The past seven years or so have seen a strong trend toward 7.62x51mm (.308 Winchester) semiautomatic rifles. Each service has dabbled in a handful of platforms, several federal agencies are issuing them in decent numbers, and the market response has been strong. Most shooters want one and many are convinced they need one. I’m here to throw a mildly wet blanket onto the idea and help sort tactical trendiness from actual capability.