Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

I had a fairly long post about the .223 vs. .308 arguments but I decided that all I was doing was muddying the waters.

The endless .223 vs. .308 (or 7.62×39) debate is like playing Rock, Paper, Scissors – there is no one argument that isn’t trumped by one of the other arguments. This one penetrates better but this one is lighter to carry but this one shoots flatter but this one lets you have a lighter gun but this one has a further lethal range but this one………

Realistically, any quality AK, AR, FAL, M1A, Mini-14, AUG or HK is more than adequate in power and accuracy for the unpleasant tasks we might encounter in the future. Having said that, then the other factors that come into play.

Reliability – Is it reliable? Can you fire hundreds of rounds through it without failure? Are you genuinely surprised if it fails to fire or do you ‘sort of’ expect it to have problems ‘now and then’? Can you reasonably correct reliability issues in a hurry or under stress?

Accuracy – Can it be counted on to hit what you want to hit at the distances you expect? Will it reliably put your bullets into a man- or animal-sized target at ‘x’ hundred yards?

Durability – Can it get wet, snowed on, dropped, dirty, bloody, banged around and otherwise abused with a reasonable expectation of continued operation? Will moderate neglect compromise it’s performance?

Affordability – Can you afford it and its accessories, parts and magazines without sacrificing elsewhere? (This is a difficult issue since we could argue that price is irrelevant if the other criteria are satisfied.)

Comfort – Do you feel comfortable shooting it? Is the operation of the controls something that comes naturally or is it a constant conscious effort to manipulate them? Does the recoil make you flinch? The muzzle blast make you cringe? The weight make you fatigued? Is it easy to carry?

Versatility – Can the rifle do all the tasks you expect from it? Is it a dedicated defensive gun or do you want to hunt with it? Is it strictly a CQB gun or can it be used as a marksman’s gun?

Adaptability – Is the rifle able to be modified or altered to accommodate changing requirements? Can it accept lights? Optics? Other accessories?

Logisticity – (Yes, I made up a word) Is the ‘support’ side of the equation in place? Can you readily procure ammo, spare parts, mounts, optics, tactical slings, bipods, accessories, manuals, specialized tools, cleaning gear, furniture, magazines, etc. Is there support for the rifle?

If the rifle youre thinking of meets all those criteria then it probably really doesn’t matter what caliber it is in….223, 5.45×39, .308, 7.62×39, etc. Yes, there are some exceptions…if youre shooting across valleys in Afghanistan you probably want the .308. However, realistically, the most likely shooting scenarios you or I may get into some day (Crom forbid) are probably going to be settled at less-than-parking-lot distances…distances at which the caliber has a lot less to do with success than accuracy and speed.

I’m a ‘suspenders and a belt’ kind of guy so I hedged my bets and got guns in the ‘big three’ – .223, .308 and 7.62×39.