The AR Platform for Close Quarters

When you're building out a rifle for CQB (close quarters battle), short is king. CQB involves moving through doorways often, and in order to effectively do this without breaking target focus you'll need to "break down" your rifle, which essentially means breaking contact with your shoulder while still aiming at the target. The shorter your barrel is, the easier it is going to be to enter through that doorway while breaking down the minimal amount, and since CQB is all close range, there's no need for a longer barrel.

This build showcases the shortest possible 5.56 build optimized for use in team CQB. Our team at Defense Distributors is going to talk about it.

The Gun

The gun is the most important part of any build, especially with close quarters builds. Think of it like a personal defense weapon (PDW); you want something compact but effective.

Upper: Zev Industries 10.3

That being said, we have chosen the Zev Industries 10.3inch, as this upper is a blend of a few different parts, mainly zev components with a centurion 10.3 barrel and some forward control designs reciever componenets. The rail fits the build nice and has a nice ration of heat mitigation to mlok.

Muzzle Device: Surefire 5.56 Flash Hider 3 Prong 1/2X28

A muzzle device is essential for a build of any kind. The classic flash-hider from Surefire, this muzzle device is effective as a standalone but also allows for quick integration of the RC2 and Warden, which were both used in this setup.

Laser: GL4 Pro (Defense Distributors Edition)

The GL4 Pro is the perfect laser for CQB because of its small form factor and wide illuminator. It's extremely important while room clearing to have maximum situational awareness, which requires visibility. In a dark room, a bright and wide illuminator can make all the different, and few lasers outside of the GL4 Pro have an illuminator wide and bright enough to fit this need.

Iron Sights: Magpul MBUS Pro

The MBUS Pro sights are the iron sights used on this build specifically because they're low profile and fit perfectly behind the GL4 Pro. It's a match made in heaven, and since our optic of choice has a Qd mount it makes sense to have extra back-up irons just in case the optic fails.

Vertical Grip: BCM Mod3 M-LOK Vertical Grip

Pretty standard, optimized for angles you'd typically find yourself holding with a shorter rail.

Red Dot: Holosun 403R

An optic is always a great upgrade to consider with any build. The 403R is a great red dot: however, it's been discontinued by holosun. The ARO and Sig's MSR are great alrternatives which accomplish the same purpose.

Killflash: CovertArms 403R ARD

If you're running sims, a killflash or Anti-Reflection Device is essential. Not only does it prevent optics glare, which can give away your position, but it also protects the glass on your optic from being shattered, which is extremely common if you're using training rounds. The CovertArms ARDs we carry are sized specifically to not only reduce glare but to protect against training impacts.

Grip: BCM Mod3 Grip

Grip is entirely preference. We like this one; enough said.

Stock: BCM Mod0 SOPMOD Stock

All the furniture on this build is BCM, which fits together nicely. The SOPMOD variation of the BCM stock specifically ads an additional shelf on the side to assist with getting a better cheek weld. It makes a big difference when it comes to comfort and accuracy.

The Takeaways

If you're going short for a CQB AR build, the ergonomics of your build matter. You need to focus on what is practical and what is not, as situational awareness is largely important. Where you grip the rail naturally can impact what accessories you put on and how you design your grip placement and device activation. We find that on shorter builds like this, simpler is better, and the parts we've chosen reflect this.

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