In this piece, we’re going to take a pass at addressing the question: what’s the shortest effective barrel length for an AR15? To do so, we’ll start with a little bit of general ballistic science to get some basic concepts under our feet. From there, some specific commentary on the operating mechanism of the AR platform, specifically the gas system, is important.

But first, let’s define effective. Here, we mean an effective barrel length as one that can be used in an AR with which you can reasonably expect to engage human-sized targets out to about 300 yards with some skill involved.

Ballistic Science 101

When a bullet is fired, the burning powder builds pressure behind the bullet, pushing it forward through the barrel, where the bullet roughly seals against the rifling, accelerating as it travels down the barrel.

In general terms, greater barrel length means more velocity, which, in turn, means less bullet drop and greater accuracy. Of course, there’s a limit to this: a six-foot barrel would not net you many gains in velocity, but it would make the rifle extremely unwieldy, something like an old-timey Punt gun, which was a bow-mounted shotgun people used to hunt ducks.

AR15 Gas Systems

Regardless of barrel length, the AR15 is a direct gas impingement gun, requiring a gas tube that runs parallel to this barrel. To have the gun cycle as a semi-automatic firearm rather than a bolt action one, you’ll need to have a function gas system. These days, gas systems come in several more or less standard lengths.

Pistol length gas systems are the shortest, and they’re about 4” long. A carbine length system is 7” long. Further, a midsize gas system is 9” long and the longest, rifle systems are 12” long. These, as you’ll see soon, correspond to several barrel lengths, and with accompanying pros and cons.

Six Inch Barrels

About the shortest barrel that you can hope to have normal function in an AR is a 6” barrel. These will have substantial accuracy problems because of a short sight radius as well as the fact that the bullet will not get up to normal velocity, resulting in a bullet drop. These will function with a pistol-length gas system and might work for extremely close quarters work, but be careful as you’ll have your hands awfully close to the muzzle at all times.

Ten To Twelve Inch Barrels

With a little bit longer barrel comes a little more velocity: with a carbine gas system, these short ARs can gain some serious accuracy over the extremely short models, but you’ll still notice that bullet drop will start sooner than you’d like.

This is a common length of AR for folks in special forces who know that their mission will take them indoors, as this is a compact weapon that still can reach out to about 200 yards with a little bit of practice. Overall, these are the first reasonable option we think is out there if you want accuracy past room-clearing distances.

Thirteen to Sixteen Inch Barrels

This is, in some regards, the Goldilocks zone for AR barrel lengths, as we’ll develop in the next section. Paired with a Carbine length gas system, rifles with barrels of this length give up very little in terms of velocity when compared to longer barrels but are a little more compact than longer weapons. Additionally, the carbine gas system, balanced with an appropriate buffer spring and weight, are exceptionally soft recoiling weapons, which makes follow-up shots a lot easier.

Twenty Inch Barrels

About the longest barrel you’re likely to see on an AR platform rifle is 20.” These give the greatest possible velocity out of standard 5.56mm ammunition, without being too bulky for people to use in adaptable mission settings. Barrels of this length are less common now but are a good choice for folks who want to stretch the legs of the platform. With a rifle-length gas system, they’re also exceptionally reliable weapons as well, as this is basically the design as it was first developed in the 1950s.

So, What’s the Best Barrel Length?

As with most things in the firearms world, the answer is: what’s your purpose?

If you want the best possible ballistics, then a 20” barrel with a rifle-length gas system is the way to go. Even though these are long and a little heavier than what’s common these days, most accuracy-focused setups will have longer barrels to get additional velocity and a longer sight radius for iron sights.  The M16A1, as issued in Vietnam, came with a barrel of this length and it performed well for troops for years.

Of course, some people don’t want the best ballistics, and they are looking for a handy gun to use in home defense. To that end, a Short-Barreled-Rifle might well be the most effective: a 10” barrel with a pistol length gas system can be highly effective in close quarters and they’re super handy. If it were up to us, we’d also put a suppressor on it to tame the unholy muzzle blast that comes from all of the unburnt powder and unused energy from short barrels.

For most folks, something in between works well. Enter the M4, the standard service rifle in the hands of several million people in the armed forces all over the world. With a 14.5” barrel and a carbine length gas system, the M4 can reach out to about 300 yards with no issue but is also handy enough to be pressed into room-clearing duty in, say, Fallujah. This is what we go with most of the time on our personal rifles.

