Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Battle Rifle Advice Wanted
self ^ | Tuesday, November 9 | self

Posted on 11/09/2004 7:59:30 PM PST by Mulder

I'm looking to purchase a battle rifle next year in .308, and can't decide what I want to get.

I love the AR-15 rifles in 5.56mm, but have heard some bad things about reliability of the AR-10s. Also, the recoil is apparently more from this rifle than the other 308 semi-autos. But the AR-10 does have the advantage of having the same manual of arms as an AR-15.

Another consideration is the Springfield M1A Scout. The M1A was ranked #1 by Boston T. Party in his "Gun Bible", and has a lot going for it.

Finally, there is the FN-FAL. I don't know too much about this rifle, but a lot of folks seem to like it.

I want to mount either an Aimpoint or 4X ACOG to it, and setup it up as something I can use out to 300 yards or so. Of course, since it's .308 and can really reach out there, I want something accurate enough so that if I decide I want a semi-auto precision rifle, I can just put a Leupold scope on her, and be set.

Also, I really like the pistol grip and collapsible stocks on the AR-15s, and would prefer that furniture on my battle rifle as well. I *think* someone makes them for M1A, but aren't certain. So that is another consideration.

Thanks in advance!


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: ar10; bang; banglist; battlerifle; fnfal; m1a
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 181-186 next last
To: Graybeard58

lol - I never get tired of that one


21 posted on 11/09/2004 8:23:12 PM PST by Texas_Jarhead
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Mulder
I've got a Belgian FN. Love it.

Tack-driving accurate, easy to operate, easy to strip and clean.

Only drawback is that rascal is HEAVY. Only took it into the woods once . . . fell back on my Ruger M-77 w/ a 4x Leupold for deer. You can hike all day up and down hill with that and not feel it.

22 posted on 11/09/2004 8:23:44 PM PST by AnAmericanMother (. . . Ministrix of ye Chace (recess appointment), TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary . . .)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: x1stcav

M-14 the choice of more D boy snipers than any other. :-)


23 posted on 11/09/2004 8:24:53 PM PST by mad_as_he$$ (Death waits in the darkness. NSDQ)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Mulder

FN-FAL...Wasn't nicknamed "The Free World's Right Arm" for nothin'! Mags are cheap, parts (shoushould you ever need them, which is unlikely, are easy to find. Dependable, easy to field strip & service. Did I mention that mags are cheap? ;>)

M1As are nice but not as easily serviced in the field, mags are more expensive, accuracy on stock model not as good as a top quality Belgian FN, match model is much better but at a higher $.

AR10s...current crop not battle tested like the above and mags are big money. (Except the new Bushmaster variant which uses inexpensive FAL mags.)


24 posted on 11/09/2004 8:25:02 PM PST by SiVisPacemParaBellum (Peace through superior firepower!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mulder

I got to fondle, but not shoot, the M1A Scout. It will be my next expensive purchase, after filling out my want/need list of a few more less expensive pieces.


25 posted on 11/09/2004 8:25:30 PM PST by umgud (Donate monthly, don't be a Freeploader)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig
While there are the known downsides to the AR15/10 platforms, the amount of things available to dress up, change, alter, and be creative with those rifles is so far above and beyond anything else available with other platforms that it makes it crazy not to consider them first.

I keep telling myself that, but the thing that has me concerned is that the AR10s don't have nearly the following at the AR15s... Maybe there is a reason for that. The AR10s seem to have always suffered from reliability problems.

26 posted on 11/09/2004 8:25:41 PM PST by Mulder ("The price of freedom is the willingness to do sudden battle anywhere and any time"-- Heinlein)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Mulder

Look over at Century international arms look for Cetme/G3,metric pattern FN-FAL,& then the M1A1 from springfield armory. Also check out DSA arms for factory new FN-FALs made in the USA on FN machine tools with FN blueprints. Best overall value the FN-FAL from DSA Arms.


27 posted on 11/09/2004 8:26:49 PM PST by Nebr FAL owner (.308 reach out & thump someone .50 cal.Browning Machine gun reach out & crush someone)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Mulder

Springfield M1A. You will never regret it.


