Quote Originally Posted by SethB View Post
The modern rifles are very reliable. And cheaper than the M14, FAL, etc. by thousands of dollars.
Imbel FALs sell for about 900 bucks today. TRW's $90 would be about 900 today and the M4s are running about 2K. So I doubt the cost comment is very accurate.

They are reliable today but all the arguments praising the M16 still overlook the real problem -- the cartridge and it's effective range.
They also accessorize more easily, and are significantly lighter.
Define significant -- and do the accessories count?
I'd say that you'd have a hell of a time finding a better rifle COTS, and if you further developed it (as the DoD has refused to do for many years) you can improve on what already exists.
Either the Stoner 63 or the AR-18 say Gene stoner doesn't agree with you...

It's adequate, there are better rifles out there but they are not mo' better to the point that the cost of change is justified. Changing the cartridge is far easier and there's no excuse for not having done that.

Disabling the full auto capability would help save money and provide an incentive to shoot better....