Lots of good responses, so I'll add mine now......
while not a "true" military rifle, my pick is the M1A1 (M-14 copy). My reasoning is because 1.) it has good sights for a military rifle, 2.) it is chambered for the .308 Winchester, a popular and versatile round, and 3.) the gun handles well, almost like a shotgun, when tracking/swinging on moving targets. I shot a deer with mine and 2 out of 3 shots hit the vitals.
my #2 choice would have to be the SMLE in various configurations.....good sights, cartridge isn't too hard to find, and handles fairly well, even in it's full size variants.
my #3 choice is the Swedish M38 carbine....sights are better than most for a mauser (more on this in a minute), the Swedish mausers seem to have the best bores of all the military mausers I've looked at, and the round, while not overly popular, isn't all that difficult to find (its a lot more easier to find than it was 20 years ago).
When considering this, I discounted any of the guns chambered for hard to find (or hard to find in soft point) calibers, such as the 7.5x55 Swiss, the 8x60, 6.5 and 7.7 Jap, 7.65 Belgain, ect. I also discounted any gun chambered for the 7.62x39 or 30 carbine....I have used the 7.62 on deer and haven't been happy with the terminal performance; I personally don't consider it an effective deer round, or a long range round.
I also discounted most of the mausers, as I don't feel that the battle sights (or at least the ones I have handled) are adequate for game shooting, either at long distance or low light conditions.
I was wondering if anyone would mention the 'really oldies', such as the Krag or the Springfield....thanks popplecop.
I also must admit that I totally overlooked the Springfield 03A3 and the Garand......I feel like a dolt on that one!
Anyway, thanks to all for your opinions and participation.......
