The 416 is definitely a popular option at the moment. Very nice gun for the price. People generally buy them not just because they look cool, but because they're quite functional too. They're powerful and accurate out of the box, can be used for both outdoor and indoor (with a spring downgrade), and are cheap to upgrade or repair. I'm quite happy with mine.
The L96 tend to be bought up by noobs who are into Counterstrike and think that sniping is the same in a real like as in CS.
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