How to recognise military rifles

23 military rifles in Spotrep’s field guide, each with a photo, where it comes from, who uses it and the details that tell it apart from the rest.

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AK-12Rifles · Russia
AK profile in black polymer, with a full-length top rail on a hinged dust cover and a telescoping stock.
AK-74MRifles · Soviet Union
Long curved magazine, cylindrical two-chamber muzzle brake, side-folding polymer stock and the rear sight just in front of the dust cover.
AKMRifles · Soviet Union
Wooden stock and furniture, steeply curved 7.62 mm magazine, gas tube over the barrel and a slant-cut muzzle device.
AKS-74URifles · Soviet Union
Very short AK carbine with a bell-shaped muzzle booster, a side-folding skeleton stock and the rear sight on a hinged top cover.
Colt Canada C7Rifles · Canada
Full-length AR rifle: fixed stock, 20-inch barrel and a long handguard; Danish M/95s are mostly seen with the Royal Life Guards and Home Guard.
FN SCARRifles · Belgium
Squared-off upper receiver with a long top rail, angular polymer lower and a side-folding stock.
Gevær M/10Rifles · Canada
Canadian-built AR-pattern carbine used by Denmark, with a long free-float rail and a short barrel.
IWI GalilRifles · Israel
AK-style action with a side-folding tubular stock; the ARM version has a carrying handle and a bipod that doubles as a wire cutter.
IWI X95Rifles · Israel
Compact bullpup with a separate pistol-style trigger guard, a short railed handguard and the magazine behind the grip.
M16A4Rifles · USA
Full-length AR-15 pattern rifle with a fixed buttstock, a 20-inch barrel, a flat-top rail and a long railed handguard.
Sa vz. 58Rifles · Czechoslovakia
Looks like an AK at first glance, but the receiver is flat and smooth with no stamped top-cover rib, and the furniture is wood-chip plastic.
XM7 (SIG MCX Spear)Rifles · USA
Big AR-like 6.8 mm rifle with a side-folding stock, a non-reciprocating side charging handle and usually a large suppressor and fire-control optic.
No photo yet
CZ BREN 2Rifles · Czech Republic
Angular polymer lower with a side-folding stock and a short, slim handguard; charging handle on the left, a little like a compact SCAR.
No photo yet
FAMASRifles · France
Bullpup with a long carrying handle running the length of the top, holding the sights, and the magazine behind the trigger.
No photo yet
FN FALRifles · Belgium
Long 7.62 mm battle rifle with a carrying handle above the action, a straight 20-round magazine and the cocking handle on the left.
No photo yet
HK G3Rifles · Germany
Long 7.62 mm battle rifle with a slim, slightly curved magazine, a drum rear sight, a cocking tube above the barrel and a flash hider with prongs.
No photo yet
HK G36Rifles · Germany
All-polymer body, translucent magazine, built-in carrying handle with a sight on top and a folding skeleton stock.
No photo yet
HK416Rifles · Germany
AR pattern with a thick, squared free-floating rail handguard and a gas piston system.
No photo yet
IWI Tavor TAR-21Rifles · Israel
Bullpup with the magazine behind the pistol grip and a long one-piece body whose trigger guard covers the whole front of the grip.
No photo yet
L85A3Rifles · United Kingdom
Short, stubby bullpup with the magazine well behind the pistol grip, a top rail with an optic, and the ejection port and cocking handle on the right side.
No photo yet
M4 carbineRifles · USA
AR-15 pattern: straight-line stock, collapsible butt, forward assist and a short barrel under a railed handguard.
No photo yet
QBZ-95Rifles · China
Bullpup with a tall carrying handle and sight on top, the magazine far behind the pistol grip and a rounded polymer body.
No photo yet
Steyr AUGRifles · Austria
Bullpup with a one-piece green or black polymer stock, a folding vertical foregrip, an optic built into the carry handle and a translucent magazine.

How to recognise military rifles

Easy to mix up