CMMG Mod4 SA and Faxon ARAK21 compared.
Since SI placed only some of the photos supplied, I will add one of them below:
Long stroke piston (top) is physically attached to the bolt carrier. The recoil and the return springs are one and the same, and that allows for folding stocks. Short stroke piston is separate from the bolt carrier. The return spring wrapped around the piston, while the recoil spring is played by the buffer in the stock. The buffer also returns the bolt carrier into battery.
It still has all of the other flaws inherent in the AR family of weapons. Namely the WW-2 Johnson bolt head design , the alloy upper and lower and the 5.56 cart. FYI: I know that nothing I wright will ever convince the fanatic AR lovers, but having owned four high end AR’s and finding them all to be the EXACT same POS as the M16A1’s I trained on in the 70’s, I sold them will never own another one. It is a weapon I do not trust to do its job when needed.
Ray; Every system is of course a set of compromises. Now that we know what you’re against, please tell us what you’re for. Surely that would be more important. What do believe is the ultimate fighting carbine or rifle? Defend your idea of the better comrpomises when it comes to;
Cost, portability (weight and bulk), user interface, reliability, cartridge effetiveness, number of rounds carried for a given weight, reliability and overall strength, accuracy, serviceability (including field serviceability) including availability (and variety?) of parts and accessories, and possibly the number of cartridges supported by the platform.
The AR platform doesn’t hit “A+” on all of those points, but it certainly hits a lot of them. Many are of course conflicting; cartridge effectiveness and number of rounds per unit weight (and bulk) for example, which can also involve the weight of the rifle itself. Accuracy and reliability can often conflict also.
Well if you want to know MY choice in a battle rife I love the Garand. If you want to know MY choice of carbines I’ll take the Russian AK. The AK is at least as accurate as the AR and IMO is hundreds of times better under “real world” conditions. I know that the rabbid AR fanboys will scream bloody murder at this but it’s MY truth. If it all went TU today I’d grab my NM M-1 Garand and 1956 web gear. I have carried M-16 A1’s in the field and owned four AR’s and never had one I trusted. I don’t believe I need a “Hi-Cap” mag, flashlight , quadrail , or lazer to be effective. Lyle, all the points you make about the AR are your truth and that’s OK , But MY TRUTH is that the whole CONCEPT behind the AR family of weapons is flawed . IMO The Assault rifle FAD is a FASSION trend like Multi cam, and hanging 10 LB. of “stuff” on your AR is now or “tactical black” was twenty tears ago. The whole weapons concept offers ME nothing. Over the years I have read a lot of BS about AR-15’s. How light they were , how the 5.56 would “knock a man down at 600 yards”. How you could shoot millions of rounds and lub’em with motor oil. AND IT’S ALL B.S. The point that Oleg has made is that modern AR’s are HEAVY when covered up in silly tacticool. Most are actually heavier than my 1903 Springfield + 100 rounds! and as heavy as my M-1 with a full belt. They have a ridiculously short effective range (under 300 yards) and in all cases are butt ugly; and it all JUST My OPPINION and as such, is just that, and only applies to me. I will never want one , but as I said its just IMO.
Out West, 300 yards is “short range”. Where I live, 200 yards is the realistic maximum line of sight much of the time.
As for accessories, M3 carbine was a super weapon even with the lousy 1945-intage infrared scope. A Garand with iron sights will lose to an AR10 with thermal or NVG after dark. So some accessories are pretty helpful.
All true in highly limited ways Oleg. NVG’s have been grossly overrated by the non-military and the LEO’s. In truth they are not in any way as effective as the government would have you believe. I would sight the hunt for the escaped prisoners in NY earlier this year where it took WEEKS for state and federal cops to locate two unarmed, sick and slow moving men who were on foot. In the end each was found with the Mk1 eyeball- NVG’s and FLIR were ineffective and played no part in the killing of those men. The M-3 is a poor example as it had an effective range of fifty yards and only worked because, like the bulky and limited “starlight” scopes in Vietnam nobody knew that they existed at the time and just walked into ambushes thinking they were safe in the dark. Once the Japanese and later the Vietnamese figured out what was going on the effectiveness of the first GEN. NVG’s dropped dramatically . Even today they (NVG’s) are only effective if your enemy doesn’t suspect them to be in play . I can take you to at least 10 spots within five miles of my house in central Ky. with “range to treeline” clear spaces greater than 600 yards. The “great forest” east of the Mississippi river is more of a myth than a reality in the 21st century. AND . Shooting a Garand or an AR-10 (or most any other firearm) at night without a suppressor tells everyone in line of sight EXACTLY where you are and invite’s immediate return fire. NVG’s without suppressors (and often with) make civilian shooters cocky; because like body armor and Hi-Cap mags it makes them think they have an “advantage” that they very often don’t. Weapons and sights are just tools, and often over rated by people. But this is ALL just my opinion , garnered by more than 50 years of training and shooting , results may very and people differ. I AM NOT trying to change minds, just express MY opinion.
And I agree with everything you said, which is why I am also a fan of suppressors…and even bigger fan of not getting into a fight.