With all of that said, and government paperwork aside, you don’t really have to choose. It’s entirely possible to have a single lower receiver, a few buffer springs, and a set of uppers that you can change out in seconds depending on your mission requirement. That’s one of the brilliant things about the AR 15 design, and we personally own several different barrel lengths for different tasks.

If you do not have the items you need to get through the day, hunting can be tricky! There are the normal things you need to have on hand like rifle magazines, snacks, extra water, or a small first aid kit. But what are some things you may need that you would not normally think to pack? Forgetting the small things is so easy to do, but it can make a significant impact on the experience you have on your trip. Save yourself some grief and be sure to include the following five things in your hunting pack.

Decoys

Just the thought of lugging around an extra bag or crate of decoys can feel frustrating. However, having a few on hand can increase the amount of game you see in your crosshairs. Either those of deer or of fowl, are made of light materials, but they help your prey feel safer in the area you set the decoy. An important tip to remember is to set the decoy upwind from where you will be. This will help keep your scent from flowing towards the decoy and tipping off the prey of your whereabouts. Decoys look interesting and cause the hunted animals to be curious about who the decoy is (are they from my herd or somewhere else?). If you want to make decoys extra effective, you can purchase decoy smells to add, further luring out the hunted prey. The sense of smell is one that animals rely heavily upon, so adding this layer to your decoys can further increase your daily yield.

Laundry Detergent

You may not think about doing laundry before or after your hunting escapade, but you will if it means further disguising yourself from the animal you are hunting. Wildlife Research Center’s Super Charged Scent Killer Clothing Wash is one of the many options available to kick the nasty scent of “human.” There are body sprays and the like that you can keep in your pack for your trip. However, you will be adding a layer of smell protection when using the detergent, as your clothes will not smell like you, and they will trap in some of the odors that typically emanate from your body. Taking advantage of this will keep animals from suspecting you. Try washing your clothes in a scent killer laundry detergent and you will not be disappointed.

Trail Cameras

If you are new to the hunting scene, you may have never heard of or thought of setting up cameras around where you will have your hunting stand. At face value, this sounds like a lot of work for an unknown yield. However, they can help you keep an eye on your prey, even from a distance. Trail cameras are made rugged so that you can even consider putting them up for extended periods of time, no matter the weather. This gives you the opportunity to plan your hunting patterns on the grazing patterns of your prey. This allows you to create hunting locations based on the areas the animals frequent most. If you have been struggling with your tracking, if you are wanting to bag a certain amount or a specific animal, trail cameras can help you make better plans and properly execute those plans. Investment of time and money will serve you well. Do not let the novelty and the time commitment discourage you from using this helpful tool!

Surveyor’s Tape

Surveyor’s tape or another brightly colored tape or tie off will serve you well in the field. When you make a shot, you want to know you can gather your kill without getting lost in the woods. It can be easy to do, thinking you are on the correct trail then lose sight of both your kill and your stand. This can lead to you heading home emptyhanded. Avoid this tragedy by keeping surveyor’s tape in your pack to brightly mark where you have been. As you follow the blood trail or your trajectory path, put some of the tape on a nearby tree or other standing structure. This will guarantee that you can make it back to your starting point. If you lose track of your kill, you can also go back to the last place you were sure you were on the right track and continue the search from there. Having tape on your person can prove helpful in other situations, too, where you need to tape something back together or ensure you do not lose an item. Brightly colored tape can also be used as a signal to other hunters or emergency personnel in emergencies.

Zip ties

This may be a surprising suggestion, but zip-ties can serve many uses in the field. If you need to attach an extra item to your pack or if a zipper happens to break, zip ties can help you fix that! They can also be useful in tagging your kill or binding up their extremities for easier carry. Zip ties can also be used to help you mark your trek if you run out of or have forgotten your surveyor’s tape. Also, they can help you tie back branches that may be problematic when aiming or looking through your scope. Zip ties are cheap and are easy to use. They are even easier to take apart when you are done with them; just cut them!

