Tailor-Made ARs: Part II
Being ready for unforeseen circumstances is more challenging than it may seem at first glance. A deep dive down the rabbit hole of survival situations could very well lead to staying down said hole for some time. Trying to decide which firearm is the most versatile in a survival situation is no different, and it sparks a lot of interesting debate. Misconceptions and inaccurate information from social media confuses and confounds. With seemingly endless varieties to choose from, making a decision can quickly become overwhelming.
Being a combat veteran, I thought I could avoid most of this confusion when first starting out on my journey to build the ultimate survival AR. Apparently, I was wrong! Roughly six years have passed since I was last in uniform, and I found the pace of advancing firearms technology to be staggering. Concepts that I once considered highspeed-low-drag have gone the way of the dinosaur. Thankfully, there are plenty of resources available to get caught up, and after much sifting through information and playing around with different configurations, I was able to come to a satisfying conclusion. I call this my General Purpose AR (GPAR).
Why I Went With an AR
Considering potential survival scenarios, such as needing to hunt for food, defense, or maintaining security while on the move, a firearm that’s light, fast, and lethal is a must. Running an off-the-shelf AR with a fully loaded 30-round magazine weighs approximately 6 pounds, half the weight of a battery-powered weed wacker. For the average adult, holding an AR at the ready shouldn’t result in fatigue as quickly as a heavier firearm would. This is important for several reasons: keeping your rifle trained on a dangerous intruder will not induce immediate arm quivering, carrying the rifle long distances will not turn into an agonizing death march, and it helps reduce the weight when adding other components.
Having a sidearm is also a lightweight option, but handguns can’t compare to the long-range effectiveness of a carbine, and most standard pistol mags are roughly half the capacity of a standard-capacity AR mag. Being able to accurately hit targets
