I was at the range with a buddy of mine, and he brought his Imbel FAL rifle. I'm sure most of ya'll are much more familiar with it than I am, but it was my first exposure to a real battle rifle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FN_FAL
This particular example was an IMBEL (?) model, with wood furniture. Although used, it shot with no issues.
For me, being a lefty, it was pretty hopeless to shoot very well. The safety, box mag catch and bolt were all on the left side, which was very awkward.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the recoil, but I gripped tightly and held it firmly to my shoulder. I've never shot .308 Winchester (which I gather is also known as 7.62mmx51?) but the kick was not too bad.
Due to ammo cost, I didn't want to shoot more than about 5 rounds, but it was a lot of fun.
Afterwards I watched a few videos on the FAL and was surprised how ubiquitous it was, having been used in over 90 countries, and being one of the premier battle rifles after WWII for a long period. Very interesting to see, handle and shoot a piece of history like this.