Some items on this list may not be what you initially think of when you imagine packing for a hunting trip. However, thinking outside of the box with these items can help you better bag your prey, keep on the trail, and go home successfully. Why work harder when you can work smarter with things like decoys, scent killing detergent, trail cameras, surveyor’s tape, and zip ties? Make it easier for yourself and keep these items in your pack and encourage others to do the same. What are some other out of the box items you like to keep on you?

While many gun enthusiasts begin their journey at a young age, there are just as many late entries into gun ownership these days. Not everyone can build an AR lower into a complete AR 15.

Suppose you’re one of those thousands who are considering purchasing your first firearm. The odds are that you’re more than likely not going to enjoy the benefits of a tactically configured AR15 with an offset RMR red dot optic system attached to the upper receiver.

What you’ll discover is that you have minimal knowledge of firearms, in general, and your first trip to a gun store will be a bewildering mass of choices that will make your head spin.

Whether it’s a shotgun, small or big game rifles, or full-sized or concealed carry pistols, the best thing you should do in advance of your purchase is to do your homework.

Speak with veteran gun owners about their choices, take a few safety training classes that will not only teach you how to handle a firearm safely but give you advanced knowledge of the type of gun you’ll enjoy firing.

For the first-time gun shopper, the three targets you need to hit before you ever fire that first shot mean you’ll want to find a weapon with an acceptable balance of durability, price, of course, and lastly, a gun that is easy to use.

Concerning doing the research, here are a few suggestions that may help your decision-making regardless of whether you’re seeking to purchase your very first rifle, shotgun, or pistol.  

Pistols

The field of quality pistols on the market today is vast and can be downright confusing when picking out the right one for you. How you carry one, what you intend to use it for, and what size you need that’s a perfect fit for your hands and shooting style all come into play in the world of pistols.

You’ll likely come across brand names such as Glock, Smith & Wesson, Sig Sauer, and others while searching for the best handgun for you. While these companies may provide the best solution, note that it will still take much investigation on your part before you finally choose the right one for you. 

Suppose you decide to search for the perfect concealed carry pistol. While there are no actual guidelines that help you resolve the complex subject of concealed carry, one handgun that arguably comes as close to the perfect handgun is the M&P Shield 9mm from Smith & Wesson. A pistol red dot sight attached to your handgun is a great option for concealed carry.

The M&P Shield has redefined the concealed carry industry for over a decade, offering an affordable pistol with outstanding ergonomics regardless of hand size and seven or eight-shot magazine capacity.

You may want to consider purchasing a Performance Center Shield that offers two ports along the barrel to reduce muzzle flip traditionally experienced with smaller pistols. Buying a Performance Center Shield like the M&P 9mm means making a perfect concealed carry pistol even better for a few dollars more.

While this list of guns for the first-time gun owner is not comprehensive, it should help you on your way to years of exhilarating moments at the range, in the woods hunting small or big game, and while sitting in a duck blind.  

Rifles

Produced for over fifty years, the Ruger 10/22 is arguably one of the best small game rimfire rifles on the market today.

Capable of firing .22 caliber and 22LR caliber cartridges, this single rifle from Ruger has created a proliferation of aftermarket parts and accessories, giving a new gun owner endless customization capabilities that meet and exceed all the needs of a first-time gun owner.

Another fantastic feature of the Ruger 10/22 is that the rifle’s operation has changed very little over the years, providing its owner with a highly reliable and unique rotary-feed magazine and semi-automatic blowback action.

If you dream of being one with nature and making a long shot to bring down a much bigger game but still love the feel and action of your Ruger 10/22, then consider graduating to another rifle by Ruger, the Ruger American.

Ruger introduced the American almost a decade ago, providing a reliable and affordable alternative to Ruger’s Model 77 Hawkeye. The American comes in multiple calibers and various magazine configurations, and the American buttstock integrates with the bedding block to create a free-floating barrel.

The Ruger American also sports an adjustable trigger and a two-position tang-mounted safety system. One of the most notable features aside from the ease of operation that separates the Ruger American from most big game rifles is its out-of-the-box accuracy.

With sufficient amounts of practice, you’ll soon surprise yourself with spectacular shot placement and grouping even if you’re firing a high-velocity caliber round such as a Creedmoor 6.5 at a distance of over one hundred yards.

