After reading all these replies, it seems there are three camps. .308 M-14, AK-47 7.62x39 and M-16 .223. All have merit. Rifles seem to be divided into Valmet/AK verses M-14/Fn-Fal verses M-16 .223.
I have seen no mention of the rifle that takes the Valmet/AK action and the .223 or .308 caliber, The Israeli Galil. Excellent rifle. I played with a couple while I was in the Marine Corps. Shot as well as my M-14 out to 500 yards and was as reliable as an AK. It certainly has been battle tested. Any thoughts?
The Galil was one of the greatest infantry rifles ever fielded. It was not phased out because anyone felt the M16 is better, but for economic reasons.
See, Israel gets about 2.6 billion dollars a year in military aid (that number is a couple of years old, could be more now). The string that comes attached to that particular handout is that they are required to spend that money on US made equipment (corporate military contractor welfare). So as to be a better steward of their finances, Israel has actually passed rules (I�m not sure they are actual laws) that they cannot buy certain weapons systems domestically if there is a US made equivalent�And thus came the death of the Galil.
The Galil was an extension of the Valmet. When they setup their factory to manufacture the Galil, they had it setup by the Finns and the fist production run of Galil�s were actually made on Valmet M62 receivers. The Galil was in excellent rifle in most every way, but I still choose the Valmet because of the 7.62x39mm chambering. I just think that if I don�t know where in the world I�m going to fight, or what kind of fight I�m going to, the Valmet M62/76 in 7.62x39mm is the best go-anywhere, do-anything rifle.
