Some of the participants shooting the @RedRightHandLLC RECCE LMG with the @GriffinArmament A2S-QD can on it during the Whiskey Hotel LSW class at the Lam Solutions Indiana Night Shoot 2026.

LSWs For Civilian Use LSW gun use in the civilian world has similarities with military MG use, but there are differences too. Why as a civilian working with a small group or team would you want to have LSWs over MGs? It mainly comes down to supply and logistics. As a civilian force; Minutemen, militia, MAG, or homestead, you don't have a seemingly unlimited supply backing you like the military does. As a civilian group everything you do is self funded. This mainly comes down to the higher costs and operations of a MG, as well as, the inaccessibility of civilians to own and operate fully functioning open bolt MGs without jumping through ridiculous hurdles to do so. The cost of MGs themselves are vastly higher than the price of LSWs. Also if you're including ones that have interchangeable quick swap barrels. Also account for the price of the massive amount of ammo and links you need to successfully own and operate a belt feed MG. Do you have 10,000 rounds of ammo already linked and ready to go for each MG that you are running? Are you readily able to logistically set up and maneuver those guns also while feeding them and re-supplying them in an effective and timely manner as your need for those guns arise? Unless you have a great financial backing probably not. It is better budget wise to have a LSW and 1,000 rounds to feed it with normal mags that are readily available everywhere in the market today for cheap. A LSW is a light support weapon. Typically it is a longer barrel AR15 in America. It can range effectively from 16” up to 24”. Take for example a 20” AR15. With that setup you can act as a normal rifleman when you need to and then swing into the role of the LSW. Typically you need a heavier barrel to help support the higher rates of fire that you will be engaging in. Also to be effective you need to employ some kind of Super Safety or Forced Reset Trigger device. This presents some advantages for the LSW gunner compared to a MG. Firstly, in the enemy’s eyes at first glance you are just another rifleman and not a MG because you are carrying a normal looking AR15. When there is contact and a fire fight breaks out the enemy will want to take out the highest casualty producing weapon first. MGs are very recognizable and stand out from normal AR15s. Take for example how a M249 SAW looks in comparison. Secondly, you're not carrying the extra weight that comes along with a MG. Although your LSW will probably be heavier than your run of the mil AR15 that is commonly produced today it will still be significantly lighter than a MG. You should be carrying more than a normal rifleman’s load out of seven 30 round mags but probably not up to what a SAW gunner would carry of 800-1,200 rounds. You can probably carry fourteen 30 round mags or the equivalent ammo in larger capacity mags, ie; 40s, D60. You can implement similar techniques that MGs use but because you will be running from magazines instead of belts your rate of fire can’t be as high. Your LSW does not have the ability to have interchangeable barrels because it essentially is just a beefed up AR15. You can not run cyclic for hundreds of rounds and then immediately swap your barrel when it gets too hot. Because of this your rates of fire and bursts should be of lower amounts of ammo and possibly at longer intervals too. Hopefully if you are using and implementing a LSW you are doing so with others. Be it a team, squad or platoon sized element. In which you should have support and be able to give support.