SLR-95

By any other reckoning this is the classic AK-47. I have never been a soldier, although I do not doubt had I grown up in the age of the draft I would be a better man for the experience. If the US government told me tomorrow I must take up arms to defend my country, this would be my weapon of choice. Simple, reliable and composed of few parts, the AK is not the world's most popular military rifle by accident. In a television interview with Kalashnikov and Eugene Stoner, Stoner said everybody was happy with the M-16's 20 round magazine until they encountered the 30 round AK. I've maintained a couple of US made ARs and my one Bulgarian AK. There is no doubt in my mind the AK will take more of everything than the AR. As to accuracy, the AK will put five rounds in a 12 inch circle at 300 yards with any ammo all day every day, and it needs to be cleaned at least once per war.

DSA SA-58

The SA-58 is one of the better American made civilian versions of the venerable FAL. Dieudonne Saive's original design for a semi auto rifle, begun before WWII, resulted in the FN49. This rifle was one of the last generation of wood and metal rifles. The family resemblance to the FAL is unmistakable. As military thinking evolved, so too did the requirements for battle rifles. While initially designed for a smaller cartridge, FN succeeded in enlarging the action to handle the 7.62 x 51 round the US was busy ramming down NATO's throat. American trials of the rifle have always smacked of impropriety. For those countries who adopted the design, they got a rugged reliable gun. As a civilian shooter, the semi auto versions are a blast to shoot. Accuracy is acceptable and recoil particularly mild for a potent round like the .308.

H&K SR9

In other words its a renamed civilianized version of the HK 91. I think the roller locked blow back system used by H&K originated with the German Stg 44 assault rifle of WWII. It certainly is a development of the Spanish CETME. The blowback system is very unusual in such a powerful rifle. The vast majority of such rifles use a gas system. Although constructed of stamped and welded sheet metal, the heavy bolt helps give the gun a very solid feel. Don't worry about collecting and reloading your brass. The ejection port leaves a heavy dent in the middle of the case, rendering it useless for reloading. Its also a good idea to set up over on the right side of the firing line. Ejected cases fly 30+ feet straight out to the right.

AR Mongrel

When the Socialist Republic of California decided to force registration of military style sporters, my Colt moved out of state. In its place, I built a legal 16" carbine on a Dalphon lower receiver. I have no idea who or what Dalphon is/are, but their parts work fine. The rest of the kit came from Olympia Arms. I wouldn't relish field stripping this thing in a mud bog, and parts like the firing pin retainer and destined to get lost. I also don't like the direct gas impingement on the bolt. Yes, it reduces weight, but it also delivers carbon fouling directly into the receiver and bolt assembly. Cleaning this pig is a nightmare. The lack of a fluted chamber and chrome lined bore were also strikes against the design. On the positive side, as a toy its fun to shoot. We had our UK directors in town for meetings and took them shooting one day. One of the guys ran a magazine through the gun and liked it so much he reloaded and had at it again. By the time he was done he had shot about 500 rounds. It took a while, but eventually I managed to clean all the crap out of the gun.

Steyr USR

Here we have the California legal, civilian version of the Steyr AUG. In this case USR stands for Universal Sporting Rifle. The goofy extension behind the handle makes this a "thumbhole" stock. A very interesting modular design, the USR suffers from a diabolical trigger, at least in civilian form. The built in optical sight is only 1.5x power, but it can be replaced with a standard scope mount. It appears to be an inherently accurate gun, but suffers from what feels like a ten pound trigger. If I could lay my hands on another trigger group and some springs it may worth trying to build a target trigger. Although a favorite with my once-a-year-go-shooting buddies, it has niggling feed problems which have so far eluded resolution. Whatever it's flaws, the USR always gets looks, and when its working it is great fun to shoot.