If you want reliability,,,, here is the line up:
AK 47
SKS
Ruger Mini14/30
Galil
If you want a respectably good battle rifle,,,an AR is sufficient nowadays,,,, they are much better than the old A1's, FN FAL's, HK 90's, M1 Carbine
If you want pure puss-,,,,, you need an M1A1, an M14, or a Garand, or maybe a BAR
Stay away from the Barretts,,, and most 50 cals,,, they are too big..
Pistols: 45's
Glocks for reliability, though finicky on ammo
Any M1911 clone (colts are NOT the best) Kimbers are top, sigs, are good, ruger, Remington, then all others,,,, interesting versions are the norincos,,,and phillipine made versions
9 mm:
Glocks for reliability,,, Browning Hipower extremely smooth and gentle action for small hands and accuracy,,,, no matter who makes it,,, but browning is best, FN next, then any clone,,, even an FEC. Expect to pay 900-1500 for a real browning,,, don't pay more than 400 for an FEC even new......
ghostcotcha wrote:
In the beginning of actual combat in VN the marines (I was not one) were left alone with their M-14s. (a fine battle weapon) because they tried the introduced M-16 and quickly titled it the "Mattie-Mattell-Plastic-bullet-launcher" and found it wanting. The Army on the other hand were issued the early M-16 and had no choice..... (typical)...One of the problems was with the action of automatically ejecting a spent round and loading anew a ready-round into the chamber. You see the problem had to do with fowling of the action when in use do the fact that the spent gas was sent back directly to the receiver to throw the bolt, instead of using a piston at the forward end of the forearm to ram a carrier rod back and throw the bolt like the M-1, and M-14.
So just why would I even bring this up on here. Well, I suspect quite a few readers may own a AR-15 or plan on getting one. (It is the most popular long gun on the market today) -- and -- I have both a warning and good news for you.
Today.. There is a new AR-15 type firearm evolving on the market. It looks just about like the old AR-15 but It has a new operating system involving a (piston) similar to the old M-1/M-14. I will call this a piston operated system. The old operating system involved what I will call a direct gas inpigenment system (DGIS) which is the old method where some of the gas from firing a round is moved through a tube back into the actual receiver and operating the bolt. Obviously this gas is not filtered or clean, rather from the burning of the explosive powder used to make the rifle go bang.... (just could not resist that little pun) and accumulates in the receiver... Ps. This is why one of the first things they did with the M-16 was to modify the receiver with a "forward assist"....
So. If you just have to own one of these plastic bullet launchers than take a good look at the new action... (the rifle looks almost identical so you have to do the research - look for the word "piston" when describing the action.
I know that H&K, Colt, and even Bushmaster are offering models with the piston system.
Understand. If all you want is something that looks good, and you are only going out to do some hunting or range shooting then either will work just fine. However, if you purchase with the intent of possibly going into the weeds to play the serious game, then put the odds in your favor.
Of course, depending on your MO you might want to look at the M-14 or H&K line of weapons, for serious work.
In the beginning of actual combat in VN the marine... (
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