The Best Service rifles ever (argument starter)

[huntervixen]

Hi all,

Just photographed my Service rifle collection together for first time.

In my humble opinion, they were the best Service Rifles of their respective Generations world wide.

1962 Enfield made, L1A1 (straight pull)

1917 Enfield made, No1 mk3*

1855 Tower Marked P53 (Yet to be fired by me)

Or do you disagree?

[John25]

You need a Baker!

:cheers:

[PaulR]

You need a Baker!

:cheers:

Here you go......



PaulR

[meles meles]

Vickers Heavy Machine Gun

SMLE

Webley .455 revolver



That's the Holy Trinity, ooman. Conquered an Empire.

[PaulR]

Hi all,

Just photographed my Service rifle collection together for first time.

In my humble opinion, they were the best Service Rifles of their respective Generations world wide.

1962 Enfield made, L1A1 (straight pull)

1917 Enfield made, No1 mk3*

1855 Tower Marked P53 (Yet to be fired by me)

Or do you disagree?

John

I agree for British/Commonwealth use and as long as you're talking about the SMLE during WW1.

I think that one of the finest WW2 Service Rifles has to be the M1 Garand. One of the defining Rifles was the MP43/44.

Cheers

Paulr

[ovenpaa]

A 1915 No1 Mk3* does tick a lot of boxes for me however the L96A1 would be near the top of the list for pure functionality...

[meles meles]

Hmmm, not sure we'd consider the L96 a true battle rifle, ie a full calibre rifle on general issue ... It's a superb sniper rifle, but not a battle rifle in the true sense of the word. In the British Army the SLR was the last of that line...

[Rearlugs]

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).

[Watcher]

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'.

[tackb]

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!