Safariman,
What do you actually want a rifle to do, as you're contemplating all manner of different platforms?
Fair question.
I am deciding if the CETME in my safe is the best thing to have on hand for the SHTF day we all hope never comes. It would be a plus if the rifle was fun to shoot and thusly often went with me on shooting days for practice.
At my age and current condition I am not going to be running or jumping much of anywhere so weight is a non factor so long as I can swing a second rifle light enough for my petite frame wife to use and shoot. So, I guess this search is for a stationary use rifle for keeping groups of bad folks away from my pretty wife and food/water/medicine supplies. The low liklihood of this kind of mess happening in my remaining lifetime means that if a rifle is accurate enough and has a trigger decent enough for a little hunting or coyote calling, so much the better.
With just a little bit of shooting, I have come to the conclusion others have mentioned in my other thread that my short barreled CETME is a bit too loud, and loses a bunch of the 7.62x51's velocity and power advantage with its too short barrel. As it sits, it is more of a really heavy and very loud 300 Savage. Not all that bad, but better is out there.
Last on my list of possible scenario's is the very low probability that we as a nation may be forced take back our country by force, and a good battle tested rifle is something that I think EVERY household should have on hand.
Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it is my philosophy.
I do not have the money to buy examples of each of these and try them out so am VERY grateful for the knowledge and experience that has been shed here. As it is, might be a while before I will be able to snag my new choice and hope of an FN/FAL rifle. I was curious as to whether the SVD would be a decent choice and it seems as though this is not the case.
Truth be told, I would actually be pretty well served with a good running AR-15, but I like the cool factor and "oh wow, check out THIS bad mamma-jamma" factor in a rifle. As well, for big game hunting here the bullet has to be a minimum of .243 in diameter so being able to hunt some with this rifle is a plus for me.
My wife does not hunt, and is not of a frame makeup to be able to handle a 10-12lb 308 so she will soon be picking out an AR-15 with a GOOD reflex sight atop. She likes and shoots this platform much better than that of the M-1 carbine we had here for a while.
We both hope that these guns, like our daily carry pieces, are never fired because we HAVE to fire them. That every round we put through them is for practice, fun or putting game meat on the table. But still.......
