SMG VS SBR VS PDW?
So, I have a half dozen watches. I only wear one at a time, but I have them. Why do I do that since they all tell time? Well…sometimes I want to wear a Rolex submariner because of the place I am going. Other times however, I appreciate the barometer and compass and such on the Casio. Can I just wear a Casio all the time since it will do the same thing as the Rolex? Well, not really…you may think they do the same, but they don’t.
Same for footwear. I have shiny expensive dress boots, Merrell training shoes, and Asolo hikers. Can I go do a set of squats with the dress boots? Maybe but the training shoes will be better for that. Same with the notion of wearing my muddy Asolos with a tailored suit.
Similar but different. What to choose? Do I need to extend the analogy to the Swiss Army knife, or tool box, or….
Study your ground and LIKELY – REALISTIC parameters for conflict. Then select the tools that match those issues. And no, there is no one tool that will do everything. I recall a Gunsite Propeller head writing that all anyone ever needed (there is the other N word) was a Scout Rifle and a 1911. Well…actually no. Unless your life involves tramping around the African Savannah, that won’t quite do it.
Warrior Talk coined the term PCC back when we were messing around with UZI. I dropped the politically correct bullshit term soon thereafter and simply called the SMG an SMG…which it is, except no selective fire feature. And I recall a long discussion between wielders of MP5s and the IDF Contingent there about the use of full auto operationally and nobody had ever used nor wanted to use it beyond the press-release of the three round burst. So we stayed with SMG.
A PDW is a short duration high intensity use SMG typified by smaller size, and often, a higher cyclic rate. We developed the Glock PDW in 2016. I stopped focusing on it when Cominolli went out of business and the PDW REQUIRES a safety lever. Few Glockists wanted to add one to their plastic masterpiece and wanted to cobble up this-and-that trigger holsters and such that – to me – looked like trashy workarounds more fit for a Romanian AK.
The Glock PDW gives a slight…very slight…edge for long range precision, but IMHO, the juice is not worth the squeeze, as is evidenced by what we are now doing with all metal framed pistols and optics. In truth my PDW (an NFA weapon) sits in the safe and I even repurposed the optic that sat on it for another platform. Anything I could do with the PDW, I can do with a CZ and a trigger job.
So the real question is one implied…SBR rifle caliber vs SMG pistol caliber. The real answer is this and always be this –
**IT DEPENDS**
Since we seem to be rabbit holing the issue, I have deployed the E-tool
Its not only about caliber. Its about the size, and overall weight of the system. Comparing an UZI to a 7.5″ AR, I will take the AR because it is simply handier and easier to deploy and use. But if the issue changes by substituting the UZI for a 9mm AR, it makes the choice more involved. Similarly, it would be different deciding between a heavy MP5 and an 8″ 300 BO.
So what is your battlefield expected to be, without getting all “HALO2” on everything? Will you be seriously needing shots past 50 yards? Or will your engagements all probably be inside 50 yards (what are police rifle engagements like in the USA…research that).
Penetrating armor? OK, what kind of armor? Its 2024 and I don’t think we are limited…anyone is limited, to 3A soft armor. Rifle plates are available everywhere that will stop 5.56 and 300 BO…as well as 9mm of course. And I think we have discussed this at length…that testing armor in a proactive event is foolish…bypass it instead. A man will fal from a 9mm to the face as easily as any other caliber.
Penetrating cars? Well, lets discuss this. What is your mission? Vehicle assaults…then why are we leaving out 12 gauge slugs and 308 rifles? Those are the only ones that will reliably penetrate every aspect of a car. But that brings up the issue of mission again. Are you planning to take and hold ground, or is your mission to break contact and GTFO? If the latter and the enemy has taken cover to protect himself from you, have you accomplished the immediate task?
Ease of deployment? I think the idea that you are going to go through life with a backpack rifle is silly. I am not talking about grabbing your kit, taking it with you to work and then back home (because then its not really a GO TO item, it is just transporting your war bag from one location to another. Are you going to have it by the chair on date night? Will you have it with you when you go in for your dental appointment? How about when you are at Whole Foods shopping? Draped over the cart in the meat section? So I think we can dispense with the Immediate Access Rifle as an affectation of the gun media. It is and will remain something you go and get…and it probably lives in your vehicle.
In such a case, does it need to even be an SBR, or SMG? Or if we are getting ballistically sweaty, should it be a 16″ regular rifle?
The SMG exceeds the rifle caliber SBR in these areas
Weight and size – Its lighter, shorter, and handier to use. The ammo weighs less and the magazines are sleeker and easier to carry. It is just as accurate and has considerably less muzzle flash, blast and generally felt recoil. For urban CQB, it still has a place and if speed is the objective in a confined space, I think it has an advantage over the traditional SBR. Would I select a 9mm SMG over a 300 BO SBR?
**IT DEPENDS**
