I've always liked the "second gen" main battle rifles that were developed and were issued after WWII. The FAL, HK G3, M14, BM-59, and the Armalite AR-10.
The original AR-10 as produced in the Netherlands for the governments of Portugal, Sudan, Nicaragua, Burma, and several other countries never suffered from the spotty reputation for reliability that the more current AR-10 systems do.
The Portuguese used them widely in their colonial wars in Mozambique and Angola, where they were issued side by side with FN FAL's and HK G3's. Articles by Chuck Taylor in the 80's lead me to believe that they were favored over the FAL and G3 systems that the Portuguese used in theater.
There were a few US made semi auto clones built using original military uppers on semi auto lowers, made by Sendra and Telco. You don't see them often, and when you do, they are usually running over $3K now.
Anyway, here are some pics of Portuguese troops taken during the colonial wars in Angola and Mozambique during the late 60's and early 70's.
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