QBZ-191 service rifle family
- Thread starter Blitzo
- Start date
Speak of the devil,
I feel like the PLA is watching this thread and will distribute more scopes If more people ask about them. Thanks!
Those vertical foregrips look like they are shorter length VFGs rather than those silly grip pods.
.... and thus, these vertical foregrips look eminently actually possibly useful.
Edit:
I also note that some of them seem to have a laser illuminator in front of their optics on the top of the handguard.
It really depends on what model those are -- a visible laser alone is not that useful, but if there's a IR laser and IR illuminator it would actually have utility for night fighting.
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Note those vertical foregrips certainly is far more useful for close range approaches considering this is the QBZ192 it seems like the priorities are different.
While the Bipod Grips which features Flash light and Laser sight all in one seem to be specifically made for the QBZ191.
I have yet to see their recently made Grips to be used on the 192.
I think the grip-pod ones are not very good in general, and we've barely seen them in use over the last few years since they were shown at the parade.
Whether it's a carbine length rifle like the QBZ-192/191 short, or QBZ-191/rifle length, a grip pod is not very good. The length of the barrel should not alter that fact.
There's a reason why grip pods are roundly mocked, because they're bulky, heavy, and not that useful.
If you have to have a vertical foregrip, best to get a smaller lightweight one that can be used to get the forward hand to get a good grip around the handguard (thumb over the topside of the handguard) while also driving the overall rifle into the shoulder better. You don't need a vertical foregrip that's so long that your forward hand is literally gripping the whole thing with thumb around the VFG, that's held like a beer can. In other words, using a smaller, lightweight VFG more similar to an angled foregrip or even a handstop, is better than gripping it like a beer can. So you really don't need a full length VFG like they have on grip pods.
And if you need a bipod, then just get a bipod instead. But the vast majority of infantry with rifles (whether it's the rifle length or carbine length variant of 191) won't need it, and is not worth the weight.
The fact that they've seemingly abandoned those idiotic grip pods, and are seemingly issuing stubbier/shorter (and thus more lightweight) VFGs, would actually be somewhat indicative that they're using their rifles with some common sense and are coming around to more modern rifle accessories, even if it is only for something as "minor" as a VFG. attachment.
edit:
Also, no, the grip pod/combined with laser and light was used on the QBZ-192/QBZ-191 carbine, which we saw in the parade.
The smaller VFG from that recent picture is also used on the QBZ-192/QBZ-191 carbine.
Just comparing the size and bulkiness of that old VFG monstrosity compared to the new smaller VFG tells the entire story:
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QBU88 where rarely photographed without an optic but the marksman variant of 191 seem to lack optics in half of the pictures. I find the difference between QBU88 and 191DMR curious.
It is not curious.
QBU-191 is still a relatively new rifle, and it is is likely being issued where the optics is being issued separate from the rifle itself, and initial familiarization with the rifle is likely going to occur with iron sights, given QBU-191 also functions much more as a slightly longer barreled assault rifle than only a dedicated semiautomatic DMR like the QBU-88.
As I wrote in my last post, it will only be "curious" if in future years, that units which have already been outfitted with QBU-191s for a long time still routinely operate them without optics.
But as new rifles that are being issued to the service and being familiarized, you're going to see some QBU-191s without optics, so you're jumping the gun a little.
Also, I would say that of the various instances when QBU-191s have appeared (either in images or videos) over the last few years, I think the vast majority of them show the rifle with an optic, like 8 out of 10 instances at least.