Notes on Setting Up the Modern Fighting Rifle

 

(This conversation is not intended to instigate a debate on the merits of the Stoner platform versus anything else, nor is it intended to foment discussion on 5.56 versus 7.62. The first has been completely dispelled, in the realm of this blog at least, by the refusal of all those opposed on principle to Stoner’s design, to accept my standing challenge on the “Last Word” page. The second is simply not open to discussion here. I KNOW 5.56 kills people, dead. I know 7.62 kills people, dead. I choose 5.56 because it kills people, dead, plus I can carry more of it, meaning, when necessary, I can kill more people, dead. Additionally, because it has less felt recoil, I can kill them faster, because shot-to-shot recovery is faster. Are there guys out there that can recover from 7.62 as fast, or faster, than I can from 5.56? Perhaps, but those guys don’t need any advice on setting up their fighting rifle. Most guys can’t recover from 5.56 as fast as I can from 7.62. I choose 5.56 because it works, for me. I don’t moderate comments, but I WILL delete comments that hold no merit to the conversation, on this article, if the only thing you have to say is along the lines of “Stoner was stoned!” or “Mouseguns are for pussies!” –J.M.)

I get asked a lot, during classes, about why I set up my rifles the way I do, and what I recommend for others. In the last Combat Rifle class, I was specifically asked to write an article for the blog on how my rifles are set up (for the record, with the exception of sniper rifles and SDM rifles, every M4 in my household is set up the exact same way, even if they come from different makers. HH6 was taught/is being taught, to run an M4/combat rifle by me, so there’s no deficit in having all of our rifles set up exactly the same way –J.M.).

To start with, I prefer rifles with a 14.5-16″ barrel. This gives ample ballistic energy to ensure maximum performance of the 5.56 round’s engineering out to the common combative range of <200m i="i">i.e. specifically, yaw of the round, upon impact, leading to fracture at the cannellure, leading to massive hemorrhage due to multiple wound channels, or at least a larger, more catastrophic wound channel), but still ensures the weapon is handy enough to not “get in the way” in tight confines, whether those are the trees and brush in the forest, or the doors and windows in a built-up area.

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