The General Purpose Combat Rifle

 
Today we see a big emphasis on close quarters battle.  Truly, it is what much of the fighting around the world, by US forces as well as other forces, is all about.  I said much, but not all.  There is a good bit of application in an area where CQB (close quarters battle) leaves off and long before the Sniper Application begins. A rifle chosen to cover this area should be capable of both close quarters battle (although not specifically designed for that) and sniping (although not specifically designed for that either).  Such a rifle could be called a General Purpose Combat Rifle and must be, well, general purpose. It should do all things reasonably well.

Except for the “combat” part, this is the same notion that led to Cooper’s Scout Rifle.  The Scout Rifle, however a sacred cow it may be, was never meant for fighting specifically but for hunting. Few Scout shooters ever kept up with even an adequate semi auto shooter. Specially if the shooting test was not specifically set up to favor the Scout. So what do we need for a GPCR?

1). It must be in a military caliber capable of reaching out to distant targets to about 750 yards.  The cartridge must be capable of penetrating brush and light cover, and possess wind resistance. The caliber must be easily found everywhere.  That means that it should be available in military surplus form, and at common retail outlets. 

The concept needs will specifically exclude any assault rifle cartridges such as the 5.45x39, 7.62x39 and the 5.56x45.  Sure…I know the DMR/SPR in 5.56 can achieve some fantastic accuracy but that is not the point.  It needs to do something out there once it hits and the 5.56 is simply not capable of achieving what we need. Moreover, while the 6.5 Grendel, and the 6.8 SPS sound like fantastic calibers and could probably do well in this role, they are simply not available at the level that we need.

The suitable calibers that fit our needs are the 7.62x51, the 7.62x54R, and maybe the 30-06 (although finding a rifle suitable for our mission will be difficult as you will see).

2). The rifle itself should be usable both at 500 yards and at 50 yards.  Suitability for borderline sniping as well as house to house MOUT is essential. That will require a robust system that has seen military service.  It will also require a detachable high capacity magazine to be capable in the close quarters envelope.

This requirement immediately excludes bolt actions, or sporting style semi autos such as are found from Remington, and other built-for-civilian-hunters rifles.

They may be great for hunting, but are simply not strong enough, reliable enough, nor capable of sustained fire as required for close in fighting.

What is available today?  Options include:

The FAL. A short Congo-style rifle with a folding stock and a 17-18" barrel would be perfect.  You can get high dollar FALs from DS Arms, or Jim Fuller. And you can get lower grade FALs from Century and other makers.

Another very good option is the M1A. The M1A SOCOM, or any M1A style rifle with a shortened barrel will work great as long as they are not too Americanized with bells & whistles, but simply a basic rifle. One necessary addition here would be a pistol grip stock.

A G3 clone, or CETME, or HK-91 suitably modified would do as well. The big issue here will be triggers but there are many sources that can fix an overly heavy trigger on these weapons as on the FALs.

AR-10 style rifles will be great here as well as long as it has been built to be reliable and not just accurate. Many of the rifles I have seen in this weapons family seem more focused toward sniping and not so much to general purpose.

Although the magazines are an issue and less desirable at only ten rounds, the PSL can be made into this....see the AK54. Same can be said about the Saiga 308.  That rifle suitably arranged, and in the hands of a capable shooter, can hit at 1000 yards. The problem with the Saiga is a lack of military-grade magazines.

3). Weight:  At the warriortalk forum the issue of weight was brought up. While weight should be A consideration, it cannot be the only consideration.  Any of the military rifles we have discussed will weigh in at about ten pounds if the heavy bull barrels and uber-adjustable stocks are left off the weapon.  The scout people made a big deal out of what a rifle weighs, but I think we must not be driven by weight alone. 

If the man cannot carry a ten pound rifle in the field then rather than do with a substandard weapon that is lighter, the better solution is to strengthen the man. I challenge the entire premise of weight. If a man cannot carry a proper combat rifle in the field then this is may not be the discipline for him. We will not dilute the concept because the physically undeveloped can't hang.

4). Optics: These rifles need some sort of Variable Power Optic. Part of the duties envisioned for this platform is use in close range combat out to 100 yards.  Another part includes hitting the mid ranges between 100 yards and 300 yards.  The final part, and where scoping has the most effects, are hitting targets beyond 300 yards.  The goal is out to 500 yards…and maybe farther out.

Red dot sights so popular in CQB are not adequate for this mission, nor are the super powerful dedicated sniper optics.  On my rejuvenated FAL I added a Burris 3-9 as I intend it for the Guerrilla Sniper role and expect that 200-600 should be no issue for it. On the GPCR I think a more "flexible" optic would be better. An ACOG would be fine, as would a Leupold Mark 4 1.5x5.

Scout scopes and extended eye relief scopes are fine for CQB but suck for everything else. The reason they are so popular on Garands and M1As is that scoping such a rifle that way is technically easier but you will not see any rifles set up for the mid to long range equipped with scout scopes.

 
In the end what we end up with is a concept of a rifle that will do everything well, albeit not as well as weapons specifically designed for the task.  The rifle will perform well inside a house, although not as well as a purpose-designed submachinegun.  It will also perform at typical CQB ranges, although maybe not as well as an assault rifle.  And it will reach out there and smack the crap out of an adversary across the canyon, although not as well as a sniper-grade bolt action rifle. The pessimist might say the rifle does nothing well, but I would say this rifle concept will do everything good enough.  And that concept has been proven time and time again throughout history to be more than sufficient.