Shotguns

While you can choose a reliable shotgun such as Remington 870 Wingmaster for upland fowl hunting, keep in mind the three things you’ll want to achieve as a first-time gun buyer. Remington offers a shotgun that provides all the excellent functionality of the Wingmaster but at a much more affordable price. With a receiver machined from a single steel block, the Remington 870 express comes in .410, twenty gauge, and 12-gauge models and vent-ribbed barrels of either twenty-six or twenty-eight inches.

Like its cousin, the Wingmaster, the 870 Express is a literal no-frills workhorse for upland hunting and handles two and three quarter and three-inch shells consistently and effectively. The 870 express from Remington also comes in compact and Jr. versions for the younger first-time upland hunters.

One of the best things about a pump shotgun is that most of them hit the sweet spot for affordability.

In 2020 Browning introduced the BPS Field Mossy Oak Shadow Grass. Though this waterfowl pump shotgun is slightly heavier, weighing in at around eight pounds, if you’re sitting in a duck blind, the additional weight probably won’t be much of an issue.

The Mossy Oak Shadow Grass is somewhat more costly than other Browning shotguns, but it does offer one fantastic feature that makes it a perfect choice for both the veteran and the first-time waterfowl hunter.

Browning manufactures the BPS Field Mossy Oak so that the spent shells eject straight down from the bottom of the shotgun receiver. Browning’s straight-down approach to shell ejections prevents distraction and helps you keep your eyes on the sight and the target.

An essential factor, especially for a first timer who needs plenty of practice learning to hit those fast-moving birds on the wing.  

Conclusion

You’ll discover that purchasing and firing your first gun will become a very personal moment for you. Many veteran gun enthusiasts will quickly point out and proudly display the very first gun they ever purchased.

Over time while on your journey from novice to veteran gun owner, you’ll never forget the first gun you ever bought and will probably want to break it down, clean it and take it to the range for a few hours of nostalgic shooting. 

Many survivalists continuously check and rotate their potable water and food stores stocks and make sure their AR15 provides dependable operation and efficiency and that they have plenty of ammunition. Each veteran prepper will also ensure they stock sufficient stores of survival equipment such as radios, maps, survival tools, and plenty of paracord for building shelters.

Suppose you’ve been in the survivalist circle for longer than a few months and are confident in your off-the-grid stocks. It’s probably safe to say that you’ve already thought to include several clothing changes to accommodate survivability depending on the weather conditions amongst all those bug-out bags. Where the problem begins is when tough stuff hits the fan, and you and your family’s life changes dramatically to the point that your off-the-grid lifestyle eventually becomes your daily grind. Many survivalists have a checklist to make sure they are prepared. Is your AR scope still zeroed in and are your rifle’s well maintained? Do you have enough ammo? When’s the last time you checked your potable water and food stores stocks?

Yes, you may have learned all the necessary skills to forage for food and water when the supplies run out, and you probably took advantage of the pre-disaster time to learn and practice hunting skills when the food sources thin out, but what about your clothing? Shirt and pants fabric will wear out much faster than the internal mechanics of your tools and AR15. Although you may be able to muster up enough skills to mend the rips, eventually, the clothing you and your family donned at the beginning of your venture and the clothing you stocked will wear to the point that you’re going to have to replace them.

Keep in mind that if everyone who lived through the disaster is in survival mode, the chances of making a trip to a local store and picking out a few outfits off the rack will probably not happen. Aside from eventually being forced to wear a few well-placed fig leaves to cover the appropriate areas, you may want to consider how to make your fabric and how to make your clothing.  

The Material Comes First

When making your survival clothing, the first skill set you’ll need to master is how to make the material you’ll use to make all the clothing. If you think you’ll be able to depend on an overabundance of leather on the hoof, remember that food and leather sources on the hoof such as cattle and deer will become scarcer as the length of an emergency expands. 

Not only will you not be able to bag multiple leather options for you and your family, but you’ll not be able to score material, patterns, or even the tools necessary to make shoes or clothing. Remember that for hundreds of years before we came into the picture, our ancestors relied on readily available cotton, flax, hemp, and other plants to create clothing material and thread with manually operated spinning wheels and looms.

