> Regardless, you will need a rifle that is DEAD NUTS RELIABLE, and made to a degree of quality assurance...
I was issued a really nice M14 when I arrived in VietNam. 5 months later they took it away from me and gave me a piece of crap M16. Twice the damn thing jammed on me, once on the firing range and once during a fire fight.
I can understand your aversion to the AR, but in 1965 you were issued a gun fresh from the design’s first generation. 40 years of refinement can do a lot, and I doubt even the AK was flawless at first (and certainly still isn’t).
I’m selling my Mini-14 because it jams, and has poor magazines except the 5 round. My AR never has jammed yet.
Now caliber is another question altogether.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhTKrBH0B9k&feature=related