"even Colt realized they had a flawed product in the AR-15"
That's the one for me. I just like the AR15, I mean, I really like the AR15. I own a number of them and they are the most fun guns I own. I shoot them more than anything else. I don't nessessarily buy into the whole "flawed" thing, but either way it doesn't matter to me. As Art said, I am a civilian. I am not rolling around in the mud with my rifles. I will never use one of them in combat. They are sporting rifles for me and for me, they are the perfect sporting rifle. I have owned a semi auto AK clone. It was OK. It might be just the ticket if I was in a third war country hunting people. But I am not. The poor sights, the mediocre accuracy, and the caliber itself don't pull my chain. There are people who have something negative to say about everything. And our society loves to be negative. The US military IMO is far superior to any other. We are THE superpower in the world. And we have been using the M16 rifle for 30 years. Go with a winner.
As far as the 703, I might buy one. What caliber was it in ? When it comes to guns, I might buy anything. It is interesting.