The Best Service rifles ever (argument starter)

[huntervixen]

Even without being too jingoistic, I think every British service rifle from Brown Bess to L1A1 is arguably "best of its generation".

Brown Bess - hard to beat a 200 year service record

P'53 - the finest quality mass-produced rifle of its time, a revolution in production engineering quality

Martini Henry - possibly best single-shot breechloading system

Lee Metford/Enfield - clever, simple engineering, adaptable to modernisation of production (No4), and robust enough for 100 years of global service.

L1A1 - excellent FN FAL design further refined by the pooled expertise of ABC (Australia, Britain, Canada).

Couldn't agree more mate, even the troubled L85 has become a dependable weapon in it's A2 incarnation...not world beating perhaps...but as good as anything else out there with regard to reliability and accuracy.

The sad fact of the matter is, we don't even have a Mass Service Small arms manufacture capability any more!

What country would allow the most basic and essential of National Security requirements (Small arms manufacture) to disappear...only the UK!

[Steve E]

The Best Service Rifle ? Its the one that you have in your hands when your fighting for your life.

[tackb]

The Best Service Rifle ? Its the one that you have in your hands when your fighting for your life.

never a truer word spoken.........

[Sim G]

M1 Garand.

[Geordie bloke]

Tongue in cheek reply - A fully loaded B52 bomber would do it for me. Plus a few nukes, makes a great equaliser!!!!!

[Christel]

Has to be the AK47. Bearing in mind that the criteria is not what us enthusiasts think; most of us can shoot and maintain a 'proper' rifle well enough. Ask the millions of unskilled conscripts and irregulars and it will be the AK. For that matter then ask a lot of the 'special forces'.

If i had to stake my life on a rifle then i think the ak would be top of the list for going bang when you need it to!

Would the choice of rifle not depend on the situation you are in?

[Dougan]

For all round, and over time, definitely the SMLE

For modern (relatively), then give me the SLR over the AK any day.....when you're not using it, you can just admire it tongueout

[Gaz]

I'm a fan of the No.4 myself. Accurate to long range, robust, simple to maintain, equipped a war-winning army. Simple!

[ovenpaa]

Well for accuracy I would have to lean towards the P14

[lapua338]

In no particular order:

StG 44 (the father of all modern assault rifles),
Czech/Slovak vz 58 (better than an AK),
Swiss K31 (the best straight-pull rifle),
Model 1898 Mauser (the benchmark used to measure all bolt-action rifles),
M1903 Springfield (born after the USA's experience in the 1898 Spanish American War)

Personal taste in firearms is all very subjective.