Anecdote time:
I’ve never been a big fan of the AR platform. I thought it’s a rifle that is designed to have a full supply chain behind it. It’s a good gun, but I have felt that it’s not really the right gun for the American rifleman.
Sure, when SHTF there will be plenty of parts and tools for it - and just about every gun smith knows every inch of it. But this is a double-edged sword. I have a Makarov that shoots just fine, is “mil spec” and will handle any condition it’s put in. But my local gun shops have piles of ammo for it _with a thick layer of dust on it_.
We’ve often talked about what is better for post SHTF scenarios. A common weapon platform, or something somewhat esoteric. Will I find 5.56 ammo cheaply because of volume, or will it be expensive because of demand ? Will this pile of Makarov continue to be watershed when SHTF ?
I was born and raised around the Mini-14. The Mini isn’t really a “mil spec” weapon, but it is a fine machine. It’s gonna look and perform pretty badly when it’s dropped out of a tree onto the barrel. The mechanism doesn’t like dirt. And people tell me story after story of barrels warping out of true (I had a heavy barrel.. never really mattered to me). Scope options and accessories really aren’t the name of the Mini-14 game. Wood stocks and magazine surplus is.
But when I look back to the golden age of US military I can really harken back to how effective the rifleman was in WWII. The M1 Garand was the rifle that farm boys were taking to the most devastating conflict that mankind had ever seen. And they were coming home.
The Armalite platform is a technological wonder. Light, easy to use, and after some redesigns (ok.. a LOT of redesign) these rifles are now the powerhouse of world militaria. But a few items popped into my head:
1. With a combination of horrible leadership and bad tactics, our military has been taking only administrative victory in war. Korea, Vietnam, The middle east. We aren’t winning wars like we used to. The wars that we’re winning aren’t because of the equipment we are giving the troops - it’s due mostly to the technology in administration. The M4 is now riding shotgun. Pardon the pun.
2. The American rifleman will likely need something like the AK platform. Something that can be maintained with poop and candle wax. Something that doesn’t need a well-oiled supply chain behind it. Our modern military (and when I say modern I mean “holy shit, The US is now working on Science FICTION style stuff!”) has that supply chain behind them. MOLLE, Delicate optics, Picatinny rail mounted technology systems, auto-aim and all the toys are the domain of the US military (And whoever the US decides to supply)
With those things in mind, I have respected the AR platform, but never considered it “my cup of tea”. I preferred to work in wood stocks, long rifles, and open sights. BUT I came across a splendid deal on a Colt 6920 Magpul at Walmart. For $600 I was getting a real-deal Colt, with an M4 spec lower (Not trigger group, of course) HBAR and 1/7 twist. I even got a detachable steel carry handle for it.
Over the years I’ve been supplying it for a SHTF scenario. No expensive optics, no ridiculous accessories and AR toys. I even replaced as much of the furniture with standard Colt furniture as I can find. (And a Surefire flashlight)
And it sat in my armory for literally a year and a half. never fired. That changed today. I decided to take it out and have some fun.
Wow. That’s all I can say. Wow. I am familiar with the platform (As we should all be required) and I’ve fired them many times. But today is when I was able to take mine out and beat it up a bit.
Needless to say I never really felt the benefit in it until I got to setup my own little exercise for it. I live on 90 acres and build forest walks with whatever scenarios that I desire. And this thing took me all the way through it with spot-on reliability and accuracy. The light recoil and aperture/open sight post combo did it’s job wonderfully. I crawled on it. I dragged it through the dirt I threw it down to transition to my HK. I popped the center from my targets about 80% of the time.
I guess I just needed to be ready to accept the AR platform not for what I feared it was, but for what I didn’t know it could do.
If that makes sense.
Accuracy. That is what the AR has the AK doesn’t.