Quote Originally Posted by Danus ex View Post
Agreed. For the last 20 years, the firearms internet has conditioned me to always test things and trust only my own experience. Some examples of forum lies vs. reality:

Lie: AKs suck and you need the latest to shoot well.

Fact: Some of my best iron sight 200 m groups are from AKs. In 2009, my inexperienced, then 79 year old grandfather was making consistent (24/30) 600 yard hits on a steel torso with a Tantal I built, with irons, with 7N6, from prone, with the Tantal's shit bipod.

Lie: Swiss guns are the be-all, end-all.

Fact: They're nice but they're never perfect nor is their value commensurate with their prices. They're just guns, guys.

Lie: The M14 is finicky, unreliable garbage and we should've adopted the FAL.

Fact: Springfield Armory Inc. M1As and USGI parts guns are not equivalent even though everyone generalizes from their SAI experience. My basic, all-USGI (LRB rec) M14s have been perfect over thousands of milsurp rounds and dozens of disassemblies. They are, after the AR, the easiest centerfire guns for normal people to shoot well in my whole collection. They're also antique crap compared to an SR-25 or similar.

The FAL is the worst gun for Minnesota-based civilians. I wanted to love it so much, I bought 2 FNs and built 8 kit guns. In a military context with a controlled ammo supply, the adjustable gas system might make sense. Today, in a world with dozens of 7.62x51 options shooting in a state with a ~150°F temperature range, you spend way too much time adjusting gas for basic function and sights chasing today's POI. That's if you don't lose the gas tube pin. By the way, only some ammo is accurate in a given gun even though it's specced identically.
Opinions based on defined personal experiences are awesome. However, so many people cannot admit that they have very little or no experience at all with something and therefore have no valid opinion to offer on the matter.