Armalite AR10 (7.62mm NATO)
Kim du Toit
February 27, 2003
12:00 AM CDT
I’ve ranted endlessly about how the .223 varmint cartridge is a POS combat cartridge at anywhere over 200 yards.
Some people have taken this to mean that I don’t like the M16-style rifle. Au contraire, mes amis.
Eugene Stoner’s design is a good, workmanlike solution to the age-old problem of reconciling portability with ease of operation and knockdown power—and it only fails the test when chambered for the shitty .223 (okay, 5.56mm NATO) cartridge.
Here’s my ideal battle rifle (under existing circumstances)—the Armalite AR-10(A2) battle rifle, chambered for the excellent .308 Win (7.62x51mm NATO) cartridge:
I’ll even accept the carbine version:
And no, I wouldn’t modify the AR-10 to full-auto fire—the 7.62 NATO rifle is uncontrollable at full-auto—but I might consider a “two-burst” (one trigger-pull, two bullets) capability in lieu thereof.
And don’t give me that “but you can’t carry as much 7.62 ammo as you can 5.56” jive. My motto: one bullet, one dead enemy soldier.
And you can achieve that best with the .308, far less with the .223.
Of course, you too can own one of these fine rifles (even in the People’s Republics of New York, California etc.—for the moment, anyway), for the fairly modest outlay of about $1,500.
Or, if you’re serious about accuracy, add another $500 and get the AR-10(T) with the heavier target barrel:
You will not be disappointed.
Oh, and for the non-reloaders, decent mil-surp ammo costs around 16c per round.
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