Semi-Auto Battle Rifle... Which one?

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Favorite Fighting Rifle

  • Stoner Variants- M4, AR-15, AR-10

    Votes: 73 33.0%
  • Kalashnikov Variants-AK47, 74, Valmet, Saiga, VZ58

    Votes: 43 19.5%
  • FN FAL

    Votes: 30 13.6%
  • M1-A

    Votes: 29 13.1%
  • Steyr AUG

    Votes: 1 0.5%
  • M1 Garand

    Votes: 25 11.3%
  • HK G3

    Votes: 4 1.8%
  • Mini-14

    Votes: 2 0.9%
  • FN SCAR/ Bushmaster ACR

    Votes: 13 5.9%
  • Robinson XC R/ SIG 556

    Votes: 1 0.5%

  • Total voters
    221

Cinaet

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....I'm a huge M1A fan. That will be my next rifle. They are BEAUTIFUL rifles....

I completely agree. A lot of other battle rifles look more modern. But there's just something about the M14 that appeals to me. The M14/M1A is beautiful to my eye. It's a classic and I believe is the ultimate iteration of the M1. I handled one quite a bit in the military and even though I've handled other battle type rifles (briefly and incidentally) in the years since I'll never lose my fondness and preference for the M14.
 

SMS

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Yeah,that's correct but he did develop a M2 that fired semi that steelehorse was talking about.

Nit picking, but Hathcock didn't develop a semi-auto capable M2...the M2 is, by design, cabable of semi-auto fire. He also wasn't the first to mount a scope to one...scope mounts are/were available (but I think the White Feather developed his own) and there are accounts of scopes used on them in previous wars.

None of that takes away from his accomplishment though...
 

orangevale

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We can all agree that the M14 is a “battle rifle”. So, given the current tactical niche of the M14 as an Enhanced Battle Rifle (EBR) issued to a squad-designated marksman, does the Romanian military designated marksman rifle, the PSL, quality as a “battle rifle”? :naughty:

According to the Army Times; the EBR features a standard M14 barrel, plus a receiver and trigger assembly that’s fitted with a Sage International adjustable aluminum stock, a Leopold 3.5x10 power scope and Harris bipod legs.

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/03/army_m14_032210w/
 

henschman

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Sure, I'd call the PSL a battle rifle if that's how you want to use it... why not? It is a military arm, designed to be loaded quickly and easy to field strip, chambered for a full power round. I think the Romanians call it a "sniper rifle," but yes, their definition of "sniper" is closer to what our modern military calls a "designated marksman," which is a term coined after the military stopped training EVERY soldier to be a marksman like they did back in the days when battle rifles were general issue.

I'm not a big fan of the Sage stocks for the M-14, at least for the battle rifle role. They are extremely heavy, and make it very unpleasant to carry in the field. I thought about one until I actually held a rifle with one installed, and I said "hell no." Plus the fact that with a battle rifle you will most likely be carrying at least 8 extra mags plus whatever else you are packing. The tension bedding those stocks provide definitely makes the rifle more accurate, but it's not like they are terribly inaccurate rifles to begin with. The ability to reliably hit man-size targets out to 800 yards is all I need in a battle rifle, and a regular old fiberglass stocked M1A can do that no problem.

I do like the Vltor Modstock for that rifle though. They are just about as light as a GI stock, and I found it was just the ticket for mounting an ACOG on the M1A. I am also pretty curious about the new Promag Archangel stock for the M1A. Yeah, I know, it's Promag, but they are lightweight and have a click-adjustable cheek rest and LOP, plus an underside picatinny rail with removeable rail cover. For $200 it is pretty tempting to try.

Plus I think they are a little better at making stocks than they are at making mags. :D
 

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