If you would like to know the 3 accessories that practically EVERY special ops soldier agrees you need on your fighting rifle, then this article will tell you.
The truth is, the AR and AK platform have been around so long there are practically hundreds (if not thousands) of accessories for them — and if you don’t know what you need — then you will probably end up buying a lot of junk.
Don’t waste your money, find out the essentials here in today’s article.
The fact is, I just got back from 3-days of intense instructor training with my good friend and ex-CIA officer Jason Hanson.
One whole day was dedicated to teaching the defensive rifle training and Jason said the same thing that I’ve heard over and over from tons of guys with experience in the field (especially special ops guys) …
Why Is It So Important to Get the Right Gear?
First, the modern fighting rifle is an intermediate cartridge platform such as the AR-15 or Ak-47 (or even AK-74) — we can discuss what makes these “intermediate” later. But this is and has been the modern fighting rifle for some time now.
Second, because WEIGHT is such an important concept in battle — and it sucks to carry a heavy gun all over the battlefield — care should be taken to choose only the essentials for your fighting rifle.
Lastly, the popularity of 3-Gun and other competitive shooting over the last decade with AR-15 and AK pattern rifles has bled over into the special operations community as what works for fast and accurate hits in modern competitions crosses over (at least somewhat) onto the battlefield.
The Only 3 Things any Fighting Rifle Needs …
Without further foreplay, they are …
1. Sling — every fighting rifle needs a sling. Not only to make your rifle easier to carry, but also so you can transition to the sidearm if your primary weapon (the rifle) fails, while still retaining your rifle.
While I’ve recommended 3-point in the past, I’ve learned it’s better to stick with 1 or 2 points slings depending on your preference.
2. Optics/Sights— If you don’t have backup iron sights on your rifle now, get them (BUIS). I have the Magpul flip up sights.
If you are running an optic, you still need them in case the optic fails. I ran iron sights at this instructor training, but learned a lot about what type of optic I need to get for this rifle to fit my needs, in my part of the country (and I’ll be buying an optic soon for my primary fighting rifle).
3. Weapon Mounted Light— A white light, mounted to your rifle is a necessity nowadays.
You need two hands to run your rifle well, and that means you should mount a white-light to your rifle because you don’t have three hands.
That’s It?
Seriously. That’s it.
Most guys with experience want their rifles as light and close to “Stock” as possible.
This limited choice of accessories also makes it easy to get more rifles (yay!) and outfit each one so it’s ready for the fight.
Now, within those choices you could setup your rifles different ways of course …
For example, a shorter barrel AR-15 might have a 1-point sling, an Eotech red dot, with a surefire light for close quarters room clearing … and someone in the open areas of Utah might have a 16″ barrel (for long distance ballistics), with a 1-6 adjustable scope (for reaching out and touching stuff) and a 2-point sling (for long hikes in the mountains).
From these 3 principles you can setup your rifles to fit your tactical and environmental needs.
