Top 10 Combat Rifles of All TIme

[BlindJustice]

I took notes on the Military CHannel's program
Top 10 Combat rifles of ALl TIme.

Military Channel Program

Top 10 Combat rifles of all time

5 points to score them by...
Combat Effectiveness
Handling
Accuracy
Service life
?/
Innovation

#1 - Russian AK-47 7.62mmx39
Full/Semi Auto Assault rifle, 50 million ext. produced worldwide

#2 - USA M16 5.56mm x45
Lightweight Modern Assault rifle by Gene Stoner
it has evolved - Modern materials and early jamming problems - cleaning kits, and improved ammo and versions of the rifle aka the M4

#3 - British Lee Enfield SNLE .303 British
Long lived Short BOlt Action w/10 rd Mag.
7 million produced over a long service life

#4 - USA M1 Garand .30-06
Semi-Auto - 8 shot Stripper CLip 30 rds/minute
"The Rifle t hat won WWII" First successful Semi-
Auto rifle 6.245 million produced.

#5 - Belgium FN FAL 7.62x61 NATO
Selective fire - 650 rpm
Up to 70 Countries adopted it.

# 6 - German Mauser 98K Carbne 8mm
Bolt Action shortened version of the WWI
- with stripper clips

#7 - Austria Steyr AUG 5.56x45
Bullpup - Ahead of it's time
Great in Close Quarters

#8 USA 1903 Springfield - .30-06
Bolt Action - based on M92 Mauser

#9 - German Sturmgeweher $$ 7.92x??
Select fire 500 rpm
The first Assault rifle

#10 - USA M14 .7.62x51 NATO
Select fire Full or Semi Auto
20 rd box mag.
Phased out in 1964 - brought back for Iraq & Afghan

Others
Moisin Nagant
Brit Pullpup and French Service rifle

 

[CoryS]

Ive seen it a few times..
The part where the guy says that if all hell broke loose he would want an AK-47
my wife said "Do you have any of those?" yep
I enjoyed it but then again I enjoy 95% of whats on the Military channel

 

[elmerfudd]

My own list.

1) AKM. The most produced rifle ever and for good reason. Ultra rugged, very cheap and very effective.
2) M1 Garand. The best service rifle of WW2 and by a very wide margin.
3) Lee Enfield. The best bolt action battle rifle made. Served through 2 world wars and virtually everywhere in the world.
4) Mauser. A very solid and accurate rifle that with it's derivatives armed most of the world at one point and it's descendants are still in use today in the form of sporting and sniper rifles.
5) FAL. The right arm of the free world. Used by 90 countries. Reliable and ergonomic.
6) M1 Carbine. A great little fighting rifle that was produced in huge numbers and helped to win WW2.
7) Mosin Nagant. In use from 1891 to the present day. It's the rifle that turned back Nazi Germany. Very rugged, reliable and powerful.
8) M16. Extremely ergonomic, accurate, refined and widely used.
9) STGW44. The first true assault rifle. Probably the inspiration for the AK47 and was actually produced in fairly substantial numbers.
10) AR18. Not adopted by too many countries, but has served as the basis for literally dozens of military rifles that have been adopted.


No Springfields or Arisaka's since they were Mauser derivatives.
No M14, since it had a very short service life and is a derivative of the Garand.
I'd like to include the G3/CETME, but it really wasn't used to the same extent as the other rifles and the action seems to have been abandoned.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Mauser 98 - served in two World Wars. Action is still used today in modern guns. It sired many of the bolt actions we have today.
03 Springfield - also served in two World Wars
SMLE - gee, also served in two World Wars.
Moisin-Nagant - wow, another old timer that served in two World Wars.
AK-47/AKM - one of the most rugged and reliable guns ever made.
FN-FAL - virtually the standard semi-automatic rifle of the free world
M-16 - very flexible weapon system. Swap uppers and you're good to go.
Stgw 44 (or MP-43 or MP-44, depends on what you want to call it). Not the first assault weapon and that honour goes to the Federov. However, it inspired the post-war designs we have today with modern technology (stamping) and a mid-size cartridge.

