At least we were issued M-14s. Of course, the kids from the Big Apple and such still boloed alot because of the "kick", but it was a rifle I had confidence in.
We need to transition back to the 7.62 Nato and give our men and women a real weapon.
Me too - 1964 actually. I grew up poor in the Appalachian Mountains in Northern Pennsylvania and started hunting as soon as I was big enough to keep both ends of the rifle off of the ground. I was given two or three rounds of ammo and got my butt whipped if I came home without either a piece of game for each shot or all the ammo I left home with.
My father taught me to know what I was shooting at and hit what I was shooting at. My kids have got those little .223 rifles and they use the "Spray & Pray" method. I still bring home more deer than they do by quite a bit.