AR or C91?

[HPT]

I second Nickle on the surplus ammo.

I have had good luck with 7.62 NATO from Germany and Lithuania.  Other countries not so much.

The Lake City .30-06 that I use in my Garand is superb by military/semiauto standards.  Loading my own 168gr MatchKing shows very little improvement but I shoot as-issued Garands.

5.56 from LC is good and generally available.

I mostly load my own but have shot a few cases of the above and been happy.

[henschman]

.308 ARs aren't THAT much more accurate than an M1 with a good barrel.  My old DPMS LR-308 with 20" barrel shot 1 MOA from prone unsupported with surplus ammo.  My Service Grade M1 (with the bore and throat both at less than 2) will shoot 1.5 MOA or so with HXP.  Its not enough difference to quibble over if you ask me.  The M1 weighed less than the DPMS, too. 

My M1A Standard model is just as accurate as the DPMS was, and it is a lot lighter.  It is also more reliable -- less malfunctions, and easier to clear when it does.  You can go a lot longer between cleaning on it, too.

My M1A would shoot around 1 MOA with British Radway Green... I just bought a case of Portugese 7.62, and we'll see if it is as accurate.  So far, I've only shot a few squares at 25m with it (at the Eureka, KS RBC), and I was doing right around 3-4 MOA.  We'll try it at 100 yards with the ACOG and see how it does.

One difference between the M1A and the M1 is that it is easier to mount an optic over the receiver on an M1A.  If you do this on an M1, it has to be offset like on the M1 C and D... it is difficult and expensive to mount a scope this way.  I wanted to put an ACOG on my rifle, so the M1 was out.

If you want to keep it iron sighted, there is not really any appreciable difference in capability between the M1 and the M14.  The M14 has a slight edge in a few categories, but not much. 

It used to be that the M1 was cheaper to feed, with CMP ammo, but now the tables have turned... HXP .30 '06 now costs $.50 per round, and you can find 7.62x51 for $.35 cents per round.

[nmmi9100]

My solution to this question has been to buy one or two of each.

So far, I've owned the following Battle Rifles/Battle Carbines:
AR15 (Carbine & 20")
Arsenal AK in 7.62x39
Yugo SKS
AR10 (20")
PTR-91 (quality HK91 clone) (16")
FAL (Imbel kit on a DSA rec'vr, 18")
FAL (STG kit on a Coonan rec'vr, 21")
LRB M14SA
Springfield 6 million-serial M1 Garand

Of all these rifles, I have only gotten rid of three:
Arsenal AK (SLR-95):  This carbine was worth a lot more to someone else than it was to me...bought for $320, Sold for over $900.
AR10 (20"):  Love the ergonomics, rifle was unreliable.  Sent it back to Armalite and it had a shallow chamber and partially drilled gas port.  They fixed it, but I never trusted it after that.
PTR-91 (16"):  This rifle kicked like a mule and had iron sights that are a nightmare to adjust.  It always ran perfect but was heavy and had too much recoil.  Might buy an 18" PTR-91 but probably not.

My favorite battle rifle is, of course, the LRB M14SA.  It shoots like a dream, is reliable, and just feels great on the shoulder.  It has the best sights and the best operating rod system.  Of course it cost me about $2100 slightly used.  Excellent mags are $20.

My second favorite battle rifle is the FAL.  Get a good one...not a piece of CENTURY junk.  Get metric...they have more parts available than anything else.  Get an 18" to 21" barrel.  You should be able to get a nice one off gunbroker for $800 to $900.  Excellent mags are $20.

As other suggested, ask some of your fellow instructors to let you try one of their rifles.  I've always got my LRB M14SA and atleast one FAL at every Appleseed, in case I get a chance to shoot after the students leave.

Nothing wrong with AR15 poodle shooters...except that they're poodle shooters.  Real rifles start at 6.5mm.

-David
Edgewood, NM

[Mudcat]

My rifle of choice is definitely the AR. My favorite one is a Rock River mid-length 16" build that shoots less than 1moa with my hunting hand loads. It is a little on the heavy side for a calling rifle but I use it anyway. I have taken coyotes at 400 yards on several occasions. I have used it in tactical rifle competitions 500 yards where everyone else was shooting bolt guns from a bi-pod but me and placed 3rd out of 15 or so. I have used it in carbine classes where we fired close to 1000 rounds of Wolf or Tula steel cased  in a weekend, no problems. Reliability issues none, gone almost 2000 rounds before cleaning and it was still going like a champ, I just could not take it anymore and had to clean it. I built it for less than $1000 have a $200 1-4x scope on it or a $80 red dot for carbine classes and matches. Over 10,000 rounds through it of all kinds Wolf, Tula, hand loads and surplus.

I have also had a AR10, mine was not reliable at all accurate but not reliable. Mags were expensive and did I mention not reliable. I had several different people look at it and they said it should run but it would not run no matter what kind of expensive mags I tried. My brother in-law had one too that sufferd from the same  issue. Sold to never have another again.

I have thought of getting a PTR91 more than once but never took the plunge, looks very interesting though. The reports of hard on brass have kept me away mostly.

I also had a FN AR which is a .308 built on the BAR action. Very good rifle shot very well stone cold reliable. Bad part was no iron sights available, destroyed brass for some reason very strong ejection messing up the head of the brass. Mags were crazy expensive and still are. Virtually zero ability to get spare parts unless from FNH. Accessories were and are nonexistent. Rifle traded.

I picked up a M1 from the CMP I actually got a special grade which is like brand new, barrel gauges 0 throat and less than.5 muzzle. Great beautiful rifle that shoots better than I ever thought one could. To go shoot it is now my favorite rifle over my AR. But to work with meaning take classes, hunt, shoot in a match besides where a special class for M1s my AR is the rifle I pick up.

Maybe an M1a is in my future someday but not in the near future.

I think the AR is so easy to get parts for and you can virtually build whatever you want is the main benefit of the rifle. Sure people don't like the .223 round but for what I use a rifle for it is plenty enough. For shooting paper, steel and coyotes it really doesn't matter one bit.