Sometimes a POI shift is simply due to a parts change, usually toward the front of a rifle. Changing muzzle devices always requires a re-zero, but even removing and reinstalling the same flash hider or brake can shift POI. Changing a semi-automatic’s gas block or a barrel nut to support a different handguard will also affect shot placement on target. Any alteration of things that touch a barrel, especially in terms of their position, weight or pressure, will alter point-of-impact. So long as the parts change is intentional and everything is mounted and torqued securely, a simple re-zero is all that is required to deal with this shift.
Items that attach to rifle fore-ends are the root cause for most problems I see. The typical offenders are the screw ends for M-Lok, KeyMod and backer-plate accessories. At least one company includes screws that are about twice as long as needed to secure its M-Lok accessories. Thus, it is very easy to wind up impinging on a barrel or gas block, resulting in POI shifts and accuracy-related problems. The heavy-barrel contours typical of chamber areas increase the chances of this problem as you move rearward along a handguard.
But I was right then and this author is right now. I didn’t make it up four years ago, and this author isn’t making it up now. Machine harmonics matters.
I would add that not only can you make changes to your rifle that affect the POI, you can make them in a way that yields reduced accuracy even if you re-zero the gun (due to additional harmonics introduced by the component, making for an unstable system). So this would mean larger groups.
I love floated barrels, and I don’t attach anything to them. And as all hunters know, if you have a wood stock and it gets wet during a rain, if the wood swells and you can’t take that piece of paper and slide between the stock and barrel (you know what I’m talking about), your zero is off.
I’m sure this will be a great series and I look forward to the next installments. And don’t be fooled – when the communists go after semiautomatic weapons, they’ll come after lever action rifles too. The communists in New Zealand did, right before they began forced vaccinations and quarantine camps of their population.
I love Aimpoints and most other red-dot (non-magnifying) optics, because they’re fast, relatively compact, and with generous eye-relief, I don’t have glass in my face! Yet, SROs tell me that for their job they need more downrange detail than an Aimpoint will provide, even at ranges under 100m.
With Aimpoints (and most other red-dots), you can get a “swing-out magnifier,” but it is bulky, precarious, and gets in the way.
As a practical matter, when shooting in a congested environment without magnification, past 100m I can’t tell what I’m shooting at. In many cases, I can’t adequately identify a threat past 75m.
So, I equipped my wonderful IO (International Ordinance) M4 with a 1×4 Steiner optic (P4Xi) and their excellent low-profile mounting system.
From exchanging email with John he indicates to me that “The Steiner P4Xi that I’m using features an illuminated red dot (with variable intensity) at the center, which can be used when it is hard to make-out the traditional reticle.”
So he’s claiming that the scope he’s using gives him the shorter range red dot performance, along with the LPVO performance for longer distances if he chooses.
A very nice idea. I don’t happen to do well with flip-to-side magnifiers. Of course, this scope isn’t cheap. You may have to break the piggy bank open for it.
Combat narratives from veterans who engaged Viet Cong or North Vietnamese Army units at close range during the war are filled with stories of pistols used effectively. Handguns became a necessary fall-back option when rifles or machine guns jammed or ran out of ammunition. In such desperate engagements, the stopping power of the .45 ACP round was particularly praised as a rapid and reliable solution.
Throughout the long war in Vietnam, a number of soldiers and Marines carried civilian-made sidearms. This was largely in the early years of the war, when regulations regarding personal defense weapons were more relaxed. These weapons were either brought from home or sent to Vietnam by anxious family and friends.
[ … ]
Just like in World War I, World War II and the Korean War, there were never enough M1911 pistols to meet the demand. American troops believed in, trusted and faithfully carried it on their hip or shoulder whenever and wherever they went into combat.
My love for the firearm puts me in good company. Regardless of your commitment to high capacity magazines, the 1911 still lives, and today earns more respect and demands more money than plastic pistols.
It shoots a man-killer round that can be converted with +P ammunition to be large-animal killers with ball ammo. It’s slim, sleek design makes it easy to acquire and reacquire sight picture and target, its single stack design makes it easy to grip and handle (especially for someone affected with RA like me), and its reliable operation engenders trust and confidence.
While change marks the nature of the plastic pistol market, the 1911 has changed very little over the century – because perfection doesn’t need change.
So do you want to learn something about history? History is where it’s at. It tells you how we got where we are, why thing are the way they are, who is who, and how things got made and done.
This is a very well-produced and well-researched video documentary on the history of FN. With it, you’ll learn how American industry (stupidly) shunned John Moses Browning and how he got connected with FN.
John Moses Browning and Eugene Stoner (we speak of these two men in reverent, hushed tones at The Captain’s Journal) are the premier firearms designers in American history. You owe it to yourself to understand why things happened the way they did with Mr. Browning and FN. By the way, FN-America is right down the road from me in Columbia, S.C., producing quality firearms to this very day. I have one.
I hate to do this, and I don’t want to be charged with starting yet another caliber war only to be told to stop in the comments. Really, I’m not warring on anything – I’m just observing. You can make your observations without insulting the author of the post or the other commenters.
First up there is this incident.
Then there is this incident.
So count them. Eleven rounds for the first incident to stop the threat. Seven rounds in the second incident to stop the threat.
The upshot is that if you carry a 9mm pistol, your magazine can hold a lot of more rounds than, say, a magazine full of .45 ACP, due to the cartridge size.
But the downside is that you’re more likely to need them. I usually carry .45 ACP. I think that’s probably enough. In a circumstance like this one, if there was a good way to conceal it (say, a 4″ barrel), I’d almost rather have a .44 magnum wheel gun.
Like I said, I’m not trying to start another caliber war. But I didn’t make up the events in the videos.
5 years, 3 months ago