You may be thinking right now that it’s not like you’ll be able to carry around a full-sized fabric loom around with you each time you bug out to a new location, but you don’t have to. You’d be amazed at the amount of yarn material you can create with a drop spindle, a spinning wheel, and even a good pair of sturdy crochet needles. If you’re already into knitting, you’re ahead of the game when it comes to making sweaters, gloves, hats, and other types of clothing for you and the family. Begin investigating the skills you’ll need to find, grow, or collect the plants you’ll need for creating material now. After you’ve mastered those, then practice using a manual spinning wheel or drop spindle until you can instinctively spin fibers into workable yarn or thread. One thing to note about drop spindles is that they come in various sizes to meet the needs of the fiber you’re attempting to spin.

Fasteners and Tools

During an extended emergency, don’t expect to find an abundance of zippers, hooks-and-eyes, and even Velcro fasteners for your survival shirts, coats, pants, or shoes. You’ll probably need to rely on buttons made from animal bone, sanded, or carved wood in an actual survival situation. You can use just about anything at your disposal when making buttons, so long as you can poke between two or four holes of sufficient size that allows you to pass your survival-made thread through.

When it comes to tools to use when making your survival clothing, you’ll probably want to have one or two bug-out bags dedicated to only what you’ll need when putting the material together. While the list of tools you’ll need to carry is not exhaustive, ensure you have crochet hooks of various sizes and knitting needles, again in multiple sizes.

When it comes to cutting thread or the material you’ve created with your drop spindle, then you’ll need small scissors for the yarn or thread you make and a larger pair for the thicker pieces of leather or material. While many of you may have used patterns to cut out your clothing material, you’re probably not going to get a chance to shop for pre-cut patterns. In your survival clothing bug-out bags, be sure to include an ample supply of large paper bags or newspapers to shape and cut out your latest survival fashion designs. Finally on the list, your clothing survival kit should include a significant number of push pins, stick size guides for knitting, a flexible tape measure, and when working with leather, a reliable leather punch or awl to top it all off.

Better Than a Pair of Moccasins

It’s an excellent possibility that you’re not likely to find a sufficient supply of resins or synthetic rubber to fashion soles for a new pair of dependable shoes in the post-disaster world. However, if you stumble across a cache of old tires, you’ll want to ensure you cut several swatches of the tire to take along. Rubber tires make perfect soles for a pair of lightweight survivalist shoes. One thing you’ll need is a few shoe forms in various sizes, and since you’ve already included heavy-duty scissors in your kit for material, the same should handle your leather or canvas cutting needs as well.  

A good pair of dependable survival shoes made from canvas or leather uppers, rubber lowers, and yes, even wood will become second nature after a few attempts. If you think crafting a pair of dependable shoes out of wood won’t work for you, here’s an interesting fact. Wooden shoes, or clogs, were created in the thirteenth century, worn for everyday use by the local peasantry, and eventually became fashionable footwear in the fourteenth century.

As with any skill you’ve never attempted before, growing, or locating the right plants to form yarn, thread, and material, learning how to shape clothing patterns out of paper bags, and building a pair of dependable shoes with canvas uppers and tire lowers will take a lot of practice. It’s doubtful you’ll not learn these skills by osmosis, so you’ll need to start now to be ready when left to your own devices and making your own clothing while off the grid.

While going through an ample supply of magazines, plinking targets at the range might be ideal for most recreational gun owners; nothing says excitement more than participating in a 3-gun competition. Most first-timers typically ensure their AR15 upper receiver has a match-grade barrel and the perfect red dot ruggedized miniature reflex sight.

Also, they’ll probably want to adequately maintain their semi-automatic shotgun and pistol to guarantee superior functionality while on the course. There are, however, a few other items you’ll want to include in your gear on your first attempts, such as a range bag with all the maintenance tools and cleaning items, plenty of water and high-protein snacks, and the proper eye and ear protection.

If you’ve studied what a 3-gun competition requires, you’ll understand that the correct competition clothing will make all the difference in the world regarding comfort and mobility. As any seasoned 3-gun veteran will tell you, wearing suitable tops, pants, belts, and footwear not only should keep you cool and comfortable but also help you gain a tactical advantage.

Shirts for Competition

When selecting a competitive shooting top, the first thing to check is how well the fabric stretches and moves with your body. Not only should the shirt flex with your body motion, but the material needs to move about without getting in the way of your movements.