 

[BigG]

.303 Enfield?

Well, if you are going to bring relics into the conversation, the Brown Bess conquered much more real estate than anything on that list other than maybe the M1 Garand, which FREED the WORLD, with some HELP from the .303 Enfield.

 

[macFarlaine]

Don't you mean the .303 Enfield with help from the M1 Garand.

 

[elmerfudd]

The Brown Bess wasn't a rifle.

 

[Nightcrawler]

Top ten? The system I use is how much service the weapon actually saw, or how widely it was used, or how long it was in service.

1. AK-47: No other rifle even comes close in terms of proliferation and combat use worldwide.
2. FN FAL: Adopted by 90 countries, has seen service in nearly every war the AK-47 saw service in (albeit usually firing in the other direction)
3. M16: Though not super successful on the world market, it is now the United States' longest-serving service rifle, having exceeded forty years of continuous service.
4. M1 Garand: The first widely adopted autoloading service rifle, saw service in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Needs no introduction here. I place it above the bolt guns that served longer because it was probably the first modern infantry rifle that any nation adopted en mass.
5. Mauser 98: A revolutionary design that, if you go from the initial Gew.88 Commission Mauser to the M48 Yugoslavian models, was in constant production for six decades.
6. Enfield .303: Another long serving, widely used bolt action rifle. The Enfield and its variants served the British Empire from the 1880s to the 1950s, and in sniper variants saw service well into the 1980s.
7. H&K G3: The "other" 7.62x51 NATO rifle on the world market, the G3 comes into a distant second compared to the FAL, but has held its own in many dirty little wars around the world. It is entering (I believe) it's fifth decade of production, as it is still being manufactured in Pakistan and other countries.
8. AR-180: The rifle that never quite made it, Stoner's "other" rifle was nevertheless the parent design of a wide variety of service rifles, including the Japanese Type 89, the H&K G36, and the Enfield L85.
9. STG-44: While only in production for a year or so, it was the first successful "assault rifle" and influenced postwar infantry weapon design through the end of the 20th Century.
10. SKS: For a rifle that was only in front-line Soviet service for two or three years and, honestly, was obsolescent from the day it went into production, the little Simonov rifle has seen heavy service in many wars, including Korea, Vietnam, and countless bloody African conflicts. It remains in production in China and the former Yugoslavia today, and was the basis for the Chinese Type 63, Type 68, and Type 81 rifles.

 

[silverlance]

As with all top ten lists, the "results" are highly discussible.

however, I contend that on ANY top ten list the Mosin-Nagant really should be on there. i

 

[Float Pilot]

A list of historicaly significant military firearms would have been more interesting.

The Baker Rifle, The Brown Bess, the Spencer repeater ,,,etc...

 

[trbon8r]

Someone must have been busy mixing up the tweak in the bathtub when they chose the AUG as number 7.

 

[BigG]

A list of historically significant military firearms would have been more interesting.

Very much agreed. In that sense, the .303 Enfield would not even be a footnote, much less the Moisin-Nagant.

Just because umpty-ump gazillion AKxx were made, they have never been used in any historically significant fashion.

 

[AndyC]

The system I use is how much service the weapon actually saw, or how widely it was used, or how long it was in service.

Likewise; as much as I like it, I don't see the AUG as having "made its bones" yet.

 

[Fburgtx]

While maybe not "Gov't Issue", why isn't the Henry on there?? It certainly saw use during the Civil War.

 

[silverlance]

If you want historically significant firearms, you need to further disseminate. are you including recoiless rifles? how about mounted machine guns? etc.

