AmmoManAaron
Master
Heck, I've used REAL full-auto rifles and did not like them. Subguns and belt fed, I get. Rifles, waste of ammo.
Which rifles did you use?
My experiences:
M16A3 - I liked, easily controlled. Could be useful.
M2 Carbine - pretty much same as above
M14 (standard stock, not the E2 stock) - 2-3 shots bursts and it was all I could do to keep on a car-sized target, anything longer and the climb was just too much. Not practical. No experience with the E2 stocked gun - probably better, but still not good.
FAL with standard fixed stock - proper stance and really leaning into it, I could do 20 round mag dumps into a car out to 100 yards. It was a lot of fun doing that even though it took effort on my part. Still wouldn't be practical in a realistic setting.
G3/HK-91 - no experience, probably not practical
HK-93 - no experience, but probably practical
BAR - I liked, heavy, accurate, and easily controlled on the lower ROF setting. Could be useful.
AK-47 variants - Controllability varied widely depending on the gun. Over-gassed guns weren't fun and recoil was substantial. As a lefty, the ones equipped with slant brakes sucked. Guns that didn't have a slant brake and weren't over-gassed ran smooth and were nearly as controllable as an M-16A3.
VZ-58 - ROF similar to AK-47, but the gun was so much lighter that it seemed to jump around a lot. Recoil and climb weren't bad, but a good AK variant would be preferred. On semi it was a fine rifle.
I am shocked at the number of Veteran's who come in here and tell me they kept their M4 on "semi auto" most of the time they were overseas....They said they would often switch to 3 shot burst when providing cover fire....Not all of course but enough told me that that it made me think a little.....
Quick and accurate aimed fire is the most effective response in almost all circumstances and doesn't waste ammo (a precious resource if you are far from resupply). My opinion is that full auto has it's place in the following relatively uncommon circumstances:
1.) repelling human wave attacks (happened in Korea, Vietnam, and occasionally in A-stan)
2.) mag dumps into suicide car bombers. Stopping them on their approach as quickly as possible means everyone dumps everything into the vehicle as quickly as possible. You may or may not have the time and presence of mind to flip the switch, but if you are already at a checkpoint your selector setting (if applicable) may not be an issue.
3.) counter sniper fire - think of it as a quick response to fire from a building window...you saw the flash, but because of lighting you can't see to aim specifically at the person firing. Dump a burst into the window and surrounding walls, seek cover, reassess.
4.) breaking contact and relocating in a firefight/ambush when you can identify the source of enemy fire (i.e. - not just a panic response, which is pretty useless and a waste of ammo)
Experiences can and will differ. If you ever did any reading on lightfighter, you know how quickly tactics and scenarios can evolve.