A breathable top is essential when participating in any USPSA 3-gun competition, which calls for continuous action as you run through an obstacle course while firing three different types of firearms. The tactical top you select should also contain snag-resistant fabric so you can quickly deploy and return your pistol, rifle, or shotgun to its preordained place.

Moisture-wicking properties are essential when picking out a competition shirt or top for 3-gun matches. USPSA 3-gun matches call for rapid movement and running the course against the clock while rapidly acquiring targets and maintaining precise shot placement. You’ll no doubt break a large sweat, and extensive collections of perspiration can not only be uncomfortable but frequently prevent you from your giving it your best performance.

Shooting Jackets

Not all 3-gun competitions occur in the late spring or summertime, and you may discover your first time in competition may require more than just a tactical shooting top, pants, and footwear to keep you comfortable during the match. Remember that not every winter jacket is equal when wearing a shooting jacket while participating in your first 3-gun competition.

The first thing to look for when picking out a shooting vest, let’s say AR500 Bullet Proof Vest, is that it won’t restrict arm motion when worn while aiming and firing at targets on the course. If you can’t quickly acquire the target and place the shot were intended because the jacket restricts your motion, then the fact it keeps you warm and dry during a match won’t matter much.

The jacket you choose needs rip-stop fabric in case of an accidental snag or contact with a sharp object, and the lining should be thin enough to allow freedom of motion and yet provide you the right amount of layer protection without bulk. While many first-time participants don’t think about them, you’ll want to ensure the cuffs of your jacket are hook and loop so you can keep the sleeve cuffs out of the way of your hands as you make it through the course.

Blue Jeans or Shooting Pants

Admittedly, many first-time 3-gun competitors slide into a pair of their favorite relaxed-fit blue jeans off the hanger to wear during competition. Unfortunately, your favorite blue jeans can sometimes rip in the most embarrassing locations. When selecting a few pairs of shooting pants, be sure to check for reinforced seams in the seat of the pants and bar-tack reinforcement at all the major stress points.

Also, when it comes to a ripped pair of pants, you should check to ensure the pants are made of Flex-Tac® rip-stop fabric. If you’re not sure where to find shooting pants such as this, look at some of the tactical clothing the Stryke company manufactures.

Since this is probably your first time competing in 3-gun competition, you may not have thought about the amount of kneeling instances you’ll experience as you travel through the course. Even the least challenging 3-gun course may resemble a few blocks of a war-torn city that recently suffered a catastrophic event. There’ll be rubble and rocks and all kinds of objects you may have to plant your knees on to make the shot. Ensure the shooting pants you pick out have kneepad-ready knees beneath the exterior fabric to make the entire ordeal more palatable and less painful.

A Belt That Works Overtime

Although it stands to reason a belt will hold up your shooting pants, a genuine shooting belt does so much more than that. A proper shooting belt should not only be sturdy enough to hold your pistol’s holster, but it should also be strong enough to handle items such as additional mag pouches, multi-tool packs, and assorted accessories.

One of the best belts to consider is the Maverick Battle Belt which features the correct type of ergonomic curve to provide maximum stability while remaining extremely comfortable to wear. While many first-time 3-gun competitors don’t think a belt is essential because the fit of their pants is perfect on the hips, there are a few 3-gun competitions that require a belt of some sort to participate. As a first timer, be sure to check on the requirements of the match you intend to sign up for before you arrive.

Shoes on the Ground

Many first-time entries on a 3-gun match show up on their first day of shooting trials with various types of footwear such as combat lace-up boots, steel-toed work boots for additional ankle support, and yes, even cowboy boots. While this type of footwear may work well for some, it may not be the best selection of footwear for 3-gun competition.

When selecting the right kind of footwear, think about what you’ll need to accomplish as you compete. One of your shoes’ key capabilities needs to give you positive traction in various surfaces and conditions such as wet grass, mud, loose dirt, and even snow. If you don’t want to sacrifice mobility for stability, look at the line of competition footwear from Salomon Speedcross, which provides the perfect style of tread and traction you’ll need when racing through a 3-gun competition course.

Additional Gear

While these items aren’t clothing, they are essential items you’ll want to take with you when heading out to your first competition. Things such as tactical eyeglasses, workable earmuffs, and shooting gloves that withstand the heat of your upper receiver’s handguard and provide a positive grip on your shotgun and pistol are just as important when competing. So, be sure to bring them.

