Customization
Sights are used to aim the weapon at a target. The choice of sight affects how comfortable and effective aiming is at different ranges for each individual shooter. Sights also affect visibility, sight height, and the weapon’s overall ergonomics.
Types of Sights
Sights are divided into the following types:
Iron sights. A rear sight and front sight that the shooter aligns with the target. Iron sights require no power and add almost no bulk to the weapon, but require the shooter to control the alignment of both the rear and front sights at the same time.
Iron sights are further divided into open and diopter (aperture, ring) sights. With an open sight, the shooter aligns the front sight with the notch in the rear sight. With a diopter sight, the rear sight is made as an aperture or ring.
Red dot and holographic sights use an illuminated aiming reticle. The shooter only needs to place the reticle on the target. This makes aiming faster, especially when rapidly transitioning between targets, moving, or firing from awkward positions. Red dot and holographic sights are also the only practical option for use with night vision.
Their limitations include sensitivity to certain electronic warfare effects. In addition, with a high-mounted optic, the difference between the line of sight and the bore axis becomes more noticeable, especially at close range.
Optical sights provide magnification and make distant targets easier to see.
Prismatic sights and LPVOs (low-power variable optics) are well suited to medium-range engagements and situations involving multiple targets. High-magnification optics are useful when identifying and engaging individual targets at long range is important. Magnification, however, narrows the field of view, slows target acquisition, and requires a more stable shooting position.
Combined sights use several sighting systems on the same weapon: for example, an optic with backup iron sights, a red dot mounted on top of an optic, or an offset red dot mounted at an angle. Weapons equipped with combined sighting systems become much more versatile, but gain additional weight, bulk, handling complexity, and differences in sight height between the individual sights. If such a setup is assembled without a clear purpose, the weapon becomes less convenient to use and the benefit in versatility becomes questionable.
Sight Mounting Positions
The mounting position of most sights is limited by their design. Optical sights, prism sights, and some iron sights are designed to sit at a specific distance from the shooter’s eye, so they cannot be moved freely along the weapon without compromising the sight picture.
Red dot and holographic sights, in turn, do not require a fixed eye relief and can be mounted either closer to the shooter’s eye or farther forward, for example on the handguard. The preferred position depends on visibility, available space on the rail or mount, and the shooter’s personal preference.
Muzzle device
Muzzle devices are mounted at the muzzle end of the barrel and alter the direction and velocity of propellant gases after the bullet exits. They affect recoil, muzzle rise, muzzle flash and report, overheating, weapon dimensions, and overall ergonomics.
Muzzle devices are divided into the following types:
Muzzle brakes and compensators. These devices redirect part of the propellant gases to reduce recoil and muzzle rise. Different designs affect recoil differently: muzzle brakes are more effective at reducing rearward movement, while compensators are better at controlling muzzle rise.
Flash hiders reduce the visible muzzle flash, making gunfire less noticeable, especially at night and in dark interiors.
Open-prong flash hiders provide a small reduction in flash and slightly reduce recoil. Linear compensators, in turn, moderately suppress flash and sparks, but significantly increase weapon recoil.
Closed-type muzzle devices enclose the escaping propellant gases and reduce the weapon’s report, muzzle flash, and some of its recoil. Devices without gas venting reduce sound more effectively and almost completely suppress muzzle flash. They may also slightly increase bullet velocity and practical accuracy, but cause the barrel to overheat faster. Flow-through devices reduce sound and flash less effectively, but moderately reduce recoil and have a milder effect on overheating.
Suppressors reduce the sound and muzzle flash of a shot as well. When firing supersonic ammunition, however, their effectiveness is limited by the sonic crack produced by the bullet itself as it travels faster than the speed of sound. Suppressors are most effective when used with weapons and ammunition specifically designed for subsonic fire.
Under-barrel device
Under-barrel devices are divided into the following types:
Foregrips change the way the weapon is held and can make handling more comfortable for a particular shooter. Their usefulness largely depends on the shooter’s personal preferences and habits rather than on the grip itself.
