Podcast: Play in new window
In this episode I’m talking to Jeff Gurwitch again. He recently put up a video on his YouTube channel that caught my attention. Why? Well, because on the surface it contradicts my own advice of, “Let the mission dictate the configuration.”
As you get deeper into the interview, you’ll find that Jeff and I aren’t all that far off from one another. In fact, we both advocate for “general purpose” configuration for a rifle. As you make any particular weapon more specialized for a specific situation, you also tend to make it worse for others.
Jeff talks about special operations units who were optimally set up for close quarter battle (CQB) missions in Iraq, but regularly found themselves fighting their way all the way to the target and then all the way back home. In other words, their “optimal” weapons for CQB were only optimal for one third of the fight.
So what does Jeff’s all-around weapon look like? Well, it is akin to the classic recce rifle. Though Jeff’s personal iteration would be a little bit shorter.
We spent a good bit of time talking about optic configurations as well as training scars. Jeff explains why he thinks the new standard is an LPVO optic paired with an offset red dot sight. On that topic, Jeff also explained what he thinks the future of iron sights should be as well as other optical configurations like magnifiers and fixed power sights.
I hope you enjoy this episode, and be sure to check out Jeff’s channel and upcoming training offerings over at Modern Tactical Shooting.
Excellent content Matt! Jeff’s advice was as realistic as it gets from weapon set up to his instinctive training method. Would be a true privilege to train with a warrior like him! I have not seen his videos but will now seek them out – he seems to have a no nonsense approach. It makes sense to keep things simple on a general purpose rifle – a LPVO BDC optic (versus a busy MRAD reticle) and offset red dot or irons. MRAD/MOA scaled reticles have there place (sniper/DM and hunting rifles) but we’re talking reactive combat effectiveness here. Biggest take from interview for me is to vary the range/practice time – long, mid and short range targets and when possible include all distances to drill the transitions. If you can include movement – all the better. Great stuff!