fortyofforty Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 What, in your opinion, was the best long gun commonly used during the major wars in which America participated? I don't mean it to be only that used by the United States, just to restrict the discussion to the major conflicts in which America was a participant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geeorge Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 I really like the garand 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmohme Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 I really like the garand I'll second that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonS Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 Revolution? British Ferguson breech loading flintlock rifle. Should have been the Garand of the Napoleonic era. I think that if Ferguson had not been killed, we would be buying Vickers Grey Glocks, not Vickers Gray Glocks. Hard to say. I think the British industrial system could have produced them in quantity while the American cottage industry type of production could not have adapted. Civil War? Not as up on that, but the British Whitworth rifles had an excellent reputation and I believe saw enough use to be mainstream. Again, I discount the early cartridge stuff, the ammo was too short, too fat, mostly rimfire? All rimfire? and not powerful enough. I repeat, not a Civil War buff so I know little more than the basics. The British Lee Enfield was the best WWI rifle, hands down. Obviously the Garand was the best of WWII with the exception of some stuff that didn't see much service. The German Stg44 comes to mind. Too little, too late and compromised by the desire to not introduce a new bore diameter. Same as the AK47 and the 7.62x39mm. Make those weapons from the ground up in a 6.5mm and I think they would have been even better. Korea? Meh. Garand was on it's way out, but probably still the best in the conflict. At least it worked in sub zero temps. Vietnam. M16. AR18 was too late to the party but I think could have been refined into the better weapon. But the M16 and it's light weight ammo made a lot of sense for the time. I still can't warm up to them and still don't own one. Yet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyofforty Posted August 13, 2017 Author Share Posted August 13, 2017 Are we all in agreement that the Lee Enfield was superior to the Mausers during World War I? And was the M16 superior to the AK-47 during Vietnam? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonS Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 All?! You couldn't get everyone to agree that the M16 is better than an atlatl. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gun Shark Posted August 13, 2017 Share Posted August 13, 2017 All?! You couldn't get everyone to agree that the M16 is better than an atlatl. I don't care who you are atlatls are ******* awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkdweller22 Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 In the Spanish-American war, the Spanish Mauser was the superior rifle. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyofforty Posted August 24, 2017 Author Share Posted August 24, 2017 On 8/16/2017 at 5:48 PM, arkdweller22 said: In the Spanish-American war, the Spanish Mauser was the superior rifle. Yes, it was far superior to the Krags being used by many American troops. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Posted August 24, 2017 Administrators Share Posted August 24, 2017 I think that the krag-jorgensen had the most unique magazine system of any military rifle. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crossmember Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 The best US rifle in the First War, in my opinion, was the P-17. Bajck when I could see 500 yards was just plinking range. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyofforty Posted August 27, 2017 Author Share Posted August 27, 2017 On 8/25/2017 at 4:35 PM, crossmember said: The best US rifle in the First War, in my opinion, was the P-17. Bajck when I could see 500 yards was just plinking range. Do you think it was the best "overall" rifle used in that war? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROB Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 Agree on the Ferguson in the Revolutionary War. Civil War, the Spencer had the most going for it with similar energy as the Sharps and Springfield in a reliable accurate repeater. The Krag was a beautifully made rifle, but couldn't match the Mauser's flatter shooting round. By WWI IMO the British had the best balance of accuracy, range and capacity along with that fast rear locking bolt in the Lee Enfield. WWII had to be the Garand by a long shot. By Vietnam I believe the AK was a superior weapon although the AR would mature to a comparably capable gun by the end of the war...id still lean AK until the M16A2 came along. From that point I vote M4 for the most recent engagements in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyofforty Posted September 2, 2017 Author Share Posted September 2, 2017 I don't know if the STG 44 was superior for its purpose than the Garand. The Garand was long, heavy, and required en bloc loading. It was certainly far superior to the bolt action rifles then in use by all the major armies. However, the capabilities were more suited for long range warfare, not the close and quick urban warfare the was common in the Second World War. