DougW
Member
My twice FTR'ed 1942 Long Branch #4mk1*. Will hold 1" @100 yards if I do my part.
I have shot some really excellent groups with my K31, but using a bench rest. I have shot the same rifle in 100 yard reduced Highpower competition and my groups were much larger. The rifle was very sensitive to position and hold and I could not use a standard three loop sling. For one thing, the K31 sling attachment is on the side, it is meant for carrying.
Look, service rifles are not target rifles, they were not meant to be, and they were not. The typical requirements analysis determined all a service rifle needed to do was shoot 3 MOA. I read the test documentation of the FAL's, M14's, and all those contendors, and they were 4 MOA to 6 MOA with service ammunition.
This is what Hummer70 said about about American service rifle accuracy:
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5424409
Now lets understand something, Armies don't train their troops to a high level of marksmanship. I was surprised to find just how low the marksmanship level was for the Army, but this popped out after the Chattanooga attack:
20 July 2015
Military leaders question rush to arm soldiers after Chattanooga
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/national-security/article27952513.html
Shooting accurately is a skill. It takes a lot of time and practice to be good. The US Army does not spend that time or money training its members to be marksman, and is not going to either. So in an environment where so little is expected of service members, other than to be "cannon fodder", why would you arm them with an expensive target rifle?
Service rifles are primarily built to be cheap, built to be reliable, simple to dissemble, easy to clean, go bang when pointed in the general direction of the enemy. Accuracy is pretty low on the list. The AK47 is a masterful accomplishment in this regards. The AK can be handed to children with almost no weapon training, and it will function. I suspect the kids using the things have their eyes closed when firing, but, up close, they will kill people.