Underbarrel grenade launchers allow the trooper to launch grenades faster and farther than by hand while keeping the weapon ready. The added weight can make recoil feel softer when firing, but it also reduces overall ergonomics and makes the weapon less comfortable to hold for extended periods or during active assault actions.
Bipods allow the weapon to be braced securely against a suitable surface for more stable fire. They may be integrated into the weapon or mounted separately on machine guns, designated marksman rifles, and sniper rifles.
Installing an underbarrel grenade launcher or bipod prevents the use of a tactical module.
Tactical device
Тактические блоки — это специальные устройства, которые добавляют специфические функции оружию и расширяют возможности стрелка при работе в определённых условиях.
Tactical devices are divided into the following types:
Laser aiming modules project a visible beam that helps indicate the direction of the weapon’s barrel without aiming through the sights. This can be useful for quickly bringing the weapon onto a target at close range. However, the beam may also be visible to the enemy.
Flashlights help illuminate dark interiors, nighttime environments, and other low-light conditions. They make it easier to identify the surroundings, but also reveal the shooter’s position and the approximate direction of the weapon. A bright flashlight can also impair an opponent’s vision, especially at close range.
Combined tactical modules integrate a laser aiming module and a flashlight into a single device.
Strobe lights produce rapid, intermittent flashes and are used to impair and disorient opponents. At the same time, a strobe also reveals the shooter’s position and may interfere with the shooter and nearby allies.
Rangefinders help determine the exact distance to a target.
Magazine
The magazine determines how many rounds can be fired before reloading. The greater the magazine capacity, the less often the weapon needs to be reloaded, but the more the magazine affects the weapon’s weight and handling.
Standard magazines generally offer the best balance between capacity and ergonomics. They protrude less beyond the weapon’s profile and interfere less when firing from the prone position. Extended magazines increase ammunition capacity, but also add weight to both the weapon and the trooper’s overall loadout.
Technical compatibility with higher- or lower-capacity magazines does not necessarily mean that such a configuration is practical. Drum magazines are generally better suited to machine guns. Low-capacity magazines are more appropriate, for example, for designated marksman and sniper rifles. Assault rifles remain the most versatile with medium-capacity magazines.
Ammunition
Types of Ammunition
Standard ball ammunition is the primary type of ammunition used in small arms.
Tracer ammunition produces a visible trace as the bullet travels through the air. This helps with correcting fire at distant targets or monitoring the remaining ammunition when a magazine is loaded in a specific pattern. Tracer rounds can reveal the shooter’s position.
Magazine Loading
A magazine can be loaded with a single type of ammunition or with a mixed load.
With a mixed load, tracer rounds can be inserted at regular intervals — for example, every fifth, tenth, or fifteenth round. This allows the shooter to periodically see the direction of fire and make corrections without making every shot revealing.
Another option is to load several tracer rounds near the end of the magazine. The final tracers warn the shooter that the magazine is nearly empty. Sometimes a tracer is loaded as the fifth round from the bottom so the warning appears in advance, leaving several rounds before a reload is required. This method is useful for monitoring ammunition consumption, but it also carries the risk of revealing the shooter’s position.
Furniture
Furniture includes weapon components that do not affect its performance characteristics, but may influence compatibility with other modules, appearance, and configuration options.
Types of Furniture
Handguards. Handguards do not affect weapon characteristics by themselves, but serve as a gripping surface and, depending on the design, may provide additional mounting points for a red dot sight, tactical module, or underbarrel attachment.
Upper receivers, dust covers, and slides also do not affect weapon characteristics, but some variants allow sights to be mounted directly on the component.
Pistol grips depend on the shooter’s grip and personal preference, but do not affect weapon characteristics.
Stocks depend on the shooter’s personal preference regarding shouldering and handling comfort, but do not affect weapon characteristics by themselves.
Camouflage
Camouflage paint helps reduce the weapon’s visibility by lowering its contrast against the shooter’s equipment and the surrounding environment. It can also reduce glare from metallic and smooth weapon surfaces.
A well-designed build is shaped around its intended purpose. An experienced shooter knows the capabilities of the weapons in their arsenal and can adapt them to the task by selecting the right functional modules, appropriate furniture, and suitable camouflage.
You can save up to 10 builds for the same weapon.