28 posted on 11/09/2004 8:28:22 PM PST by Malleus Dei ("Communists are just Democrats in a hurry.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mulder
FN-FAL. Definately. A CETME is an OK knock off, but has accuracy issues. As for an ACOG, I take it you don't mind spending 3X more on optics than on the rifle? Low end ACOGs are pricey with the high end ones selling for upwards of $1400. Just for the optics.

If all else fails, check over at ar15.com. Got whole sections devoted to AR's, AK's, and FN-FAL's. And no shortage of people willing to offer their opinion on anything.

29 posted on 11/09/2004 8:28:55 PM PST by Dead Corpse (My days of taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: Dead Corpse
As for an ACOG, I take it you don't mind spending 3X more on optics than on the rifle? Low end ACOGs are pricey with the high end ones selling for upwards of $1400. Just for the optics.

Yeah... prices have really gone up on those. I'll probably just get the Aimpoint.

30 posted on 11/09/2004 8:29:44 PM PST by Mulder ("The price of freedom is the willingness to do sudden battle anywhere and any time"-- Heinlein)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: Mulder

Look over at Century international arms look for Cetme/G3,metric pattern FN-FAL,& then the M1A1 from springfield armory. Also check out DSA arms for factory new FN-FALs made in the USA on FN machine tools with FN blueprints. Best overall value the FN-FAL from DSA Arms.


31 posted on 11/09/2004 8:30:35 PM PST by Nebr FAL owner (.308 reach out & thump someone .50 cal.Browning Machine gun reach out & crush someone)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: mad_as_he$$

XM21 rules!


32 posted on 11/09/2004 8:31:15 PM PST by x1stcav
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: Mulder

Supply and demand. Wait until after Iraq is over and the price should come down considerably.


33 posted on 11/09/2004 8:32:52 PM PST by Dead Corpse (My days of taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: Nebr FAL owner

M1 Garand.


34 posted on 11/09/2004 8:33:26 PM PST by MachineMan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: x1stcav

Yup one great weapon. FWIW I believe it was what Shugart carried into the Battle of Mog. Anybody wants more info Google it. Tons of info out there.


35 posted on 11/09/2004 8:34:05 PM PST by mad_as_he$$ (Death waits in the darkness. NSDQ)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: Mulder

You may wanna check out EOTech for a sight. For about $250, you can pick up a good one.


36 posted on 11/09/2004 8:35:32 PM PST by Dead Corpse (My days of taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: Mulder
I'm looking to purchase a battle rifle next year in .308, and can't decide what I want to get.

Springfield Armory M1A. Absolutely the finest shoulder weapon available today on the commercial market.

37 posted on 11/09/2004 8:35:56 PM PST by Euro-American Scum (A poverty-stricken middle class must be a disarmed middle class)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mulder

Shotgun and Guts, those two beget the other and vice versa.
No weapon will suffice the unwilling or the timid.

TT


38 posted on 11/09/2004 8:36:02 PM PST by TexasTransplant (It is UNAmerican to put the UN before America)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mad_as_he$$

M14. What a honey!


39 posted on 11/09/2004 8:36:23 PM PST by anyone_but_kerry
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: Mulder
It's not so much that they aren't 'reliable' it's just that they're gas operated semi-autos, so the ammo you use is critical to proper functioning of the weapon.

I have no idea what the design specs were on the AR-10, but I do know that the basic system design depends on a specific weight projectile traveling at a specific velocity in order to make the whole thing function properly.

I have no proof, but I suspect the majority of the reliability problems with the AR10 series is that folks are putting lots of different bullet weights at lots of different velocities through them and expecting reliable functioning. That's just not going to happen.

The other major drawback I see to the AR10 is that mags and spare parts are scarcer and more expensive than hens teeth.

You said you wanted a decent battle rifle in your original post. Now the AR10 is a well built rifle, but I don't think it's quite graduated to the status of a 'battle rifle' if you know what I mean.

The FN and the M1A are both field tested and proven designs that have functioned all over the world under the most extreme conditions. Both of them are still killing the enemies of freedom. It's hard to argue with that.

If you're really looking for a battle rifle, I'd confine my search to the above types and scratch the AR10 types off my list. Yea, they're cool but they just haven't 'seen the elephant'.

As I said before, this is just my opinion and your mileage may vary.

L

40 posted on 11/09/2004 8:36:43 PM PST by Lurker ( Rope, tree, Islamofascist. Adult assembly required.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 181-186 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson