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Correia · August 30, 2002, 01:51 PM

There have been a pile of theads comparing battle rifles lately, and rather than respond to all of them, I figured I would just make one big list.

Correia’s opinion on which is the Queen of Battle Rifles.

Ok, here goes. I’ve used all of these, and the following are just my opinions.

1. Accuracy: Good specimens of each of these can be very very accurate. The nod probably goes to the AR10. The heavy free floated barrel model that I was able to play with shot some amazing groups. But that is with the heavy barrel. Amongst the regular barreled, normal weight models I don’t think that there is a whole heck of a lot of difference. The AR is probably still going to be the best, but I’ve seen some phenomenal M1a shooting. The FAL and the G3 are going to come in after. But in field conditions I don’t think that there is going to be a whole lot of difference between the 4. Once you start shooting affordable milsurp ammo I bet the differences will be even more negligible. Personally I don’t worry about pretty groups off of the bench with my battle rifle, I worry if I can hit a steel plate out to 500 yards, fast.

2. Reliability: All 4 are going to be pretty darn reliable. I’ve got the most experience with the FAL, and it is one reliable rifle. It can work with lots of gunk inside the action. I have not shot an AR10 in really grungy conditions, but if it is as bad as my AR15 then it might be horrible, but that is just heresay on my part. All 4 have reputations of being reliable. I have also seen all 4 of these jam, and I've managed to jam a couple of AKs as well.

No rifle is 100% reliable, some are just better than others. Note: any of them will jam up really bad if you get much sand in the magazines.

3. Cleaning: The AR10 is a pain in the butt to clean. Tiny little locking lugs, action that gets really grungy. Little parts that can be lost. Yuck. The G3 is okay, but not great, still hard to get deep in there. The M1a sucks to strip but for just cleaning in the field, you can get most of the crap out of the important areas with out stripping. You do have to clean from the muzzle end, which is a pain. The FAL is the easiest to maintain. Push a button, break it open, pull the bolt carrier out. Your done. Plus you can actually take the dust cover off and get in there to clean.

4. Ergonomics: Pure opinion. Hold them all and see what feels good. For me personally though, The AR mag change is the fastest, but it is real easy to have your loaded mag fall out because you didn’t get it fully seated. (it makes you look like a real pro when your magazine falls out of your gun during a 3 gun match.

)

The rock and lock guns are slower. Of the 3, the G3 is the worst because the mag doesn’t want to go in very easy (with practice you get used to it), the M1a is next because you do have to use your left hand to release it. (Not a problem if you use the mag kind of like a forward grip like I do, because your hand is there anyway). The FAL is potentially the fastest of the rock and locks because you can drop the mag with your trigger finger while grabbing a spare with your left. (that is with metric, and if you have long fingers, inch releases are bigger, but are on the left side).

The cocking handle on the G3 is usually difficult to operate and very stout. Plus it is way out there, and hard to get leverage on. The AR cocking handle is just plain silly. The M1a is very stout, but it is on the right side of the gun, so you either reach over with your left, or you bring your firing hand up. The FAL is the easiest to use being right there, so you change a mag bring your left hand up.

With the AR though, on mag changes you don’t need to mess with the charging handle because you just hit the bolt release. Very fast. So I guess on the AR the only time you will mess with the charging handle is in case of malfunction. There are bolt releases on the other guns, but from what I’ve seen very few of us use them because they are harder to reach/operate.

Safeties: AR is easiest to use. FAL metric is hard to reach, inch is great. The M1a safety, you either love it or you hate it. The G3 is similar to the FAL in location. (and I've seen variations, some G3 clones work in the opposite direction, up for fire).

Magazines: FAL wins hands down. Tons of mags, for dirt cheap. G3 is second because you can get CETME mags almost as cheap as FAL mags. M1a is third, but costing quite a bit more. AR10 is the worst because you get the most expensive mags of the bunch, and then you modify them. But then again, buy the gun you like the best, put the money down, get a dozen mags and you are set.

