Earlier I was agonizing over which big-bore battle rifle to get. I considered the FAL, HK91/G3, Saiga 308, M1A, and AR-10. All of these are chambered for 7.26x54mm NATO, are semi-auto, and have devoted supporters.

I don’t like the high cost, recent quality problems, expensive parts, and gunsmithing required for the M1A, not to mention the lack of a pistol grip.

No sooner did I get my new AR-15 than I started looking for another one.

Keeping with the spirit of buying scary guns with evil pistol grips and high-cap mags, I’m looking at a battle rifle next. ‘Battle rifle’ is a generic term (like ‘assault rifle’, but not so abused) meaning a big-more semiauto rifle designed for or suited to military use. An AR-15 is not a battle rifle, as it doesn’t pass the caliber test. Nor is an AK-47 or AK-74.

Major battle rifles I considered:

• Springfield M1A - .308, uber-reliable, uber-accurate, uber-expensive