 

[Cosmoline]

Like a lot of these lists, it suffers from poor definitions. Top 10 in what respect? If we're going with design influence, the Stg 44 must be on there. But if we're looking at actual performance over time and impact in wars, it was way too little too late and the AK-47 was the "greater" firearm by far.

Likewise, any list of most influential military arms MUST include the Lebel as the one that most revolutionized military shoulder weapons, pretty much since the first muskets. But as a field weapon it was quickly outpaced.

The list also suffers from an over-emphasis on US small arms.

 

[Cosmoline]

Very much agreed. In that sense, the .303 Enfield would not even be a footnote, much less the Moisin-Nagant.

How can you consider these militarily insignificant?

 

[AtticusThraxx]

I kinda prefer modern weapons when you talk about combat rifles though I know " of All Time" is looking for a historical view. Some of our European allies are equipped with some of the finest Combat Rifles ever known.

The AKM speaks for itself
The Brits have the SAR80
The Germans have the H&K G36
The French have the FAMAS F1 5.56 (ok ally may be streching it)
The best is yet to come. All the major powers seem to be spending money and at least studying and some are close to development Check this out:

http://www.defensereview.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1034

 

[slzy]

i enjoy the history military channels,in fact upgraded to get them. at the risk of sounding smug,they are looking to fill up 54 minutes,we are looking for the truth.

tv is like the pictures in a book,maybe 10 pages out of 600.

 

[toivo]

Just because umpty-ump gazillion AKxx were made, they have never been used in any historically significant fashion.

Except for arming virtually every insurgency of the last 60 years. How do you define "historically significant"?

 

[Slugless]

Read it again.

It was a slam on the quote in his posting.

Myself, I had to read it twice. It's a dry wine....

 

[toivo]

I guess I lost track of the many layers of irony. It's been a long day...

 

[nwilliams]

I would have thought the British L85 would have made the list, the Brits have been using that platform for many years now and its served them well.

Other contenders I would have considered would be the Galil, HK G3 and Mosin. Not sure I'd rank the Aug among the top 10, sure its unique but not as widely used as others out there.

My list would be...

#1: AKM and all AK variants
#2: M16A2
#3: M1 Garand
#4: Enfield SMLE No.4 Mk.1
#5: Mauser K98
#6: Springfield 1903
#7: IMI Galil
#8: FN FAL
#9: H&K G3
#10: British L85

I would love to include the Mosin Nagant 91/30 on he list but I just can't place it in the top 10, I think I'd have to put it at number 11.

 

[elmerfudd]

The L85 was a real POS for most of it's existence. It's problems made our own early problems with the M16 look minor in comparison. Some time ago H&K rebuilt the entire British arsenal of L85's at a fairly substantial cost and since then I understand it has performed pretty well. Still, I think it would be hard to include it on a list of the best rifles of all time.

 

[Ignition Override]

With my drastic inexperience with most guns, I should not question what is used by our military and so many of my fellow gun enthusiasts-the AR-15-or risk stepping on their "firepower pride". Except for the old single-shot bolt-action .22, have used my brand-new M-1 Carbine four times (and not at a range! ).

Somebody who appeared to have a credible website elsewhere claimed that some special forces now in Iraq/Afghan. would throw away their M-16s if they could use a certain HK assault rifle which has been around a few years (this was my impression). How many types of guns they have used? If all else were somehow equal, doesn't a .30 caliber have an obvious advantage in the visual impact of the rounds along with the sound, compared to a 5.56/.223? How about penetration of cover?

On this topic, the AK appears not to have been designed or manufactured with anything much narrower than the .30/7.62, or was it? It seems to be the winner on this thread, for at least two criteria.

By the way, y'all are quite persuasive and informative in your arguments for the top military rifles.
Keep up the excellent work on Highroad!

My next gun in a few years, if I can ever justify the gun and ammo prices to my sweet, domestic "Admin. Officer"/ "XO" (she has a graduate degree in music), will/would be either the M-14 or the FN FAL. It will undoubtedly require some clever persuasion.