Scope Mounting: AR flat top is great for scope mounting. Carry handle scope mounts put the scope way to high for most people. M1a scope mounts? I don’t know, I’ve only used one and it was a cheap piece of crap that put the scope too high. I’m sure there are better ones out there. The G3 claw mounts cost a fortune, and I wouldn’t buy one of those G3 clones with the integral scope base. (what are those things made out of anyway? Looks kind of like the stuff they make Chia pets out of) The FAL has some pretty good mounts that replace your dustcover, and then tighten up with screws. I had one that worked really well on mine, but I don’t shoot well with scopes, so I never use it anymore.

Iron sights. M1a sights rock. They are excellent. AR10 sights are good. FAL sights are courser, and harder to adjust. I don’t like the G3 drum sight at all, but it is probably even with the FAL. (I would take any of them over a buckhorn style site any day of the week)

Recoil: I know it seems like they should all be the same, but the G3 just seems to have the worst recoil. The others just seem softer. (Weird factoid, the CETME seems to kick less than the G3, go figure).

Stock design: If you prefer a regular style stock vs. a pistol grip then your decision is easy, get the M1a. On the others, it all comes down to which one feels the best.

Trigger: I’ve felt good ones on all of these rifles. The FAL gets a bad rap for being heavy, but that is mostly from cheap parts guns. There are more smiths who know how to tune an M1a or AR10 trigger. You can get either one of those to have really nice trigger pulls.

Accessories: Everything you could possibly want is out there for each rifle. HK stuff is drastically overpriced. How much crap do you want to hang off your battle rifle anyway?

Cost: An honest to goodness HK costs a small fortune now a days. Clones are out there, but they are parts guns so it is going to be hit or miss. The AR10 and M1a are going to run well over a thousand bucks. A DSA FAL is going to cost about the same. However if you know somebody (qualified) who can build a FAL, and know what kind of parts to buy, you can build a FAL of equivalent quality for much less money.

Just my opinions. Personally I use a FAL, I just happen to shoot it the best. But I would feel well armed with a good speciman of any of these guns.

