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Is Your Rifle Setup Properly? (Archive)

Is Your Rifle Setup Properly? (Archive)

Posted by Purposeful Armament on May 7th 2025

Is your rifle set up properly?

a soldier holding a gun while standing next to a car

Reliability

Does it work under rough conditions?

Reliability is one of those topics most people say "duh" about, yes we all know the gun should go bang, but the real question is will it go bang EVERY time you need it it to?

There’s many things that require an extensive testing process to ensure you’ve built your rifle right.

Things like ammo, foreign debris, and weather conditions are key variables to make sure your rifle works well in. How so?

Ammo

We don’t want to go into the weeds about disasters and such but the common way of thinking for SHTF is that you won’t be able to pick and choose the ammo you use so your rifle better use all types well, whether you choose to adopt that mindset of thinking is up to you but it definitely requires critical thinking and planning, to ensure you have enough ammo for your rifle to put yourself in a bind.

Foreign Debris

It’s very easy to understand why a clean gun will keep on working, because that’s how it was designed to be used.

But you won’t be able to keep it clean ALL the time. during your testing, subject your rifle to some testing and see what its limits are.

You may even find there are some weak points and you need to change them.

Weather

This problem is most likely the least of your concern, however it still can cause some unexpected issues. GO TRAIN IN THE COLD!

Setup

Is the rifle configured in a way to fulfill your task?

Setup is an odd one, it’s very subjective. Some people have preferences that deviate from the norm, but as long as it works for them effectively, then so be it.

What do we mean?

For example, let’s say your General Purpose Rifle is a Mosin-Nagant. This choice is for sure a weird one. However, due to someone’s circumstance, it may be all they can afford; there are some caveats, though.

There are still ways to make this Ancient rifle somewhat effective, provided the user is okay with iron sights. In all honesty, finding a way to mount a light to it would make this a better functioning GPR. Is it the best? No. But it functions well for the user.

What is the best case rifle? That’s a topic for another newsletter. All that can be boiled down here is that your rifle have ALL the pieces you need to make it affective. Optic and light being the big ones that are nearly synonymous across all builds.

Capability

Are the parts you have delivering the best performance?

Comparison is the killer of happiness, except when the parts you have are genuinely garbage, then it’s a wake-up call.

If my phone flashlight is brighter than your WMLit’s a problem. If your optic solution moves while shooting, It’s a problem.

If you can’t use your rifle effectively 0-300 Yds, this is a problem.

We are not advocating that you go into debt buying the latest/Greatest just to have the best rifle possible.

Simply ensure each piece of your firearm is well thought out and works well. Look at reviews before purchasing. See what common performance looks like and take the proper steps to have a good GPR.