Practical Accuracy 👉 How to compare "Weapon Systems"?

This episode was brought to you by Slate Black Industries. For M-LOK grips and accessories, visit slateblackindustries.com. How are we comparing weapon systems? Let's get into it. Practical accuracy, long range. We're taking different weapon systems, we're going to a known distance course, a KD range, and we're shooting for score, and then we compare them one to another. Sounds easy, right? There's a little more to it. Starts with what makes up a weapon system. So we've got the firearm, which most people focus on the firearm, me included, the optical system, the sighting system, and then the cartridge itself. If we're looking at the firearm, what are we looking at? So we've got, say, the trigger. That's a huge effect on things. I mean, the AUG trigger is not as good as, say, the M16 trigger, which is not been as good as a Mark 12 or the Remington's trigger right here. Ergonomics. That's a big one. The magazine sticking out from the Kalashnikov prohibits me from shooting this in a prone position like some of the other rifles. That, in turn, has me adjusting my body mechanics to fit all its ergonomics. Muzzle device. Suppressor added on. Does it help or does it detract from the accuracy? Depends on what type of suppressor you're running. Say, like, an AEM-5 that we run on the Mark 12 actually helps with the accuracy. We've documented that in the Mark 12 video as well. So all of that goes into the firearms portion of the weapon system. Optical device. The sighting system. Iron sights are not less accurate than an optic. I think we've seen this across the board at this point. That being said, your graduated sight versus your L sight. Let's look at the two FAL videos that we did. The graduated sight on the long FAL and the paratrooper FAL's L sight. Huge difference. The paratrooper FAL was designed to where it could fold up really short. It could be used in closer range. Let's see, if you're kicking down doors. And your only two options were either the long FAL or paratrooper FAL. And your max distance was 200 meters. I'd take the paratrooper FAL. So it performing poorly on this course actually does not mean that it's a bad rifle for its intended purpose. And that being said, I'd choose an MP5 for close range engagements. That's beside the question though. Red dots. Aim points versus EOTech. Your aim point is going to be more difficult to use than your EOTech. Your EOTech has the outer ring. That could also be a reference point for wind drift. It could be a reference point for elevation. So that's going to be easier. And I've got a stigmatism aim point. It plumes a little bit when I look through it. So I've got to dial it down as much as possible. Your scope reticles. Your ACSS reticle is going to be a leg up over your traditional crosshair. And let's say how you use a reticle is also a big thing. In the Mauser 98K video, I actually used the reticle as reference points on the longer distance range with wind drift. So reticle is going to be a big thing. I would say one of the worst reticles is probably the crosshair reticle. Which if we ever get a 1903A4, not looking forward to shooting that at an extended range. That goes into the third part of the cartridge. What makes a good cartridge, right? I mean, we're not taking into context the recoil control. That's Josh's thing when it comes to the close range stuff. But more so we're looking at what's a ballistic coefficient? How streamlined is the projectile? What's the velocity that it's going? If you're looking at the 5.45 cartridge, the 7N6 is going to be superior around to the 55 grain M193 of the same era. It also has half the wind drift of the 193. That being said, what happens when you cut the barrel significantly shorter? I don't know, we'll find out later this year. But the velocity has a huge effect on how a weapon system performs. If we're looking at all of these things contributing towards a weapon system, right? We dial it back. We look at each video in the context of a weapon system. What are the characteristics of the firearm? What are the characteristics of the cartridge? What are the characteristics of the sighting system? Then we compare, let's say, what we were talking about. The FAL versus the FAL paratrooper. The M16A4 versus the M16A1 sighting system versus the M4 versus the M4 with an ACOG. How do all of these systems compare to one another? I think we can get more out of the exercise than just let's rank it. And obviously with the environmentals, with different wind conditions, we're also seeing a different effect put on to the weapon system itself. So sometimes in a high wind condition, it's actually more interesting for me to see that a weapon system is actually performing well despite it not ranking as high as the other ones. Some weapon systems I have more experience on. I've shot a lot around, say, through this Remington. So it would be unfair to compare it to some of the other ones. However, some other weapon systems, say this M39, excellent sights, excellent cartridge, excellent firearm. Put it together, decimated the range. Those are the things that you should keep in mind when you're browsing through the Practical Accuracy Long Range series. Think about the weapon system concept versus just the firearm. I'm really looking forward to hearing what you guys have to say. I mean, this is the whole premise of it, is to really communicate and talk about observations on these things. That being said, it's late. Ready to go to bed. Don't get the coronavirus. And we'll see you on the range.