I've been thinking about this for a while and the recent post asking for advice on a "tactical" rifle brought it up again.

I think that a decade of war (sending back a whole new generation of young trigger pullers) and the crazy popularity of 3Gun shooting in the last few years has really started to blur the lines between "tactical" and "competition" and "hunting / plinking" ARs.

Take for example the BCM Haley Jack Carbine. Travis Haley was an active duty Marine for 15 years (Recon) and this is the AR he wanted his name on....
14.5" Mid-Length Gas
Free float rail
Hybrid Compensator
ALG Trigger
[Linked Image]

I've done a fair amount of 3Gun shooting and done well at national level matches. I've also carried an AR professionally for around the last eight years.

I can tell you that for 90% of 3Gunners that Jack Carbine would do all they ever needed (and with a different trigger I'd make that 95%). It's also nearly identical to what I carry at work (mine has a 16" barrel, but I'd prefer his).

And it seems like a lot of the time when we give advice on here about what makes a good hunting rifle it would be pretty similar to that rifle too, but some prefer a longer barrel for hunting.

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We are quick to recommend "buy a Colt and shoot it to figure out what you want", and that's not bad advice, and it's advice that I've given myself. But I've started changing that thinking a little. I'm all about shooting being more important than gear-buying and went all of 2014 without buying ANYTHING sort of AR related gear, just ammo.

But IME, people will shoot more when they enjoy shooting more. And they'll enjoy shooting more when their AR in pleasant to shoot and hits what they're aiming at. I've started recommending some sort of 1-4 over irons or dots because in general people can't hit anything without magnification. And if they can't hit, they won't want to go to the range.

That's why I've also started recommending a trigger upgrade. The ALG ACT trigger can be had for $60 and is, to me, a great improvement over every factory trigger I've pulled. Sure, a well-worn factory trigger will be just as good. But if people don't enjoy shooting then they won't ever wear that factory trigger in.

I also recommend spending a few minutes and a few dollars correctly buffering an AR. I can't tell you how many people I've had shoot my rifle and hand it back to me saying, "Wow, that feels GREAT." And they've all racked their AR and shot mine instead. I can't help but believe that those guys would be shooting their ARs a lot more if they just enjoyed them more.

And IME people shoot better with a longer-than-carbine-length handrail. Free float or not, when exposed to a longer handrail people seem to shoot better when they're not so cramped.

Originally Posted by SBTCO
your flippant remarks which you so adeptly sling