Wednesday, March 12, 2008

All that tacticool crap? What tacticool crap?

I was reading an article on the Sabre Defence Ayoob rifle this afternoon during lunch, and came to a bit of a conclusion: most people don't really know what they're talking about. In this instance, there was a reference to "tacticool gadjets hung on the rail", which is a common complaint in articles, blogs and on some forums where people are known for not knowing what they're talking about. The question that's never answered is "what crap"?

The comment that irked me was along the lines of "I laugh when I see a rail covered in all this tacticool crap". Nobody ever mentions specifically what they're talking about, and I suspect they're talking about stuff shown in pics from the Sandbox. Well, here's a revelation for ya: just because you don't need a couple tac lights and a PEQ-2, doesn't mean that the user doesn't. Here's another revelation: lights fail. If you're gonna have to go clear some mud hut with no windows and your light fails, what are ya gonna do? There's no time out; you still have to go. Does it make sense yet? Two is one, one is none. That may not apply on a square range with timed breaks to change targets, but it sure as hell does in a war zone.

The only thing I can maybe call "crap" are bipods on carbines, but while I don't see their usefullness, there are apparently missions for them besides looking cool...which is good, because they don't look cool. Beyond that, what "crap" are you talking about? The rail mounted sling swivel? The previously mentioned tactical lights? A PEQ box? Optics of several varieties with specific jobs? BUIS? A vert grip because rail space is covered by the tac light and its backup? None of that is lacking a useful purpose. So what is it you're talking about? Or is it just that you don't know what its for, so you're calling it stupid? Yeah, that's what I thought.

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