Reader M.M. sent this letter, in response to the two-part article titled Prepping and Squaring Away Rifles, by Tunnel Rabbit:
I would like to add my opinion to the recent article by Tunnel Rabbit (TR):
I do not know how anyone [in the U.S.] can live on $5,000 per year. I understand that the purpose of the article was for an example of “getting by” on low income. He is making the best quality equipment he can on a low budget which shows that it can be accomplished.
Let’s start with the AR rifle design. It is not perfect but we must use the best tool available for battle. Yes, Battle. Let’s not beat around the bush, ARs were designed as a battle rifle to replace the fabulous Garand. Stoner designed this to military specs and the first ones were horrible. Many GIs died with cleaning rods in their hands trying to repair them in a battle with the enemy. After a couple of years, they became battle-worthy.
As TR mentioned you should look at the numerous articles on ARs on YouTube. I recommend School of the American Rifle. These are gunsmiths with quality gauges and tools for building rifles. It will show you how the difference of cheap rifles versus quality rifles are built. I would rather have one quality rifle over three inferior ones. You will spend about the same amount of money. I hear someone saying “…my AR is a cheap model and I have never had a malfunction”. Really? How many rounds have you fired through it? I have a veteran friend who was in Afghanistan and was in a firefight one night and he fired 1,800 rounds that night. So use that as a starting point on reliability and how many rounds you should stock up. He was defending his outpost so he did not have to carry the ammo. Go fire about 5,000 rounds through your “cheap” AR and see what happens. TR is right about [the importance of] quality equipment.
A quality AR M4 design with a carry handle (sights enclosed in steel) is a must-have first rifle. With proper practice a person can hit a man-sized target at 100 yards consistently. Even the worst city boy made it through boot camp with training. (See Paul Howe, CSAT way videos, a Blackhawk Down Veteran.) No scope of any kind can consistently and RELIABLY hit a target in battle like iron sights. Remember, you are in the field, and no gunsmith is there to adjust your sighting apparatus or repair your gun. There are no “do-overs” in battle. Do not think your sidearm will save you at that distance. Its not like movies where they hit someone running at 100 yards. Now I have read that Elmer Keith hit an elk at 400-500 yards with a S&W Model 29, 4 in barrel .44 magnum. I can hit [a target] at 100 with the right pistol, but doubt that I can consistently with my police sidearm.
Moving on to option #2. The AR carry handle has a hole in the top of it. You can buy an AR scope mount which secures it on top of your carry handle. I prefer a small scope like a 1x5x20 or 24 objective. They are lightweight and easy to remove in the field. I use Aero Precision mounts because they are durable and the lightest mount available. (3 ounces)
Option #3. If your budget can afford it buy an extra AR upper. You can change an upper out with 2 push pins ( using a bullet tip or a Leatherman). You can place whatever scope, red dot, or reflex sight you want on this upper. (Buy quality.)
And night vision (NV) on an upper is a must. You can get straight NV or buy one that fits in front of your scope. (I use a red ACOG sight.). NV is a whole chapter, so study up on that aspect. In case you are not familiar with Ars it is possible to mark your location of your scope on the Picatinny rail, removing your daylight scope and placing NV on at night. It must be precise placement or your scope will not hit the same point of impact that you are sighted in for. This is another reason to buy extreme quality. All rails are not milled the same, they must be precision-made.
Scopes are fragile pieces of equipment, so never rely on them 100%. I saw a picture of an ACOG with a bullet hole through it. It still functioned. I have purchased Zeiss scopes on Internet gun sites for half price used. I had to send one back to Zeiss for repair and they sent me a new scope. That’s one fine warranty. Zeiss and Swarovski in my opinion are the finest scopes made. The clarity is outstanding. I was elk hunting many years ago and walking in with a friend. We spotted an elk in a meadow. I estimated it was 500 yards. My friend had an expensive USA-made scope and said he could not tell if it was a bull. I had a lightweight 3x9x36 Zeiss. I said it is a cow. He looked through my scope and could not believe the difference in clarity. If you are going to scope one of your uppers buy one with the BDC reticles. An example is the ACOG. It is designed to kill people. The hash marks represent the size of an average man, 18 inches in width. Each hash mark down equated to this at 200,400 yards etc. Learn to use them and you can judge distance from the target with the width of the hash marks. There are numerous new scopes on the market that are fantastic so shop around. I cannot recommend any brand mentioned as I have not shot them all, only the ones mentioned.
TR’s article mentions sniper rifles. Use what’s available to you, hunting rifles are fine because you are 300 or more yards away and you have killed numerous game animals with your favorite gun. Buy plenty of ammo. You may not have time to go home and reload 100 or more rounds. I love reloading but don’t think that you are going to get components shipped to you [post-collpase].
I have been blessed to have served my local police department and retired twice with law enforcement. I still maintain contact with many of them. Two years ago, a training officer showed me what they had gone with for sniper rifles. They purchased street rifles in 5.56 caliber and for their snipers they chose .308. They met the man building these guns and were sold on them. They are the Battle Rifle Co. in Houston, Texas. The .308 is the most accurate AR-design rifle I have ever shot. My friend is hitting a 6 inch plate at 600 yards with match grade 168 gr ammo. At 100 yards it is sub-MOA. It even shoots cheap NATO rounds, about 1 in groups or less. I do not think they sell to the public any longer, but you can look at their website. The 5.56 does not have the horsepower of a .308 and is subject to wind drift. I would never shoot at big game with this bullet unless it was a neck shot or in the ear area.
Let’s talk ammo for a minute. Buy whatever is available for plinking with the exception of steel case ammo. I believe, but cant say with certainty that the lacquer-coated bullets will gum up your chamber if you are in a fire fight and have a hot barrel. Steel case ammo is also extremely hard on an extractor. They were designed for AK pattern rifles and not Ars. As for cleaning in the field, I would carry a small can of Ballistol. This was invented by the Germans in WW2 and is the best all-purpose lube I have used. NEVER use WD40 in any weapon. It will get into your primers. We learned this when carrying revolvers, years ago. Ballistol is hard to find in stores but is available online or gun shows. Please research it.
Ballistol will even clean black powder guns.
And all that said we come to the tank of battle rifles. It is not accurate but it shoots like a GI 1911 45. (the greatest handgun ever made) Mud, water, sand, dirt, whatever will not stop it. Yep, the AK47. Ballistically, is basically a .30-30. About 150 yard gun. Now, I am talking the good AKs, not these cheap copies. The Chinese Norinco is hard to beat. The Polytech is unaffordable. They stopped importing Norincos under Clinton administration and the Norinco ammo. It is one of the few things the Chinese built that I will talk favorably about. They also made the SKS, both Russian-designed weapons. I believe that once magazines are banned the SKS will be valuable because of the fixed magazine. You can buy adapter kits to use 40-round mags but I have heard different results on them of reliability. The SKS is an accurate weapon, especially those made in Russia. A Norinco SKS is around $500 and the Russian made starts around $800, but accurate at 400 yards. There are some good AKs being built in USA and they are supposed to be as good or better than the Norincos.
That’s a brief summary of my knowledge of battle weapons. Please do your research on all weapons and be cautious about who is giving advice, you never know who is on the keyboard stating they are an expert. I agree with TR and commend him for writing his article. He actually said in print what many of us are thinking. War is coming folks, maybe this year. Don’t be someone who says it can’t happen in America. This may be a battle between other nations or from within if Trump is elected. Only the good Lord in Heaven knows and I pray he will give us guidance. Be like Solomon, the Lord asked him what he desired. Solomon said: ‘Wisdom’.”