READ PART II OF THIS ARTICLE SERIES

Comments

[Peter J. Kolovos]

It seems as if we're talking about the Designated Marksman's rifle/role. With the 69 grain ammo and a decent scope the AR-15 chambered in 5.56 is still up to the job. Every summer they shoot this weapon platform and 5.56 round out to 1,000 yards at Camp Perry quite effectively. Let's quit bashing the AR-platform and the 5.56 round and embrace it. It's here to stay for quite a long time to come. Quit looking for a magic rifle/bullet combo and learn to utilize an All American weapon system. In the hand's of a person who knows how to shoot at distance it will do the job. The key is to learn how to shoot at distance. The only way to do that, is to do that! Screw all those Euro-trash rifles. I'm sick of hearing about them. I'd take the M1-Garand over all of them.

[DOUG HASH]

"PERFECT IS THE ENEMY OF GOOD ENOUGH!"

[steve chavez]

Great info, while I have a full legnth FAL, I can see where the congo para would be more desirable for the role listed. Wont be getting one of those any time soon so I will have to make do with my AKs and FAL.

[Jim Mannion]

I like the LWRC REPR medium weight 20" barrel with a 4X16v 30mm tube 56mm objective. Mount is a LaRue QD 20 slope. BUIS are Troy flip up. 308/7.63 cal rifle. What is the cost and how available is the FAL?

[John Glassy]

I own Col. Jeff Cooper's third try at a Scout Rifle, sold to me by "Sensei" Ric Wykoff, one of the old school "Cooper's" Gunsite cadre back in the day. A 1903A3, with 18" barrel, good peeps, a Ruger No. 1 quarter rib affixed forward of the action, with a 2x6 Bushnell Trophy pistol scope mounted on it. While the scope is a mite higher than I'd like, it's servicable. While it's a bolt action, and no semi-auto spitter of empties, I can use pretty fast and serviceable stripper clips for it. That being said, and with .30-06 being no slouch in the knock-down or accuracy department, I can appreciate that it might not be an ideal candidate for the GPCR. My buddy, whom I'll call "The Wop", indeed has a SOCOM 16", which is plenty accurate to the ranges listed above, will take a good LOW mounted scope, and with a Schuster gas plug to adjust his barrel harmonics/accuracy, that amazing stubby little bench legged monstrosity is probably a better choice especially in the quick reloading department. Sigh, his pops in 20 rounds to my 5, and at the ranges involved, "a hit's a hit" in either caliber. Makes me look long and hard at that Springfield, sentimentality or not, and think.....might I not be better off with a SOCOM also? Cheers on the article, hope lots of people put in their two cents' worth and we see where this takes us. Who knows....maybe the Tanker Garand will make a comeback.....

[uncle Dave]

I'll agree if we are talking about real under 40,-heathly- trained government issued soliders. Now when super trooper twists thier ankle on the way out of the 'copter things get interesting for them. Some of us civilans have our share of health issues. The whole "cowboy up" thing after too many rodeos, is a lot easier said than done. ;)

[Danny]

So top three? Any M1A with a shortened barrel (less than 20?), FAL, and AK54.

[Martin Mancuso]

This is the basic concept of the battle rifle. All NATO Cold War soldiers were expected to engage targets out to 500 meters with a rack grade rifle with issue ammo.
Any rifle issued to NATO troops during this period in .30 cal. should fill this role nicely.
A big bonus of many of these rifles is the large surplus of quality rifle magazines available.
I've alway felt that even though the military had abandoned the idea in favor of the smaller calibers, the .30 cal still held value to the armed American.
The ability to punch hard cover and engage at extended distances gave the small group or individual an advantage they would greatly need against superior numbers.

Nice to see some one re-addressing the concept.
Keep up the good work Gabe.

[John Glatthar]

All the rifles displayed are scoped. A scoped rifle with any magnification above 2.0x is just about useless for CQB, really.

I am sure you will get plenty of argument in favor of the 5.56. I am staying out of that argument, as I tend to agree with you in the long distance/impact debate.

Glad you mentioned the Saiga 308. Properly equipped, with the Tapco Intafuse system,it makes for a very good GPCR package. Even with its basic iron sights, I can hit a 12" steel plate at 400 yards. Beyond that, I really do need a scope. That's just me, an old Marine.

I would avoid like the plague any Frankenstein-ish parts monster CETMEs. Buy a complete rifle, unless you really know what you are doing.

M1As are considered by many to be a rifleman's rifle. I owned one, and was not impressed with its accuracy, so I sold it. Dependable, durable, reliable, yes. Accurate, no. I'd buy a Scout or SOCOM, if they were more affordable and had better accuracy.
When gun magazines (Gun Tests, etc) do tests on these, they often print the accuracy specs based on a 50 YARD target. The 100 yard accuracy was too embarssring, maybe??

Jeff Cooper's advocates will weigh in on the Scout rifle, I am sure. I LOVE these type of rifles, personally, but you really pointed out quite well their limitations. I would opt for my Saiga 308 over my Sako 308 Scout rifle without for a GPCR, no question.

Great topic and thought provoking article. Thanks.

[MarkFu]

You said,

"If the man cannot carry a ten pound rifle in the field then rather than do with a substandard weapon that is lighter, the better solution is to strengthen the man."

So true and should be obvious, yet I think the idea of physically stepping up to the requirements of the weapon is often neglected in the pursuit of making it lighter. And that is only one of many reason for a man to strengthen himself.