Standard Issue
AussieNick
Forum Digger
It's the newest incarnation of the F88. Technically the F88 is still the "standard issue" but it is gradually being replaced. There is the F88-s which has a picitiny rail for the scope. The F88-A4 has the hand guard removed, picitiny rail for the scope and on the barrel.
Dean
Active member
When deciding on a "best weapon", I always look for 2 things, reliability and accuracy. What the M-16/M-4 series loses in reliability, it makes up for in accuracy, and what the AK-47 series loses in accuracy, it more than makes up for in reliability. So, which rifle combines the 2? Not having fired any of the rifles mentioned leaves me in the rather uncomfortable position of having to use only anecdotal and written information, but that is what I'll do.
To those of you who are willing to reject a weapon due to it's ergonomics, remember this: Many who used the M-14 stated that the ergonomics of the FN-FAL and G-3 were bad due to the placement of the safety. Well, we alll know what happened to the trigger guard mounted safety of the Garand series. It was useless for those of us wearing heavy gloves. Ergonomics is usually a question of accustomization; for me, raising my head every time I want to pull the charging handle of the M-16 would be as much or as little of a pain in the ass as the forward mounted cocking handle of the G-3. Give me the FN-FAL left side handle anytime. But to those trained on the G-3, any of the others would give them fits. So, unless there is a real problem, like a charging handle that requires you to stand up to use it, be careful with ergonomics.
The key issue is reliability. Now, the most reliable rifle out there is the AK series, but they do have some problems, these being accuracy, a noisy safety lever, and a calibre that almost nobody uses. Other countries (Israel and Finland) have built versions of the AK in 5.56, and both met with greater and lesser success. Finland still uses their 7.62 variant while Israel essentially dropped the Galil, and South Africa is seeking a replacement. IFIAK, Valmet did not find any takers for their 5.56 version.
The M-16: The M-16 still has reliability problems. It remains very sensitive to the ammunition used and like it or not, it does foul much faster than rifles equipped with gas pistons. It is the fact that the gas vents directly into the action that makes it more liable to pick up sand and other fouling. As a direct result of its gas action, it requires far more cleaning and maintenance than any of the other rifles out there. On the up side, it is reliable enough when used with high quality ammunition, very accurate and quite light.
The HK-416: This is simply an upper receiver that contains a short stroke gas piston and barrel that is made to be swapped onto the lower receiver of any M-16. This gives the M-16/M-4 series rifle a far cleaner action that has been also been proven in other rifles, and at no cost to it's qualities. The clear winner between the 2? The HK-416.
The G-36: This weapon donated its short stroke gas piston to the HK-416. It is known to be a very reliable and accurate weapon, and it was adopted by many people since it was introduced. (Germany, Spain have adopted it, others are considering it, many police forces have adopted it) It was designed from the ground up as a 5.56 weapon, and as such, has none of the disadvantages of excessive weight and questionable accuracy of the re-engineered AK series rifles. From what I have heard and read, it is one of the best, if not the best 5.56 rifle out there at the present time.
The Diemaco C-7 (Canada): This is an M-16 variant that was re-designed and rebuilt to Canadian specifications. The result was what is generally considered to be the best of all of the M-16 series, and it was this rifle that was adopted by Canada, the Netherlands, the British SAS and some others. In fact, it was so good that Colt Firearms bought Diemaco and turned it into Colt Canada. Is it the best? It has the same weakness as the rest of the M-16/M-4 series, but it seems that Diemaco was able to reduce the problem of fouling to a more acceptable level, producing a more reliable weapon. Its great advantage is that it works very well in cold climates, where foreign object fouling is not that much of a problem, I might add.
Steyr AUG/F-88/F-88A4: This one is a dark horse. I have never heard any evidence, anecdotal or otherwise, that this rifle is anything other than excellent. The only weakness that I can see is the fact that it is a bullpup, which is a design to which many people have an aversion. (Actually, I do. I can shoot off of both shoulders, so being able to quickly switch shoulders without converting my rifle is important to me. Bullpups do not allow this.) I believe that the main hinderance to further adoption of the AUG was the fact that very few armies are willing to spend the time re-training all their lefties to shoot off their right shoulders, and the fact that the AUG is a very expensive rifle. (I do not know if the AUG is as expensive as it once was) In terms of reliablility and accuracy, it is also hard to beat.
So here are my choices, in a very particular order.
1. G-36
2. HK-416
3. C-7
4. AUG
5. M-16
Dean.