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgiaGlocker Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 (edited) My dad carried a BAR in WWII. He liked the rifle alot although he said it was a tad on the heavy side. Edited September 8, 2017 by GeorgiaGlocker 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSchool64 Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJHNSN Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 Revolutionary War: The Kentucky Long Rifle Civil War: Henry World War I: Springfield 1903 WWII: M1 Garand Korea: M1 Garand Vietnam: M-16 (after they got way too many people killed Beta testing in combat) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geeorge Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 On 8/23/2017 at 11:27 PM, Eric said: I think that the krag-jorgensen had the most unique magazine system of any military rifle. The bolt action is very smooth too. I need to go shoot mine again, still got a couple of boxes of ammo for it 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Posted September 11, 2017 Administrators Share Posted September 11, 2017 12 minutes ago, geeorge said: The bolt action is very smooth too. I need to go shoot mine again, still got a couple of boxes of ammo for it I've heard from others as well, that the actions operated very smoothly. I've owned a lot of US surplus rifles. Never one of those though. I need to pick one up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewell44 Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 As my first official post I'll chime in for WWII and say the British Enfield in bolt action and M1 Garand in semi auto. The German K98 gets high marks as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJHNSN Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 (edited) On 9/10/2017 at 10:27 PM, geeorge said: The bolt action is very smooth too. I need to go shoot mine again, still got a couple of boxes of ammo for it I walked into my LGS the other day and ... guess what they had sitting on display...yup, a Spanish-American War era made Krag. It was AWESOME. In beatiful condition with the original armory markings, etc. Dry as a bone, but no rust or pitting. I had always wanted to handle one. The sights were great, the bolt was smooth as butter, even without any oil on it. The feeding system is really amazing and allowed for instant reloads on the fly. Would love to shoot one some day, but just get to handle one and take a really, really close look at it was amazing. It was impressively compact. A great carbine. Edited September 27, 2017 by JJHNSN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyofforty Posted October 1, 2017 Author Share Posted October 1, 2017 On 9/27/2017 at 5:50 PM, JJHNSN said: I walked into my LGS the other day and ... guess what they had sitting on display...yup, a Spanish-American War era made Krag. It was AWESOME. In beatiful condition with the original armory markings, etc. Dry as a bone, but no rust or pitting. I had always wanted to handle one. The sights were great, the bolt was smooth as butter, even without any oil on it. The feeding system is really amazing and allowed for instant reloads on the fly. Would love to shoot one some day, but just get to handle one and take a really, really close look at it was amazing. It was impressively compact. A great carbine. It didn't find its way home with you, then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyofforty Posted October 1, 2017 Author Share Posted October 1, 2017 (edited) On 9/20/2017 at 5:03 PM, ewell44 said: As my first official post I'll chime in for WWII and say the British Enfield in bolt action and M1 Garand in semi auto. The German K98 gets high marks as well... Enfields were still in use by Indian security forces, at least until fairly recently. They were on display during the 2008 Mumbai attack several years ago. Not too many other weapons can make the same claim to longevity (1911 comes to mind, but it's a handgun). Edited October 1, 2017 by fortyofforty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dusty9 Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 Prior to World War I Mosin-Nagant Yes I know how crude they were/are. But they are powerful, rugged as can be and supremely reliable. World War I Springfield 1903 Very high quality and very accurate and reliable World War II M1 Garand General Patton's comment: In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised Korea M1 Garand Korea was only four years after WW II so all the statements about the M1 were still valid at that time Vietnam AK 47 What can you say? It's record in so many conflicts is unparalleled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 On 8/13/2017 at 1:35 PM, fortyofforty said: And was the M16 superior to the AK-47 during Vietnam? I would say it’s superior to it NOW. But during Vietnam, the AK was the superior weapon, not only for its reliability, but was better suited for that environment. Both the rifle, and the ammo of today’s AR platform is much improved. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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