A battle rifle is a military service rifle that fires a full-power rifle cartridge, such as 7.62×51mm NATO, 7.62×54mmR, 7.92x57mm Mauser, .303 British, or .30-06 Springfield. Compared to assault rifles and their intermediate cartridges, the higher-caliber rounds provide greater power and range, though they have greater weight and produce stronger recoil, making them less than ideal for fully automatic fire.
Description
The designation of battle rifle is usually given to post-World War II select fire rifles such as the FN FAL, the M14, BM59, H&K G3, SIG 510, AR-10, or CETME rifle. This term may also describe older military full-powered semi-automatic rifles such as the M1 Garand, the MAS-49 and the FN-49.
The term "battle rifle" was created largely out of a need to better differentiate the somewhat lower-power assault rifles (e.g. StG-44, AK-47 and M16) from full-powered automatic rifles (e.g. FN FAL, M14 rifle and H&K G3) as both classes of firearms have similar appearances and share many of the same features such as pistol grips and having separate upper and lower receivers. Prior to the 1990s, the term was not well defined and was used as a general description for all types of military rifles.