Does this idea hold water?

[Reagans Rascals]

I was observing the different situations the many of you use your weapons, from CQB to mid range, long range and all in between. So recently I had an idea about a weapon addition that may be as beneficial as swapping uppers from a 10.5" entry weapon to say an 18" for long range, without needing to carry an additional upper or utilizing a longer weapon initially such as a 14.5" to somewhat make up the gap.

Perhaps if there was a section of barrel that could be attached to the end of the 10.5" to bring it up to 18" or even 20", essentially just an additional section of rifled barrel, as I have dubbed the "Range Extender," that could be screwed on or quick attached within seconds to extend the rifle to long range capabilities, and while not in use, the "Range Extender" would just be slid into and stored securely and conveniently in the lower portion of the handrail, under the barrel. Not adding much more than a suppressor in the realm of weight.

Carrying an entry weapon such as a MK18, after clearing a structure you have to pursue a target outside that takes up a fortified position at distances beyond 500-600 meters. Instead of having to lug around another upper or chancing a shot the weapon wasn't designed for, you simply pull out the "range extender," flip down a 3x magnifier or flip the switch on your SpecterDR and you're ready to rock and roll in seconds... or the situation in reverse, long to short.. (pretending for this hypothetical the attachment is no problem)

I understand there are issues with mounting the rifled "Range Extender" such as muzzle devices, getting the rifling to match up exactly and so on, however these issues can be resolved down the road, so just for now, what do you think of the initial idea?

any constructive thoughts or suggestions?

[Jaysop]

Theoretically wouldn't the gas system have to be brought into consideration?
Thats an interesting concept.
It sounds like a simpler solution to what the LMT MRP offers.

[Casull]

Hmmm, it would maybe require maybe a buffer and the use of a gas buster... That's what I think at least. Buuut.. I dunno. Sounds like a concept that's partly reasonable. Could be bad too.

[An Undocumented Worker]

The biggest problem I can think of (assuming all other functional issues were sorted, however unlikely that may be) is that your point of impact would shift, most likely very significantly. I doubt this shift would be accurately repeatable. Just that alone would render such an idea mostly useless for saving time because you would have to rezero, where as with another upper you could have an optic already mounted to the other upper and zero'd for it.


At that point a bullpup weapon platform seems like a better solution anyhow.

[BCmJUnKie]

And what do yo plan do do about POI shift?

How many different optics would you carry?

Wouldnt it be the same as carrying different barrels?

I dont see the point of carrying all the extra gear to swap for an extra 2 inches of barrel.

Why couldnt you make the same shot with a 16" as an 18"?

[jonconsiglio]

With all the other options available, it seems this would be available as well if it worked. I'm sure someone along the way has given this a try.

[jsummers]

Switching uppers sounds way faster and easier to me. Of course the simpler solution would be to have just one barrel that does it all.

[Casull]

I think the priority considered in this idea is lightening the load of the warfighter as well as not taking up space.

The optics could just be notched to fit the POI change. An example being that people who have many rifles and few optics mark down the zero of each rifle with their optic so they can generally swap.

Sure, it's not super accurate, but these aren't snipers.

I'm just throwing my own to cents in. I also personally think that the POI shift is a major constraint to the idea and personally would carry the separate uppers with their own optics zeroed to perfection.

[Suwannee Tim]

There are a couple of serious practical problems. First the alignment would have to be near perfect to keep from seriously affecting accuracy. Second the attachment would have to be very rigid for the same reason. You might say, the devil is in the details. Nearly a century ago General Hatcher documented experiments where very slight imperfections were made at various points of the barrel. The muzzle was by far the most sensitive location for impact on accuracy. Even small imperfections will cause a substantial degradation in accuracy.

[RGoose]

I think what you are essentially after is a bull pup; long barrel but short overall length. Some designs are better than others and a lot of people have mixed feelings on the subject. Personally I've fired all of 30 rounds through one so my experience with them is virtually nil. A few of our allies have adopted them and there are a wide variety available stateside.