Best U.S. Military rifle of all time

[nh2112]

Definitely the M14. It's a close second to the AK in reliability, a close second to the M16 in accuracy, and turns something that would be cover from either of those rounds into mere concealment. To me, the absolute most important criterion for an infantry rifle is that it fires EVERY time you pull the trigger, regardless of whether the rifle is dirty or not. The M16 won't and the M14 will. That settles it in my book. The rifle isn't much heavier than the M16A2, either. 7. 62x51 ammo is heavier than 5. 56x45, but my thought on that mirrors what several old BAR gunners told me - if it's heavy, but does the job, you'll carry it. These guys humped 17-pound BARs and 20-25 mags up and down the hills in Korea, because it did the job like nothing else could. If I'd had a choice when I was in, I'd have taken the M14 any day. If I found it was too heavy, I'd have hit the gym, ran even more, and done whatever it took to make it NOT too heavy.