To those of you who are willing to reject a weapon due to it's ergonomics, remember this: Many who used the M-14 stated that the ergonomics of the FN-FAL and G-3 were bad due to the placement of the safety. Well, we alll know what happened to the trigger guard mounted safety of the Garand series. It was useless for those of us wearing heavy gloves. Ergonomics is usually a question of accustomization; for me, raising my head every time I want to pull the charging handle of the M-16 would be as much or as little of a pain in the ass as the forward mounted cocking handle of the G-3. Give me the FN-FAL left side handle anytime. But to those trained on the G-3, any of the others would give them fits. So, unless there is a real problem, like a charging handle that requires you to stand up to use it, be careful with ergonomics.
The key issue is reliability. Now, the most reliable rifle out there is the AK series, but they do have some problems, these being accuracy, a noisy safety lever, and a calibre that almost nobody uses. Other countries (Israel and Finland) have built versions of the AK in 5.56, and both met with greater and lesser success. Finland still uses their 7.62 variant while Israel essentially dropped the Galil, and South Africa is seeking a replacement. IFIAK, Valmet did not find any takers for their 5.56 version.
The M-16: The M-16 still has reliability problems. It remains very sensitive to the ammunition used and like it or not, it does foul much faster than rifles equipped with gas pistons. It is the fact that the gas vents directly into the action that makes it more liable to pick up sand and other fouling. As a direct result of its gas action, it requires far more cleaning and maintenance than any of the other rifles out there. On the up side, it is reliable enough when used with high quality ammunition, very accurate and quite light.
The HK-416: This is simply an upper receiver that contains a short stroke gas piston and barrel that is made to be swapped onto the lower receiver of any M-16. This gives the M-16/M-4 series rifle a far cleaner action that has been also been proven in other rifles, and at no cost to it's qualities. The clear winner between the 2? The HK-416.
The G-36: This weapon donated its short stroke gas piston to the HK-416. It is known to be a very reliable and accurate weapon, and it was adopted by many people since it was introduced. (Germany, Spain have adopted it, others are considering it, many police forces have adopted it) It was designed from the ground up as a 5.56 weapon, and as such, has none of the disadvantages of excessive weight and questionable accuracy of the re-engineered AK series rifles. From what I have heard and read, it is one of the best, if not the best 5.56 rifle out there at the present time.
The Diemaco C-7 (Canada): This is an M-16 variant that was re-designed and rebuilt to Canadian specifications. The result was what is generally considered to be the best of all of the M-16 series, and it was this rifle that was adopted by Canada, the Netherlands, the British SAS and some others. In fact, it was so good that Colt Firearms bought Diemaco and turned it into Colt Canada. Is it the best? It has the same weakness as the rest of the M-16/M-4 series, but it seems that Diemaco was able to reduce the problem of fouling to a more acceptable level, producing a more reliable weapon. Its great advantage is that it works very well in cold climates, where foreign object fouling is not that much of a problem, I might add.
Steyr AUG/F-88/F-88A4: This one is a dark horse. I have never heard any evidence, anecdotal or otherwise, that this rifle is anything other than excellent. The only weakness that I can see is the fact that it is a bullpup, which is a design to which many people have an aversion. (Actually, I do. I can shoot off of both shoulders, so being able to quickly switch shoulders without converting my rifle is important to me. Bullpups do not allow this.) I believe that the main hinderance to further adoption of the AUG was the fact that very few armies are willing to spend the time re-training all their lefties to shoot off their right shoulders, and the fact that the AUG is a very expensive rifle. (I do not know if the AUG is as expensive as it once was) In terms of reliablility and accuracy, it is also hard to beat.
So here are my choices, in a very particular order.
1. G-36
2. HK-416
3. C-7
4. AUG
5. M-16
Dean.
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zander_0633
Milforum Gnat
For the Steyr AUG, my country has a better model. It is called the SAR 21. It looks like the AUG but has better ergonomics than the AUG. It is far superior than the M-16.
major liability
Active member
My favorite bullpup rifles are Britain's L85A2 and Israel's TAR-21, which apparently bears some similarities to the SAR-21.
zander_0633
Milforum Gnat
Yes, that I know. But weighing in it's good point against it's bad point, it sure is a good gun!
WNxRogue
Active member
Another interesting gun is the F2000. It has not yet been adopted by any country, but iv heard it is perhaps on the of the best assault rifle type guns out there now.
Stats:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F2000
Stats:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F2000
zander_0633
Milforum Gnat
Made by H&K?
major liability
Active member
Made by FN, actually.
zander_0633
Milforum Gnat
My favourite is the P90! Great gun for close quaters!
major liability
Active member
No one firearms manufacturer makes all of my favorite guns, they come from all parts of the world.
zander_0633
Milforum Gnat
That's good!