my main use for the GPS was to mark way points for where I had good luck on the lakes ice fishing and a few times I did the same so I could return to get the rest of an elk I had to leave because of winter storms coming in to the area. Snow really changes how things look in the woods and this way I could bring the pack horses right back to the spot even if I had to take a different route.

 

[Stomper]

Try "old school" land nav in triple-canopy jungle (pre GPS tech) with "vague" terrain features for reference.... let's talk "lost platoon" for over two weeks!!

 

[Ura-Ki]

Worse yet, be ready and able to go into any place on earth at the sound of an alarm, and then not having the best maps of that area. Pre GPS, we had all kinds of fun with land nav, and even learned the tricks of using a Star Compass, as long as you can see the stars, your good. Boy did we have a lot of fun with nav! something I still practice today and enjoy!

 

[Mr Smith]

We had one of the first Eotech sighting systems, they were all the rage in the spec ops world and every one wanted them, until they actually got one and realised how heavy they were. I was forward deployed as QRF and doing a heavy rescue, I banged into a rock wall hard and at just the right angle and busted that brand new sight system to hell. Ok, now WTF, Oh yeah I got back up irons, Good to go!
Second time, had my rifle on a single point doing a fast rope, and guess what, hit the dirt a little hard and my clip broke and the rifle did a lawn dart in the dirt and rocks, and wiped out the ACOG! Ch!t, Tango Foxtrot! Wait a min here, yup, got irons, were good!

*Note to self: Don't let Ura-Ki anywhere near your EOTech or future tritium scope*

LOL

 

[Basedgreaser]

*Note to self: Don't let Ura-Ki anywhere near your EOTech or future tritium scope*

LOL

Duly noted
It appears these companies need to do a military grade Ura-Ki drope test as the new standard

 

[Basedgreaser]

Ide rather do a face plant on my front row of teeth then risk a trijicon, dental would be cheaper.

 

[Ura-Ki]

And Damn Skippy too! seriously, accidents happen, especially when your cranked up on adrenalin, fear, excitement, and have way to much going on around you, one miss step and things get hard bent, and yer screwed! I was not the only one to have issues, some of it was build issues of early equipment not issued to boots on the ground down range, others were mission assgnments that sounded good but proved to be otherwise! This is where the M- 4 had it's only real benefit, ability to reconfigure as needed, but you had to have the equipment issued to you first, and then had to lug it around ether atop your weapon, or in your ruck! It all adds up to extra weight you really don't want!

 

[Diamondback]

*note to self: remove optic, light and laser before letting @Ura-Ki try out the Mk 18 Mod Briefcase, or any other firearm*

 

[Ura-Ki]

I will be a lot better with out any of those things any way, Trust me!










You guys don't even wanna know what I did to a $4000+ Schmidt &Bender!
Lets just say, A Pelican Case and a PaveHawk were involved! Trust me when I say, If it can fail, It will, and I can usually find a way to prove it!

 

[Kruel J]

I will be a lot better with out any of those things any way, Trust me!










You guys don't even wanna know what I did to a $4000+ Schmidt &Bender!
Lets just say, A Pelican Case and a PaveHawk were involved! Trust me when I say, If it can fail, It will, and I can usually find a way to prove it!

Shocking.

 

[Diamondback]

Yeah, but will ya remember to unfold the grip and buffer before firing?

 

[Ura-Ki]

Ok, I promise!

 

[Captain O]

I love my M1 Carbine as basic as I can get. My Ruger AR-556 it is best with "no frills". I'm out to snipe or clear a room. I'm not out dinking around with this, or that doohicky. That is for wannabees that aren't "mission-focused". I refuse to be shot and/or killed because I was fooling around with some extraneous piece of junk.

 

[Doc In UPlace]

I can't stand rails, add a surefire light clamped to the front sight when the role is home defense, and love the Aimpoint PRO for security details.

Last time I qualified with it, there was a roomful of police looking at my target with raised eyebrows.

That's all.

 

[Kruel J]

I can't stand rails, add a surefire light clamped to the front sight when the role is home defense, and love the Aimpoint PRO for security details.

Last time I qualified with it, there was a roomful of police looking at my target with raised eyebrows.

That's all.

Nah, that's not all. Good to see you, Doc!

 

[Captain O]

Whatever you may have heard about the M1 Carbine being "ineffective"... Don't you believe it! Why do you think that they were carried by Corrections Officers on prison parapets? (Hint: They weren't standing in for Ukeleles)!

I can part a man's hair at 100 yards with it.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Hell, the M1Carbine was kicking azz and takin names long before the AR was any thing more then a wet dream! Don't make the mistake in thinking that cute little antique carbine is any less effective now days! Be the last mistake you make in this life!