Tuesday, July 1, 2014

M4 for SHTF Part 2

From a reader... here we go:



How could you advocate an M4 for SHTF? It’s not even a rifle – it’s a carbine. Can’t even shoot it at long range. Hey, I agree with you, but it was you that said these things.


OK, then...


You are right, the M4 is technically a carbine.

You are wrong about the can't shoot it at long range, though. Some folks have shot it out to 1000 yards with surprising results. With a free-float rail, you might get precision as good as 2 MOA (I have constructed an M4 that yields 2 MOA results), even with standard 55-grain ammo.

Now hang on a second, let's explore two facts:
1. Currently, the real riflemen of the world - the United States Marine Corps - train all recruits out to 500 yards. at 500 yards, 2 minutes of angle (2 MOA) is 10 inches.

2. The folks at Trijicon have used the measurement of a man's chest to be 19 inches wide. Their reticles are calibrated to help the shooter range accordingly based on this information. Good chance it is pretty accurate.

What does that mean?
2 MOA at 500 yards is 10 inches. An average chest is 19" wide... meaning the shooter would hypothetically have no problem shooting to that accuracy at that range - provided they can adjust for drop and wind.

But wait...
Not all M4's can shoot 2 MOA. Let's presume only 4 MOA accuracy. This would mean 20 inches at 500 yards, which would place some shots outside the target area. So lets move down to 400 yards. At that range, 4 MOA would be 16" - well within our target size.

And lets add in the fact that most shooters prefer a red dot. And a common zero for a red dot is 50 / 200 yards. How would a shooter dope the rifle for 400 yards? Glad you asked... "lothaen" has addressed a simple holdover formula for using a red dot:
"Chest / Head / Hat"

And at 400 yards, a 55-grain M193 style load would be sailing along at over 1700 fps and hit with 355 ft.-lbs. of energy. For reference, a .45 ACP round (230 grains, 850 fps) hits with 365 ft.-lbs. at the muzzle... virtually identical.

Sounds to me like it would do just fine...






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1 comment:

  1. Two thoughts on this issue
    First, how many people will be shooting at 500 yards or more; regardless of SHTF or not?
    Probably very few. Wouldn't most engagements fall well short of max distances.

    Second, this is the 'only one rifle' fallacy in my mind. Yes some people can only afford one rifle so they have to compromise. If a person can afford more than one rifle; why not go for a different configuration or even type of rifle to increase capability?

    ReplyDelete

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