Best WWII Semi-Auto

Which Is The Best Semi-Auto?

  • M1 Garand

    Votes: 135 86.0%

  • SVT-40

    Votes: 3 1.9%

  • G43

    Votes: 13 8.3%

  • M1941 Johnson

    Votes: 6 3.8%
  • Total voters
    157
Status
Not open for further replies.
K

Kalashnikov

Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2005
Messages
399
Now I know it will almost certainly be the M1, But I am curious as to how others would compare it to the other semi-autos. Personally, Having shot only one of the other options, the SVT-40, I can't say which is better, since I love both. But I'm not everyone and I know that some don't hold the garand in the same light as others.
 
I have fired all of the major WW2 semiauto rifles (M1, M1 Carbine, Johnson, Tokarev 38 & 40, and Kar. 43. While I hold a jinogistic love of the Garand, I have to admit that I was very impressed with the Kar. 43 and think it was far superior to the Tokarev.
 
I'm surprised by those who voted for the G43, I thought for sure it would be utterly unanimous(sp) for the mighty M1.
 
No spot for the SKS? Yes, it did see limited service in 1945, and the Russian troops loved it. It was called the SKS-45, after all.
Semi-autos more commonly known? The M1 - as much as I like th Russian rifles, the SVT 38 and 40 were a bit too fragile for the big 7.62x54R. Great design theory, but didn't quite work right. Now, if it had been a little shorter, and a 15 or 20 round detachable mag, plus a whole lot more robust, it would have definately gone places. Is the Dragunov related to the SVT40?
 
after toting heavy SVT40 rifles around, I can understand how getting simonov carbines would be appreciated.

as for the SVT and the SVD- I wouldn't be surprised if Dragunov used some of Tokarev's ideas in his rifle design.
 
From what I understand, the G43 had some QC problems, and wasn't the most reliable of weapons.

Plus, when you think of the respective countries, what do you think of as weapons? US = M1. Germany = K98. Russia = Mosin. Japan = Arisaka. The other guns were nice, but they wern't just out there.
 
Actualy the Germans and the Fins loved the SVT-40, it just required more care than the M91/30. Same thing applied to the M1 Garand Vs the 1903 Springfield. You're average Russian wasn't trained to maintain it. Plus in the eyes of the Soviet big wigs, it was too costly to make.
 
The Ljungmann was of the WWII era, but it was never a "war rifle" because Sweden was neutral.

Soviet semi-auto production never was adequate to arm any significant numbers of troops so, in spite of high hopes, the bolt action was kept in production and it and the various SMGs armed most Russian soldiers. The SVT 38 and SVT 40 both were disappointing, being susceptible to dirt and (odd in a Russian weapon) cold. The stocks are thin and the rifles overall are rather flimsy in appearance and feel.

The G.43 is a tolerably good gun, but it lacks refinement. Remember, the M1 rifle was "in development" for some ten years before its adoption; the G.43 had only about 4 years of development, including development of the G.41W, its immediate ancestor. It has been said that the German semi-autos were rushed into production to satisfy the demands of the soldaten for a weapon to match the U.S. M1 rifle. I cannot positively confirm that, but the weapons themselves seem to bear out the idea.

Jim
 
I wasn't aware that the SKS was issued to russians troops during the war. As for the AG42, it wasnt a war rifle. I considered it as an option but felt I should keep it simple, WWII actual rifles used in combat.

I'm not going to throw my vote in, because I cannot be a fair judge. I love my SVT far too much to say anything bad about it, if i had any complaints to begin with. I had heard that the soviet marines used it to great effect in the war.
 
Forgot about the Jap Garand copies, too.

Didn't Germany attack Sweden at one point? I don't things ever got too heated, but I thought there was some lead shared.
 
From what I understand, the G43 had some QC problems, and wasn't the most reliable of weapons
Click to expand...

as I understand, the germans loved the SVT 38s/40s and took them as replacements for their K98s and G43s. The russians, however didn't like it so much as it was complicated to maintain in the field.
 
the svts seem to have given good service in southern sectors,not being able to clean them barehanded and losing small parts in the snow seemed to be part of the problem. the full auto version was not a good idea. they made almost 1.5 million of them and they are light and easy to carry. this was part of the problem Rokkosovkys first byleorussian front,i believe carried the sks 45 in the last months of the war,to reportedly good effect.
 
The German G/K-43s were improved copies of the SVT-40. However, due to wartime demands and shortages, they were kind of roughly made.

Before the war, the Soviets were planning on rearming all troops with the SVT-40. Later on, they decided to, in fact, stop production of it and retooled the plants to go back to the Mosin-Nagants. Seems it didn't fit the Soviet style of warfare.
 
Garand's the only one I've shot, but we won, so that's gotta count for something
Click to expand...

Yes, we did win, but so did the russians. IMHO the SVT is just as good as the immortal M1, the reports of sketchy reliability mainly come from the untrained russian conscripts. This is not to say it doesnt have faults, the light weight being my biggest concern. Had the russians used a heavier wood for the stock, it would be a much more comfortable, and slightly more durable, rifle.

Just my $0.02
 
Didn't Germany attack Sweden at one point? I don't things ever got too heated, but I thought there was some lead shared.
Click to expand...

No. Germany invaded and occupied Norway. Norway had hoped Sweden would enter the war, but they never did, and took some pretty un-neighborly actions to maintain their neutrality.

For some time after the war, if a person didn't show up for an event in Norway, they'd say "he's made a Swede of himself."

Ty
 
What disappoints me is that the Finns never got around to improving the SVT-40. They captured some, but never did any major overhauls of them as they did with the Mosins. An accurized, reinforced SVT with a heavy Birch stock would have given the Garand a run for the money.
 
The title of this thread should be "Duh" :D

AG-42s- Sweden lent several hundred bolt action rifles to Finland, does anyone know if any AG-42s made there way there also?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

R
  • Locked
Accuracy WWII Rifles?
Replies
18
Views
4K
geojap
G
T
  • Locked
WWII British auto-loading rifle - Does one exist?
Replies
7
Views
659
Tony Williams
T
M
  • Locked
Surplus Semi auto dilemma
Replies
11
Views
838
briantf
B
T
  • Locked
Semi Auto Bren's?
Replies
5
Views
2K
doc jake
D
K
  • Locked
SVT40 or M1 Garand
2
Replies
27
Views
4K
Gewehr98
G
Back
Top