WWII battle rifle countdown

[Sniper X]

What are your favorite WWII battle rifles? Any action, any country, just looking for a list of sorts form the members here. No particular order needed either as far as I am concerned but what ever floats your boat!

I'll list five off the top of my head,

Springfiled 1903
M1 Garrand
Mauser K98
Mosin Nagant
Lee ENfield MK III

 

[KDS]

I absolutely love my M1 Carbine. It is a blast to shoot and amazingly accurate. It doesn't hurt that it is what my grandpa was issued so it has a personal meaning also.

 

[HorseSoldier]

In order of preference and/or how adaptive I think they were for actually using in combat:

StG-44
M1/M2 carbine
M1 Garand
Tie: FG-42, SVT-38/40, G43

(Then all SMGs, before any bolt guns)

 

[Mp7]

a mixed armament of Garands and Ppsh41 forthewin.

 

[deimos256]

Garand
Mauser 98k
Enfield
Mosin

Purely opinion, as any one in that order could be shuffled around with a strong enough argument.

 

[1KPerDay]

In order:

Garand (by far)
SMLE
Springfield
M1 Carbine
STG44
SVT

 

[Cosmoline]

M39 Finn
M98 CZ made Mauser
Greek Mannlicher-Schoenauer (don't I wish I owned one!)
K31 Swiss straight-pull
I'm warming up to the Garand, so it's rising on the list.

 

[Maverick223]

My favorites are the: Lee Enfield No. 1 Mk. III (favorite WWII turn-bolt), Mauser K98 (but this is mostly due to its adaptability into sporting use), Swiss K-31 (don't know that this counts considering its lack of service in combat), and the M1 Garand (favorite autoloading battle rifle).

FWIW, I don't consider the M1 Carbine a battle rifle (as it fires and intermediate cartridge), but it would undoubtedly take the top position if the list includes all infantry rifles.

 

[Sniper X]

Hmmm, no French rifles yet!

 

[d2wing]

French? They didn't have them long enough to be used much.
Garand, by far the best. Enfield, Mauser and Mosin Nagant all were important. Shotgun news had some articles about all the World War II rifles

 

[Cosmoline]

The French would be on there if we were talking about WWI. They were the inventors of smokeless powder and as such the progenitors of ALL modern small arms. But they did not keep pace with the competition, and didn't incorporate their stunning technical achievements into a new tactical plan.

 

[OPtact4]

OK, where is the love for the BAR!? Come on guys, a 30-06 automatic rifle on your shoulder....cant get any better!

BAR
Garand
STG 44
Sten
Johnson LMG....not the 1941 rifle
1903

 

[Ian]

I thought the BAR was the coolest thing ever until I had to pick one up. Then I thought they were just really cool, until I shot one. Now I have no particular interest in them (though an FN-D might change my attitude).

Give me anything in 8x33 Kurz and I'll be happy.

 

[Cal-gun Fan]

Did I miss something, or was the main point of the thread BATTLE RIFLES? Seems a lot of people are posting things like sub guns, machine guns, or the mp/STG44.

My top 5 would be:

1. M1 Garand
2. Lee Enfield No. 4
3. Mosin Nagant
4. Mauser K98
5. Tie between the SVT rifles and the German G43

 

[CZguy]

I have three favorites. A Remington 1903A3 Springfield, A Springfield Armory M1, and a Underwood M1 carbine.

 

[OpelBlitz]

Ah, one of THESE threads again.

M1 Carbine and ppsh-41 are probably my favorite two altogether; otherwise the M1 Garand is my favorite semi-auto, Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk1 my favorite bolt-action.

 

[BikerRN]

These two:

Springfiled 1903
Mauser K98

BikerRN

 

[offthepaper]

Garand
1903
K98
M39 - the history doesn't get much better than these.
Russian Mosins
Enfield

 

[jpwilly]

I'll change it up a bit

Gewehr 43
SVT-40
M1 Garand
M1917
M1903
Lee Enfiled SMLE
VZ24
M39

 

[hirundo82]

Swiss K-31 (don't know that this counts considering its lack of service in combat)

It could be argued that having a K31 in every home (actually probably outnumbered by 1911 and K11 rifles) played a significant part in why it didn't have to serve in combat.

 

[Maverick223]

It could be argued that having a K31 in every home (actually probably outnumbered by 1911 and K11 rifles) played a significant part in why it didn't have to serve in combat.

Touché.

 

[prid93]

Considering the fact that it says "What are your Favorite WWII battle rifles?" I'm just going to throw these out in no particular order.

Garand
G43
K98
FG42 (I'm a sucker for the German weapons)
K31 (Its unique)

Nothing to do with usage or effectiveness...just weapons that I like personally.

 

[mshootnit]

I'd really like a Thompson....will never happen.

 

[Dr.Rob]

BAR was my favorite WW2 weapon to shoot for sure. Probably a pig to carry but what a neat weapon. Also my fave full auto weapon to date.

Kar98 is a really slick bolt gun. I like my Kar98K BETTER than my 1903A3.

 

[Float Pilot]

Hmm, so many


1. Marine Corps 1903-A1 Sniper with a Unertel Scope.

2. Swedish m/96 rifle and m/94 Carbine and of course the m/41 Sniper rifle
(saw use against the Russians in Finland.)

3. Fallschirmjägergewehr FG-42

4. 1903-A4 sniper.

NOTE: I intentionally did not name the standard 1903-A3, which was most used (or at least intended for issue) for Grenade Launching during WWII.
Because the front sight blade was / is far too weak and susceptible to damage.
The little sheet metal hood was not made to be used during fighting, it was just an effort to keep the sight blade on the rifle long enough to get to the fight.
The USMC, used a larger sight hood on their 1903s and 1903-A1s. The USMC was not issued 1903-A3s.

The only rifles with well protected sights were the M1 Garand , the Late model Enfields, the Swede m/94-14 carbines, the German G-43

(the German MP-44 or STG Sturmgewehr 44 had a good front sight but the rear sight was exposed to easy damage or change in setting.)