springfield rifle opinions

[Larry Gibson]

That particular M60 weighs in at 23 lbs......+ 150 7.62 rounds in the gun.....another 100 round belt in bandolier hanging off left side.....M1911 w/3 mags and 21 rds 45 ACP.....LBE with personal gear....2 canteens...knife.....1st aid kit.....pouch with 21 extra 45 ACP rds.....helmit......an aussie back pack (traded a poncho liner for it and the spats?) with C-rats and personal gear in it (were issued jungle rucks yet).....have no idea what it all weighed........ carried that M60 from "Oct '65 to April of '66.....used it a tad bit also..........

My assistant gunner carried another 400 rounds + the spare barrel and all his gear with the E tool to dig a position with...we seldom carried the tripod and T&E in the jungle when on foot. He was armed with a M1911 also (no rifle) and thus was dependent on me so he stayed close to feed the gun. My ammo bearrer also carried 400 rounds and all other riflemen carried 100 round bandolier. We used the M60s as machine guns, not squad automatic weapons (yes there is a tactical difference).

Larry Gibson

[x101airborne]

If I may offer another suggestion.... The FNAR.
I have an M-1A, a LR-308, a Garand, and an FAL. Of all four, I would take the FNAR Light. 22 inch fluted match barrel, synthetic stock with pistol grip, forward accessory mounts, adjustable for cant, cheekpiece height and length of pull. Fair trigger but it is easily tuned. Twenty round mags. I like mine for hog hunting a LOT! When I lay down on a group of pigs, I can almost keep the crosshairs on the hog through the shot. Recovery is so quick it is rediculous. And I THINK mine weighs around 8 pounds with scope and loaded mag. Anyway, I will carry mine most of the day and it is comfy as it gets.

[MBTcustom]

I know you said you wanted to stay with a 30 caliber, but I just thought I would mention that a friend of mine is sending the barrel of his M1A out to JES reborring to have it opened up to 358winchester.
Voila! semi-automatic superslamerator. Good for what ails ya.
Of course, you could do the same thing with the AR-10 or any other rifle chambered in the 7.62X51 cartridge.