I was raised so to speak on the FAL 7.62 Nato rifle… I personally would not want to go into combat with anything else… except a M14, preferably the SOCOM upgrade that is presently being used in Iraq by some US units.

For sheer stopping power there is no other like these two, both are not extraordinarily heavy and the latest versions are to my mind the standard to compare any other Battle Rifle with.

Another rifle to consider is the AR-10 wich as we all know was downscaled to the AR-15 and M16. Some would say that the AR-10 is the Ultimate Battle Rifle.

Another contender is the son of FAL… the new SOCOM weapon of choice, the FN SCAR H model, wich can also fire the AK 7.62 round by swapping barrel and reciever… handy if you run out of NATO while out in them thar hills… A L version is to replace the M4. Here is a write up on Strategy page on the weapon system. Another excellent reffrence is Modern Firearms site or better known as “World Guns.RU”.

The Robinson Arms XCR Modular Weapon was a close contender for the replacement SOCOM weapon and actually looks very much like the SCAR… I suppose that was bound to happen if they both followed the specs the Special Forces wanted.

Updated 19/11/2006
Chris Byrne over at The AnarchAngel also has an article on the Top 10 battle rifles… worth a read by the way.

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