Too grindy - maybe. With my level of skill, it took me about 60 hours to reach lvl 40 for the first weapons of every class (admittedly, I just play and do not grind for XP). The gap - no, I wouldn't say so. The upgrades you get for reaching lvl 5-8 for a gun are the best in my opinion, and after them, I rarely change anything.
As for the progressing, you literally earn points - all kinds of points - while holding the gun in your hands. Even if you capture the flag, the score you earn goes into the gun's experience. There are no "special" actions you need to perform to unlock some parts.
F1sherOrigin
Do you have any information about weapon progression? I couldn't find any sources that had actually tested it. Only a youtube video in the last two weeks that stated that it is primarily kills (and things related to kills e.g. assits, suppression, br second down) that would grant you weapon xp. Here's my understanding at the moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LPrJsvS3Gw
Just curious, since someone else had also asked me but I couldn't give them a definitive answer.