An unfortunate reality we have to accept is that the crime rate is higher in more affordable neighborhoods vis-à-vis the affluent ones these days. Also, people living in households at or below the poverty line can experience twice the amount of violence that the high-income ones.

In an ideal scenario, if you face it, you would want to pack up and move to a safer place. But it is easier said than done. So there are various survival techniques that you can learn. Mastering the art of firing can be beneficial during such difficult times and improve your chances of survival.

This article lays down five fundamental steps of rifle firing which can come in handy. However, one of the most crucial elements that can help your survival is what lies between your ears – your brain.

The Importance

Opting to use appropriate firing techniques will help you keep your firearm steady. That, in turn, can help you have the most accuracy while shooting.

Handguns are common in most households as they are convenient to keep and easy to use. However, people often face issues with its accuracy. A micro-conversion kit or MCK can be handy in such a scenario. It converts the handgun into a medium rifle and facilitates an ergonomic groove for a stable grip, thus enabling you to increase your accuracy.

Mastering the fundamental step of rifle firing can happen through practice. As you dedicate more time, you will understand various accuracy-affecting factors, such as heat, wind, and parallax.

The five fundamental steps of rifle firing are:

• Aiming to take the perfect shot
• Control your breathing pattern
• Controlling your body movement
• Having a hold over the trigger
• The follow-through process

All these steps work together in unison and need practice in specific ways. You will find a detailed note on each of these steps in the next section. This article tries to give you some theoretical knowledge based on practical experience that you can apply in the real world. You can also enroll yourself in a course if you prefer to learn under the guidance of experienced personnel.

Aiming

The first step towards mastering the art of rifle firing for your survival is one of the most crucial ones and requires your undivided attention on the subject you are about to shoot. If you wish to accomplish the desired results in this step, you should try to keep everything else out of your mind.

There are a few basic steps that you can follow to improve your aiming skills. The following are some of the guidelines which can come in handy for the same:

• You should align your site with the target as you aim.
• To reduce the eye strain, keep both open, and it also eases focusing.
• The time taken to aim should be as brief as possible. It is particularly crucial as it becomes difficult to maintain the firing fundamentals effectively for a prolonged period.

Breathing

Many are unaware of this critical step that can be a game-changer during a survival scenario or a hunting expedition. You may not know it, but your breathing can move you enough to throw you off the target.

To achieve better breathing techniques while firing a gun rifle, you can follow these steps, which will help to improve your breathing technique:

• When you are ready to shoot, inhale deeply and exhale about half of it.
• Hold onto your breath as you put pressure on the trigger.
• A critical aspect you should note at this juncture is that you should not hold your breath for longer. Your heart starts beating faster with a long-held breath, leading to an increased pulse. The resultant action leads to the movement of your firearm. If you sense this, you should take another breath and start over.
• Excitement also increases the difficulty in breathing control. So you have to try to keep yourself calm and follow the appropriate procedure.

Hold On

Once you have mastered the art of aiming and controlling your breathing, you need to step up for the next challenge. This step is a challenge because it takes time to learn how to hold the firearm steady.

You should avoid attempting to eliminate the movements and concentrate on the following steps instead:

• You can start by focussing on any unwanted movement of the target.
• After that, you should work to minimize the area of that movement.

Trigger Control

Any jerk in the trigger or abruptly clenching it can lead to a gun movement. It leads to missing the target. You can follow these steps to avoid such motions:

• You should hold the wrist of the stock firmly.
• You can position your fingertips on the trigger, between the fingertip and the first joint.
• You can put a slow and steady pressure on the trigger till the gun fires. Never pull the trigger with your finger, always squeeze it. 

Follow Through

Once the bullet is out, you should ensure to continue the squeeze to avoid any unwanted jerks. The follow-through will help keep the gun stable, as the bullet is out of the barrel, and help you deal with the recoil.

Therefore, as you can see, choosing to pursue these steps can help you master the rifle firing techniques during a need. However, it is crucial not to panic and be alert to achieve the best results.

Suppressors, also known as silencers, are accessories that you add to the end of your pistol’s barrel, as the name implies, to cut down on the noise that they make.

