A Friendly Reminder

[M.Lafontaine]

I think most of the confusion of people who prefer the Rifle Combat Optic (RCO) over the MachineGun Optics (MGO) comes from understanding how to use the elevation lines on the scope itself. Let's take a moment and remind ourselves of the purpose of the Automatic Rifleman "To suppress the enemy and provide support by fire" he isn't a marksman or anyone who needs precisions. A machinegunner effectively "aims" with his bullets. Hence why they are given mixed belts of Tracer rounds and regular rounds. So that in his burst of bullets he will "see" where the bullet lands and adjust accordingly. The set-up time is instantaneous since again there is no aiming. See the enemy, shoot at the enemy, adjust, repeat.

Couple of things to remember, the RCO is made for Rifleman engagements, it is optimized so that a rifleman can achieve accuracy with the least amount of delay. Its focal range is 300 to 600 meters. With 300m being the most accurate rage at which a rifleman can engage a target and 600m the effective range.

On the other hand, the MGO is made so the Machine Gunner can suppress the enemies in it's most accurate range of 500m, and be effective up to 800m. Since the Machine Gunner is aiming with his "bullets" and not with precision, he needs clear visibility of the target, thus allowing him to adjust easily and ensure proper suppression.

Here is a comparison.



As you can clearly see, both pictures where taken at the same target, standing at the same location. There is no resizing or cropping done in the image. The MGO offers a much clearer line of view when compared to the RCO, thus improving it's most accurate range at 500m. Additionally, as we see here the MGO has a clear opening at 500m, allowing for full view of the target. When compared with the RCO we almost no longer see the target since it is covered by the elevation marks of the scope.

In conclusion, the MGO is purpose-built for the weapon you are using. Again, it's not about adapting the platform to your needs and preference but adapting YOU to the platform. I can guarantee anyone in this unit that no one here is a special snowflake that deserves the ability to question years upon years of military research. Literally, millions of dollars have been put in figuring out the best possible way of placing lines on a piece of glass so that people would be more effective.