.308 Battle Rifle Poll

c... more parts for it worldwide than anything else. m1 and ar, is pretty much limited to what is here.

I chose AR10 when I made the choice. But I'll probably own a M1A at some piont.

This thread gets dragged out so often!

I have had the following a STG 58 FAL built on a DSA receiver (sold it), AR10 Carbine traded plus some cash for an M1A and I own a PTR 91.

I already have a scope mount for the M1a. I just need to get a decent set of rings. I have plans for the PTR 91 as well, I want to put a scope, Harris bipod and possibly a PRS stock. I believe with that setup along with match ammo that it should be 1 MOA. Ymmv.

A for durability and accuracy.
B for style and accuracy.
C for reliability and style.
D for accuracy and, and...that's about it.

Personally I like the FAL the best, but I would rate it as the least accurate, the AR-10 being the most accurate, but offering nothing else, and is the least reliable IMO. The M14 is very versatile, and can be accurate, but suffers a little WRT reliability (not bad at all, but worse than the FAL/G3). The G3 is ugly, but works every time and has a lot of accuracy potential. With your stated requirements (assuming they were in order of priority) the G3 is probably the rifle for YOU.

I find the G3 to be an interesting but front heavy despite short-barreled sheet metal footnote.

I Like the FAL, especially in prone full auto, otherwise, yeah, M1A it has to be.

Al

It did say "battle" so I would pick M1A or better yet M14. Sniping is not a battle. A fire fight is a battle.

IMHO

I have a 16 in Saiga 308 I converted. With quality mags, I don't know how it could get any better. This rifle shoots sub 2 moa when scoped. For 500 its the steal of the universe. I don't need it but I'm gonna go have some cereal. Watching the bobsled is making me hungry.

M1A... because I has two of them already

Mags, that magazine is huge!

I'm going to suggest some oddballs here:

FN49, or Sig542.

The FN is easy to get, the Sig is much harder.

I recently had this debate with myself (that makes me sound kinda strange)

I had narrowed it down to an FAL, Kel Tec RFB, M1A Socom 16, or a FN FNAR. The M1A Socom won for multiple reasons I won't go into. Don't bother telling me the definition of a "battle rifle."

Either an HK91 build, or an AR-10.

Better ergonomics with an AR-10, superior reliability with an HK91

There are two rifles used by child soldiers in the arse end of Africa, those two rifles are the AK and the G3.

If I had to have one rifle for the rest of my life, I would take a G3. The G3 in my experience is light, durable, accurate enough, the 7.62x51 carries with it a truckload of pain, and it can eat the worst Russian steel case ammunition I feed it, magazine after magazine.

I own an LR-308T, its a sweet rifle, a testament to old man Stoner, but its not a beater rifle, I love beater rifles.

+1 jcwit

Greg Bell made a comment about Springfield receivers being out of spec. Yes, years ago a few made it out of the factory out of spec. ALL of the rest are good to go. $150 Bassett scope mount with one screw, and your good to go with a mount that will not shoot loose. Don't believe me? Do your research. Here is my vote:



Same lady, different dresses.

I'm voting for what I own Springfield M1A standard model. I thought the M1A was going to be a complicated rifle to clean/take apart after initial field strip I realized it wasn't while you may need some special tools to completely disassemble you rarely have to completely disassemble.

PTR-91 robust, accurate, reliable.

If accuracy is a top priority get the AR-10, no contest.

When reliability and spare parts are thrown in, the FAL and HK91-type rifle both start to look attractive. The problem with AR-10 spare parts is that, unlike the AR-15, the 7.62mm gun has no true standard design, i.e. the Armalite design varies a bit from the DPMS which varies a bit from the KAC SR-25, etc etc etc.

sa58 fal

Without any disrespect to any of the other fine rifles listed, I'd have to vote for the FAL, and here is the logic:

I was a Marine Infantryman, I've broken AR/M16 pistol grips, firing pins, dinged mags to the point that they won't feed (This was done as a boot, private and PFC, after which I accepted the rifle's need for a lighter touch). and comparatively speaking,the FAL is extremely strong.My FALs have been abused, left without cleaning for thousands of rounds and been generally neglected as a proof of concept and have kept on trucking. It has a forged receiver (DSA) and is generally very forgiving of abuse.

The FAL is cake to scope with the railed dust covers. One of mine wears an Aimpoint, the other a Nikon, rock-solid mounts, with no zero issues.

A MAJOR factor in my choice is that a complete and utter moron can replace any assembly in the rifle, there are basically no depot-level repairs needed for the rifle, save replacing the barrel/headspacing. The locking shoulder is replaceable to allow for wear, as well as the ejector block. It is completely modular, as you can swap a longer barrel upper receiver and bolt in the time it takes to unscrew the hinge pin. This is a major plus in a "Battle Rifle" because you may not have a "depot" or an "armorer" to help out if your rifle goes down.

Another huge plus is the availability of spare parts. The sheer number of rifles out there means that the price of these parts are generally pretty low. I bought two whole sets of "guts" for my girls for about $200.00, that's every internal part of the rifle, and spare lowers and buttstocks. Running rifle=combat effective. I have friends who love the M1A but finding good GI parts is a bear and expensive. The bolt must be lapped in and headspace checked by a gunsmith, so if one breaks you are less a rifle. Also, I'll echo the PITA of mounting a scope on the SAI receivers, which were found to be out of spec on more than one of a friend's rifle's. One receiver was also out of spec in the area where the op rod travels, which was peening the receiver.
That being said, the M1A is a dream to shoot, the irons are second to none, and it has certain magic all it's own. But not my first choice for a battle rifle. The HK91 is really a cool rifle, but for running and gunning, in the real world, the lack of a BHO, and the ridiculous charging handle, place it in slow-moving zombie rifle territory, for me, anyway.

I love battlerifles, own or have owned most, some more than one. In my opinion the M1A is the best of the bunch, I own two, great, great rifles.

Hands down, M1A.

I fired a full auto HK 91 owned by a friend and owned my own HK 93 in .223. I thought those rifles were heavy and expensive. I especially disliked the fluted chamber on the HK. It messed up my brass and threw them WAY too far!

Now about that inexpensive M1A..................?

Mine is a SS bedded walnut stock and match grade all through. It does not have the rear lug. I think the world of the rifle and the caliber but I can out shoot it with my AR-15 rifles. Sad but true as I have about $2k in the M1A.

Being specific: that comparison is in prone with sling 600 yard matches with iron sights. At 200 yards it is NRA position shooting with sling and iron sights. AR-15 is going to win and it's a shame to say it.

Flash

I had an M1A, and it worked like it was supposed to, except that I underestimated how involved it would be to really make a shooter out of it. I had dedicated optics on the 2nd gen mount, and when I went to shoot it, a couple of things happened.

First, without a good stock with a raised or adjustable comb, I was leaning way too far forward into the scope. DING! Cut over the eyebrow and snickers at the range. Ok, we'll hold off the scope until I get a different stock. So, I tried the iron sights. I kept clicking to get it on paper until......the scope mount was blocking the field of view for the sights. I realized that to make it work, it was going to take a lot more work and parts, I sold it to a guy at a gun show who was thrilled to pay what I did for it with no names and paperwork.

I am now lining up my AR-10 build. There are now pmags for the DPMS pattern, and I'll get .243 and .308 uppers for it to start.