The Greatest Battle Rifle Ever Devised

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A.M. Baer

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Hello,

I am conducting a survey to determine the popular opinion of the Greatest Battle Rifles in history. I am doing this because from what I have found, previous similar surveys have been innacurate. "Battle Rifle", in this survey, is defined as any rifle, of any model, version, edition or variant which has been used as a general issue rifle for any military or militia force, or law enforcement.

Please be clear and specific of which rifle(s) you beleive is the greatest battle rifle, if you list more than one, please number them in order, with number one being the greatest. Keep in mind, in this survey "greatest" applies to design, functionality, reliability, accuracy and versatility combined. Please be sure the explain your decision(s) and specify reasons for your choice.

Here is a list (in no particular order) of various battle rifles from history, to refresh your memory.
-AK Platform
-AR15/M16 Platform
-M14/M1A
-M82
-BAR
-Lee-Enfield SMLE
-Springield 1903
-M1 Garand
-Mauser Kar98K
-Mosin Nagant
-FN FAL
-G3
-G36
-XM8
-FN SCAR
-Dragunov
-Steyr AUG
-FAMAS
-Enfield L85
-FN F2000


Please try your best to avoid simple and underthought posts such as "AK47: It's super reliable!". With a little effort we should be able to get a list of ten of the greatest battle rifles together; have at it.


Thank you, A.M. Baer.
 
M1 Garand. No need to look any further for the best battle rifle.

To justify it I guess you could say it whipped the Nazi's arse in the big one.

And of course, its super reliable!

Lets see an AK make a shot at 800 or 1000 Yds.
 
"You are kidding right? This isn't a battle rifle."
No, it isn't, is it. The list was copied and pasted from a list I had put together of the most common rifles in history, from a few months back.
 
Any full power cartridge battle rifle that has enough merit to be product improved and recalled to active service would gain the distinction of being the greatest battle rifle to date.

50 years later and still soldiering on, the distinction goes to the M14.

I should add the M14 never went out of active service, the US Navy continues to use them even before they were rediscovered by the active duty Army.
 
Best Battle rifles in the first fifty years of the 20th Century

Garand
Lee Enfield
Mauser 98

Best Battle rifles of the second half of the 20th Century

AK
M14
AUG
 
Got to go with the AK.

If the M1A had a pistol grip, I would probably have given it a closer run to the AK, especially since it is shooting a .308, but overall due to the reliability/caliber/longevity/and quality results based on expectations, I'm sticking with the AK.

Lots of good rifles though, and usually the most important thing about the rifle, is the person shooting it.
 
It all depends on the time frame of when the rifle/firearm was used. During the Revolutionary War the Penn. rifled long rifle was a great advancement over the smoothbore musket. In todays world I would pick the AK-platform.
 
The best battle rifle of all times is the Brown Bess. It was the one rifle used my all imperial forces that largely conquered the world. It wasn't until the advent of rifled muskets and caplocks that the Brown Bess was finally made obsolete. It was also in continual service for over 100 years.

From the early 1700's to the mid 1800's, the Land Pattern musket was as iconic as the AR or AK is today. Most other rifles, the 1861 Springfield, 1853 Enfield, Trapdoor Springfield, 1903, M1 Garand, Lee-Enfield, K98, SKS and FAL are significant to a specific time frame or war, but never had the continued legacy.

Even the AR and AK are relics of the cold war. Most college students today were conceived or just born when the wall came down. The primary technology mover of the mid to late 20th century was thus eliminated. This meant rifles were tweaked and "modernized" instead of completely new designs and directions.

Just as the Land Pattern was made obsolete by rifling and caplock, the rifled musket was made obsolete by the self contained cartridge, the single shot made obsolete by the bolt action to be made obsolete by the autoloader, the AR/AK series will remain the primary weapons until they too are made obsolete by something radically new.

If the AR/AK can hold out for another 50 years, then they can take the place of the Land Pattern "Brown Bess".
 
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Honestly, I'd have to say the AK platform. It's not fair to judge it by the crap copies made in 3rd world countries, although it's a testament to its simplicity and reliability. In its modern AK-74 form, it's even got halfway decent accuracy, too.
 
How many own a 80+yr old battle rifle and it's still as accurate as it was 70 yrs ago.
Which battle rifles have you peed on to cool the barrel and also to clean it.
How many have had jambs just when you needed the battle rifle most.
How many can field strip their battle rifle in under 1 minute then slap it back together in the same amount of time.
Which battle rifles can make the same 4" pattern at 500yds in the most crappiest weather.
Finally which battle rifle can do all the above.
There's more I just can't think of any more right now.







M1 Garand. :D
 
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