The H&K G3/H&K 91

[Lost Boy]

Now here is a very good battle rifle. The G3 is chambered for 7.62x51 mm NATO but will still tolerate the higher pressure .308 Winchester, as will the civilian version, the H&K 91. You can pick one up, if you shop around, for about $900 in the U.S., especially if you go for the generic PTR-91, which seems to have just as good performance. Now the price here is comparable to what you'll pay for a fairly standard M4-gery, but the real kicker is the cost of magazines. You can pick up G3/91 20-round box magazines for about $2 each. When you compare to the standard Colt/Mil surplus M16/M4 mags costing (at a good price) around $10 each, you end up saving a lot more when you buy a decent combat load of around 20 magazines. The .308 round is a much more potent round than the .223, and the slightly increased weight and decreased ammo capacity is more than compensated for by the additional range/stopping power/penetration factor that you get with .308.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com usually has a lot of G3/H&K 91 mags in stock, for the lowest prices I've ever seen. They also have mil-surplus stock conversions, so you can swap out the fixed stock with a telescopic folding stock for reduced weight/length/better portability.

It seems that the Germans/Austrians have almost always made some of the best guns.

[Lost Boy]

One further addendum regarding the caliber of the BR you select:

IMHO, the U.S. and European militaries should never have switched to the dinky 5.56x45 mm NATO round. It's only ideal for a poorly trained army with limited rifleman and accuracy training, where you expect your troops to miss a whole helluva lot. The truth is, the 5.56 round was adopted because the government decided it would be cheaper and more efficient to train soldiers to compensate for lack of accuracy with a high volume of fire with a lighter round. Troops could carry almost twice as much ammo for the same weight, and therefore put a lot more rounds downrange and hope that something hit the enemy. Furthermore, the 5.56 round was selected to replace the .308 round because the military placed more emphasis on the doctrine of wounding the enemy as being more important than killing the enemy. The logic behind this was simple: if you kill an enemy, you take one man out of the fight. If you wound an enemy, you take three men out of the fight, because of the two guys required to effectively carry the third. This is all well and good for large scale confrontations, but does not apply well to small unit engagements, or extreme close-quarters combat. You do not, for example, want to wound an enemy soldier in a building-clearing operation, because of the chance that he will wound or kill you when it's his turn to shoot back after you have just surrendered the initiative with a less-than-fatal attack. When you are close-quarters with the enemy, you want to stop them decisively. Now of course, in extreme close quarters combat you would select a shotgun, but a shotgun is an impractical weapon if you are operating in a small unit of just a few men, at various range, when each man can only effectively carry one long gun. Therefore, you want a round that is able to serve in a diverse multitude of roles. The 7.62x51 mm round is effective in terms of accuracy at long range (between 500-1000 yards), delivers good stopping power at short range, and is effective at penetrating most body armor fielded by most militaries. It is better at puncturing vehicle engine blocks and can even penetrate some vehicles' light armor. The only merit that the 5.56x45 mm round has over it's larger predecessor is the ability for soldiers to carry more ammo for the same weight, and lower felt-recoil (which only matters to poorly-trained riflemen). The 5.56x45 mm round also has a much shorter effective range (500 yards or less), inferior penetration of body armor and armored vehicles, and the round even tends to tumble sometimes when shot out of the shorter barreled M-4.

Keep in mind, however, that at the end of the day ballistic energy is not a substitute for good shot-placement.

[tonelar]

I paid too much for mine. It's a Vector 51- MP styled - PTR 91

[Tarkan]

A couple of things:

you cannot buy an HK91 for $900.

you will be hard pressed to find a PTR-91 for $900.

The HK91/PTR-91/ G3 is not a very accurate platform. The AR platform is much more accurate. There is a reason why the M16/AR platform dominates the Camp Perry Service Rifle matches even though shooters can use M-1 Garands in 30-06 or M1A/M14 variants in 308.

There's some merit to upgrading from 5.56 to 6.5 or 6.8, but the 308 is not the end all be all of rounds.

Also edited to add...

If you are shooting ball ammo, the 55 grain 5.56mm will kill you deader than 308 ball will, at least under 100 yards out of a 16 inch barrel. The 69, 75, and 77 grain OTM 5.56 bullets are even better. Of course, if you use something like the Barnes TSX in 308, it will put anything in 5.56 to shame:

http://www.barnesbullets.com/videos/308 ... 40x480.wmv

[Lost Boy]

A couple of things:There is a reason why the M16/AR platform dominates the Camp Perry Service Rifle matches even though shooters can use M-1 Garands in 30-06 or M1A/M14 variants in 308.

There's some merit to upgrading from 5.56 to 6.5 or 6.8, but the 308 is not the end all be all of rounds.

The reason is, most shooters are not skilled enough to generate a consistent surprise trigger break, and consequently they anticipate the recoil to the detriment of their accuracy. The .223 generates almost no felt recoil, and is therefore easier to learn shooting basics. The .308 round itself is inarguably much more accurate than the .223, especially at ranges longer than 400 yards. Furthermore, it's important to not make a mistake between what is required for punching holes in paper and putting holes in muscle tissue and bone. At those ranges, you want a bullet that maintains its energy by virtue of its mass, not just its velocity.

If you are shooting ball ammo, the 55 grain 5.56mm will kill you deader than 308 ball will, at least under 100 yards out of a 16 inch barrel. The 69, 75, and 77 grain OTM 5.56 bullets are even better. Of course, if you use something like the Barnes TSX in 308, it will put anything in 5.56 to shame:

http://www.barnesbullets.com/videos/308 ... 40x480.wmv

Again, at the distances you are talking about, bullet caliber is no substitute for proper shot placement.