Obvious Urban response. Give me the M-14 every day. I used one. I know what it will do. I know what that POS M-16 wont do. Once you have sprayed all your mosquito killer into the brush and you are out of ammo, because it wouldnt take the enemy down, you’ll be whining out the other side of your mouth and tryin to crawl back behind me to get some cover.
I see you can not buy an M-14 at the armories any more. I am told they are going to the Marines in Afganistan. i trained on both in the 60s. If you have to reach out and touch someone the M-14 is the way to go.
I personally prefer the 308 over the 223 but I have treated 223 wounds. When they hit flesh, the are definately more than mosquito killer. They produce a high energy wound crushing and destroying a fist sized piece of flesh. Lots of blood loss and nasty to treat.
A single 223 wound is a life altering event. I think proper weapons training is much more important than specific bullet selection. Of course, that being said, I have three 308 weapons for protection of the premisis but no weapon that fires a 223.