The Best Service rifles ever (argument starter)

[tackb]

Just watched the EM-2 in 7.62mm vid here...lucky sod!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wdhN5_RpX4

Rather vicious recoil in 7.62! I do like the port dust cover and push pins, I have to say the way it stripped, it looks like a very good basic design indeed...another great British waisted opportunity it would seem!

I have that bayonet but mines for a No 4 ? (well thats what it fits anyway?)

[dave_303]

I like the 98s they're great rifles, My K98K shoots well and is very accurate,

However......

The G98 has that silly straight handle, It doesn't allow for easy or rapid manipulation and I have read many accounts of soldiers complaining about it constantly getting caught in webbing.

The K98K improved with the handle, but the sights are still not as good as the No.4s, I also still find the handle slow to operate and it has a tendency to stick after 15 rounds rapid.

As for it being the basis of many modern sport/hunting actions? simple it is strong and very accurate and there is still the belief (is it true?) that the Lee mechanism cannot hold the pressures that the 98 action can

[dirtbag]

I like the 98s they're great rifles, My K98K shoots well and is very accurate,

However......

The G98 has that silly straight handle, It doesn't allow for easy or rapid manipulation and I have read many accounts of soldiers complaining about it constantly getting caught in webbing.

The K98K improved with the handle, but the sights are still not as good as the No.4s, I also still find the handle slow to operate and it has a tendency to stick after 15 rounds rapid.

As for it being the basis of many modern sport/hunting actions? simple it is strong and very accurate and there is still the belief (is it true?) that the Lee mechanism cannot hold the pressures that the 98 action can

Yeap the straight handle is a - for the mauser, although for a lefty like me its easir to grab but im the minority.
Not sure on the pressures, but I can see some weight in that fact.
Most of the time its down to preference, I have a SMLE and a No4 , but still prefer the sight picture on my Mausers, all be it the G98 post being smaller.

Even my father in the 50's was having the same debate about the L.E and K98 and it will never be settled. The K98 mag was kept at 5 for a reason, franz didnt forget to make it bigger, nor did Ivan the russian !
He sides with the Enfield, although his family worked at the Enfield small arms factory.

I guess I'm the bad apple!

[breacher]

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?

This !!

The question of "Best Service Rifle" is not specific enough.

Which theatre of war ?

Which user ( trained profesional or conscript rushed into battle ) ?

What engagement range ?

What enemy ( human waves at close range or smaller numbers at long range )

Because each one has a different "best".


If one accepts that most engagements take place under 300 yards and that most combatants lay down suppressing fire rather than deliberate aimed shots, the AK probably is the best. Its accurate enough to hit man sized targets out to 300. It is reliable and simple. It is by no means perfect but ticks more boxes than most.