There’s a little more to the whole story than simply screwing on a suppressor, and before making the somewhat heavy investment of time, money, and paperwork to buying one, it’s worth thinking about the pros and cons of adding a silencer to your pistol.

Overall, we’re big fans of suppressors for a variety of reasons, but we do understand that they also come with some downsides as well, which are worth weighing out.

Pros of Suppressors

Of course, the biggest pro to owning and using a suppressor is the reduction of sound that comes from adding a suppressor to your pistol. While very few will end up as quiet as the movies, good suppressors, combined with subsonic ammunition can often yield results that are not far from what you’d expect from your favorite movies and games.

This is the big reason people buy suppressors, and we see why: shooting a suppressed handgun is a shooting experience that few people get to have, and we recommend everyone to try it if they get the chance.

Suppressors work by giving the expanding gasses that come out of the end of a barrel when a round is fired extra space and time to cool down. The primary effect of this is the reduction in noise that we just covered, but there’s an additional benefit as well.

Suppressors also reduce and often eliminate, any muzzle flash that comes out of the end of your pistol’s barrel. This is especially handy for people who want to use their pistol for home defense, as the flash from a round can be blinding at night, making it hard to keep on target.

With the sound suppression offered by a silencer comes a big health benefit: it’s easier on your ears. Even with adequate hearing protection, firing unsuppressed firearms can lead to both short and long term hearing damage, which is a major concern for everyone but especially for folks who do a lot of shooting.

Combined with a good set of earmuffs and some earplugs, a suppressed pistol has a lot less chance of damaging your hearing, which we think is yet another great reason to not only buy suppressors but also make them more affordable and accessible through things like the proposed Hearing Protection Act.

Last, but certainly not least in our book: it’s extremely fun to shoot a suppressed pistol. In our experience, we have yet to find a single human being who was not smiling from ear to ear the first time they fired a handgun that’s been suppressed.

This goes double for cases when we can get our hands on good subsonic ammunition as well. Even though, yes, firearms are dangerous and should always be taken seriously, it’s important to remember that many of us got into, and remain in, the hobby of shooting because it’s fun.

Cons of Suppressors 

The first, and biggest, con of suppressors are their expense. On the cheap end, a suppressor will run you several hundred dollars. From there, you’ll have to fill out Form 4 with the ATF, which means another $200 in taxes, as well as waiting sometimes up to a year to get the suppressor in your hands.

This is the part that keeps some people from getting into suppressors in the first place, which we think is a shame and we hope gets better through some legislative action sometime in the next few years.

As far performance goes, the added weight on the end of the barrel makes it harder for some people to keep their shots on target when using a suppressor. For most people, this means shooting low, but you’ll learn to adapt over time.

It can be a little more tiring to shoot with a suppressor since the weight is further from your hand, and this is something to consider for long range sessions.

Additionally, your standard height iron sights might be too low to see over the suppressor: in one of those cases, you’ll have to either get higher iron sights or, more commonly these days, get a red dot sight that sits above the height of the body of the suppressor.

Some designs of suppressor vent much of the gas from firing backward at the shooter. This makes them effective in terms of sound and flash suppression but prevents an issue of its own: those relatively hot gasses and some unburnt powder is likely to hit you right in the face.

The first time you shoot a suppressed handgun, we recommend wearing safety glasses as well as a balaclava or something similar to cover your face to prevent the unpleasant sensation of hot gasses to the face.

Shooting with a suppressor also usually means that there’s more backpressure, and some of the unburnt powder and other residues usually make their way into the action of the gun one way or another. When you shoot suppressed, you’ll likely notice that there’s about double the usual amount of carbon buildup and fouling in the gun.

Generally, this isn’t a big deal, but we do recommend cleaning after each shooting session with a suppressor just to keep any filth-induced malfunctions from occurring. It’s a bit of a pain, but one well worth it in our view.

There are some downsides to owning a suppressor. They’re expensive, can make it harder to shoot well, and can mean a lot more time cleaning your handgun. With that said, they’re good tools that make it safer to shoot, reduce the noise and flash you’re likely to get out of your muzzle, and, above all, are a lot of fun.

In our view, a suppressor can be more than worth it, and we’d like to add a few more to our personal collection. While they may not be for everyone, we certainly like adding suppressor to our pistols when we can.