August 30, 2002, 01:51 PM	#1
Correia Senior Member Join Date: December 3, 1998 Location: SLC Utah Posts: 3,740	FAL vs. AR10 vs. M1a vs. G3 There have been a pile of theads comparing battle rifles lately, and rather than respond to all of them, I figured I would just make one big list. Correia’s opinion on which is the Queen of Battle Rifles. Ok, here goes. I’ve used all of these, and the following are just my opinions. 1. Accuracy: Good specimens of each of these can be very very accurate. The nod probably goes to the AR10. The heavy free floated barrel model that I was able to play with shot some amazing groups. But that is with the heavy barrel. Amongst the regular barreled, normal weight models I don’t think that there is a whole heck of a lot of difference. The AR is probably still going to be the best, but I’ve seen some phenomenal M1a shooting. The FAL and the G3 are going to come in after. But in field conditions I don’t think that there is going to be a whole lot of difference between the 4. Once you start shooting affordable milsurp ammo I bet the differences will be even more negligible. Personally I don’t worry about pretty groups off of the bench with my battle rifle, I worry if I can hit a steel plate out to 500 yards, fast. 2. Reliability: All 4 are going to be pretty darn reliable. I’ve got the most experience with the FAL, and it is one reliable rifle. It can work with lots of gunk inside the action. I have not shot an AR10 in really grungy conditions, but if it is as bad as my AR15 then it might be horrible, but that is just heresay on my part. All 4 have reputations of being reliable. I have also seen all 4 of these jam, and I've managed to jam a couple of AKs as well. No rifle is 100% reliable, some are just better than others. Note: any of them will jam up really bad if you get much sand in the magazines. 3. Cleaning: The AR10 is a pain in the butt to clean. Tiny little locking lugs, action that gets really grungy. Little parts that can be lost. Yuck. The G3 is okay, but not great, still hard to get deep in there. The M1a sucks to strip but for just cleaning in the field, you can get most of the crap out of the important areas with out stripping. You do have to clean from the muzzle end, which is a pain. The FAL is the easiest to maintain. Push a button, break it open, pull the bolt carrier out. Your done. Plus you can actually take the dust cover off and get in there to clean. 4. Ergonomics: Pure opinion. Hold them all and see what feels good. For me personally though, The AR mag change is the fastest, but it is real easy to have your loaded mag fall out because you didn’t get it fully seated. (it makes you look like a real pro when your magazine falls out of your gun during a 3 gun match. ) The rock and lock guns are slower. Of the 3, the G3 is the worst because the mag doesn’t want to go in very easy (with practice you get used to it), the M1a is next because you do have to use your left hand to release it. (Not a problem if you use the mag kind of like a forward grip like I do, because your hand is there anyway). The FAL is potentially the fastest of the rock and locks because you can drop the mag with your trigger finger while grabbing a spare with your left. (that is with metric, and if you have long fingers, inch releases are bigger, but are on the left side). The cocking handle on the G3 is usually difficult to operate and very stout. Plus it is way out there, and hard to get leverage on. The AR cocking handle is just plain silly. The M1a is very stout, but it is on the right side of the gun, so you either reach over with your left, or you bring your firing hand up. The FAL is the easiest to use being right there, so you change a mag bring your left hand up. With the AR though, on mag changes you don’t need to mess with the charging handle because you just hit the bolt release. Very fast. So I guess on the AR the only time you will mess with the charging handle is in case of malfunction. There are bolt releases on the other guns, but from what I’ve seen very few of us use them because they are harder to reach/operate. Safeties: AR is easiest to use. FAL metric is hard to reach, inch is great. The M1a safety, you either love it or you hate it. The G3 is similar to the FAL in location. (and I've seen variations, some G3 clones work in the opposite direction, up for fire). Magazines: FAL wins hands down. Tons of mags, for dirt cheap. G3 is second because you can get CETME mags almost as cheap as FAL mags. M1a is third, but costing quite a bit more. AR10 is the worst because you get the most expensive mags of the bunch, and then you modify them. But then again, buy the gun you like the best, put the money down, get a dozen mags and you are set. Scope Mounting: AR flat top is great for scope mounting. Carry handle scope mounts put the scope way to high for most people. M1a scope mounts? I don’t know, I’ve only used one and it was a cheap piece of crap that put the scope too high. I’m sure there are better ones out there. The G3 claw mounts cost a fortune, and I wouldn’t buy one of those G3 clones with the integral scope base. (what are those things made out of anyway? Looks kind of like the stuff they make Chia pets out of) The FAL has some pretty good mounts that replace your dustcover, and then tighten up with screws. I had one that worked really well on mine, but I don’t shoot well with scopes, so I never use it anymore. Iron sights. M1a sights rock. They are excellent. AR10 sights are good. FAL sights are courser, and harder to adjust. I don’t like the G3 drum sight at all, but it is probably even with the FAL. (I would take any of them over a buckhorn style site any day of the week) Recoil: I know it seems like they should all be the same, but the G3 just seems to have the worst recoil. The others just seem softer. (Weird factoid, the CETME seems to kick less than the G3, go figure). Stock design: If you prefer a regular style stock vs. a pistol grip then your decision is easy, get the M1a. On the others, it all comes down to which one feels the best. Trigger: I’ve felt good ones on all of these rifles. The FAL gets a bad rap for being heavy, but that is mostly from cheap parts guns. There are more smiths who know how to tune an M1a or AR10 trigger. You can get either one of those to have really nice trigger pulls. Accessories: Everything you could possibly want is out there for each rifle. HK stuff is drastically overpriced. How much crap do you want to hang off your battle rifle anyway? Cost: An honest to goodness HK costs a small fortune now a days. Clones are out there, but they are parts guns so it is going to be hit or miss. The AR10 and M1a are going to run well over a thousand bucks. A DSA FAL is going to cost about the same. However if you know somebody (qualified) who can build a FAL, and know what kind of parts to buy, you can build a FAL of equivalent quality for much less money. Just my opinions. Personally I use a FAL, I just happen to shoot it the best. But I would feel well armed with a good speciman of any of these guns.