When optics go down
The Trijicon NSN has iron sights mounted on the top of the rifle scope which can come in handy in closer situations and are a less expensive alternative to mounted a red dot on your ACOG. That is worth the money if you are in the line of work that calls for it, but for general blasting and plinky, I think that $1800 optics is a bit much. The Eotech 512 is probable my recommended optic for an M4. I think people can get carried away with optics on the M4 because even though the rifle is pretty accurate, it really is not very powerful or effective past 200yds. With a growing selection of combat optics you can put on the AR15 type rifles, one other suggestion I have for shooters is to always keep your iron sights on the rifle. I’ve seen a few people show up at classes with just an Eotech mounted and they complained the front sight blocked their FOV. Well, taking a 200yd shot with an Eotech that has a dead battery is like parking a mini van from the furthest back seat.
There are numerous reasons that your rock solid rifle optics will go down. Some optics use batteries which will always go down at some point. Your tough Trijicon ACOG will hold zero under most combat conditions, but a 30 caliber bullet can still dismount it. Reticles can come loose, rings can fail, glass can break and numerous other things occur in a fight that don’t normally happen with occassional hunting trips. Most rifle optics won’t handle real big drops, but having the ability to have a backup just incase the glass goes down. Co-witnessing your sights is a simple answer for those using rifle scopes and quick detach mounts in my opinion are worth considering. It has never happened to me in a hostile situation, but having a MOA rifle with broken glass that is solidly mounted on my rifle has got to be a nightmare sceneario.
Like many tactical shooting accessories, you have to put a lot of thought into which type of configuration you want on your Carbine before you spend the money or you will find out real fast you just spent $500 on some thing that you really didn’t need. The differences between using some of the fixed power Trijicon rifle scopes, Leupold CQT, and the Eotech 512 are considerable. Each can be used for many things with an advanced shooter, but they are intended for certain applications and within those boundaries, they work well. There was a shift away from the Trijicon ACOG for some military and law enforcement personel because once we invaded Iraq, and the house to house fighting went on for several years, the need for magnification was virtually unnecessary.
I have a few novice Carbine gun owners that have recently been thinking about taking training courses, but really didn’t have the ability to go away for 2-3 days straight. For many in the shooting community, we have wives or job commitments that make it difficult to get 18-30hrs away. Even though I consider myself to be an above average operator, with a few decades of experience under my belt, I have a fairly large collection of firearm instruction DVDs. I keep the bad instructional DVDs as references, but I only show certain ones to friends and family. Now that instructors can put out video at cheaper costs due to advances in video production technology, there are more and more videos coming out. I have some of Gabe Suarez’s videos, Clint Smith, Rob Pincus ect. and they all have their good points. Some are very basic, while others have good advanced lessons.
I remember the days when I would stare at rifle scopes and ask shooters how much they cost, and when they told me how the rifle scopes cost, I’d calculate that whichever rifle I was thinking about putting the scope on, the cost of the rifle was less than the cost of the optic. I have no idea how much money companies are making off of some optics, but there is a certain point that I really don’t care how good people think they are, 90% of people spending that kind of money on optics probable could get the job done with something that cost 50%-75% less. In all of my years of target shooting and plinking, I have only had scope mount issues and 2 rifle scopes that ever broke. Every rifle scope that broke cost less than $100. I have a few Leupolds that have been on bolt actions and semi-autos and they all hold zero and have excellent clarity.
Gun magazines are designed for the caliber or manufacturer that they are meant to. Some rifle or pistol magazines can work in different firearms, for instance, the Beretta Storm 9mm can take Beretta 92 magazines and you may be able to find capacities for your guns that pistol magazines aren’t usually for. Putting anything more than a 10rd or 15rd magazine in a 9mm Pistol can be awkward, but put a 20rd mag that works in your Beretta 92 into a Beretta CX4 storm is an advancemnet.
If you are thinking about buying your first gun for inside the home, there is no better option than a shotgun. Some rookie gun shopper may think a shotgun is too powerful, but the reality is there is no better defensive weapon that can be so versatile when it comes to projectile ballistics. The difference in bullet penetration between a shotgun slug and size 9 shot is tremendous. Both are incredible leathal at close ranges, but energy is lost very quickly which is an assett in close situations. Due to modern home construction, there is no better reasoning than to consider what happens to a bullet if it misses the target or if it happens to hit the target and still go on. There is a saying that there is a lawyer attached to every bullet that exits your gun if it is used in a defensive situation and this very true.
I have had an above average level of firearm training, but I am very much aware that I’m no expert. I think anyone that claims to be an expert tends to have the wrong attitude and will eventually fall victim to complacency. There is a pretty well known youtube video of an “expert” showing students about firearms as he ends up putting a bullet into his foot in front of a class of school kids. One of the most important things I have learned about close and personal fighting with firearms is rifle and pistol sight differentiation. On a rifle you can shoot a bullseye at 300yds with your ACOG, but at 6ft, you might end up putting a bullet 3 inches over a bad guys forehead due to the barrel and optic offsets.
I was not a big fan of putting flashlights on rifles until I started working in the field and realized that having a light on a rifle was the most practical thing to have with a firearm after having bullets. It may sound funny to hear such a simple observation, but it’s true. How many times during the day do you think you’ll need to pull a firearm for defense in your home and how many times do you think you may need it at night? Most criminal activity occurs in low light and not having a light means not identifying your target.
I’m so old that I can tell you about the day I was on a firing line and saw my first Trijicon ACOG. The first time I saw it I thought it was some kind of toy. The bright neon strand stood out that I just couldn’t understand why a combat optic was so visible. I guess I read too many sniper stories where optics gave away a snipers position due to sun glare, and it was always something I thought about even when hunting. I’ve spotted other hunters before just by see that split second flash from the tree line and I can completely understand how patience can be the key to winning a sniper battle.
A knife is a tool, tools can be used for many things. How many times have good people used knives for good and how many have been used for evil. Just about anything you find in your tool box can be used for self defense purposes and some may be quite good. Many years ago the Swiss Army knife was issued and it is a great thing to use if your in the Army or in Scounting, but they really aren’t the best thing to use for self defense.