Best U.S. Military rifle of all time

[slavallee]

O. K. shooters and history buffs, what is the best U. S. military rifle of all time in your opinion?





my vote: M-14, . 308 cal, 20 round box, nice weight, great sights.

 

['956Wheel]

BMG... 750 Grain bullet @ 2700FPS



If it has to be off the shoulder then its the M14.



Then there is the GE/Hughes Minigun!



Mike

 

[EMDDIESEL]

I love the M14. We have always used the M16-A2 in my time and i do love it, but the M14 is just a beautiful, super accurate rifle.

 

[hammersley]

Semi Auto - M1 Garand Rifles

Bolt - Mauser Model 98

Lever - Lots here from the Henry, 66 yellowboy or 73.

Single Shot - Springfield 45-70

 

[M Barnett]

M1 Garrand

 

[Speedo]

Military rifle

When I went through boot camp we were issued M-14s and for

that reason I am kind of partial to them. When I got to RVN we

were issued M-16s and I got used to them but for a military rifle

I think the M-14 is better if you are going to shoot for a target

instead of just wasting ammo like most people did with M-16s.



Gus

 

[vinconco]

"OF ALL TIME" would also mean "currently" and currently the Garand would not stack up against the M-14 so while the Garand was a fine weapon in its time, it leaves a lot to be desired now. Since all soldiers have to be trained to fire weapons, the weapon that is easiest to train with would translate into more hits on the battlefield. " Best battle rifle" would have to include its ability to cause enemy casualties. It would also have to include how widespread its use is and the number issued to active military personnel throughout the world. Add it all up and it comes down to the M-16 or the AK-47 and the 5. 56 nato has superior ballistics.

 

[Boldt's Wagon]

I am kind of partial to my customized 03-A3.

 

[sdalton]

M1 Garand was probably the best, at the time, but it was heavy and bulky, with limited capacity for ammo.

M14 was an improvement on the M1 Garand. Greater amounts of rounds. Better accuracy, almost the same ballistics, 12 more rounds, quicker reloads.



I have 2 M1 Garands and love them both. I would love to buy a vintage M14(M1-A1).



I would also like to own a Shiloh-Sharps 50-120. A 45-120 would suffice.

 

[emarsh]

steyr AUG . 223 bullpup

 

[WTBurke]

The M-14 is King however,... have you lugged one around with 200 rounds of ammo up and down mountain sides in a tactical situation?

Thats why I love my A-3 flat top full floater and 400 rounds of 5. 56... . weighs about the same as 200 rounds of 308. Note I'm talking 69 grain 5. 56 Lake City... . the good stuff

I love the big girls, don't get me wrong... . but "little" and "fast" is much easier to live with day in and day out.

I love my little black service rifle... . she's very good to me



William

GOT BULLETS?

 

[The patriot]

Think you mean 62 gr Lake city. I may be wrong, but I'm sure they aint making it in the 69 gr sierra bullet.

Federal makes a nice round with that bullet, and that's what the military teams used for competition up to 300 yds.



I favor the M-14 (M1A). The 308 packs a punch, and will do it's job out to 600 yds w/o a problem as long as the operator does his part.

I have a DCM Garand. It's big clumbsy, and only holds 8 rounds.

I like the AR's especially the new M-4, but the 223 is a severe limitation. It's a good varmint round.

I have an SKS, theyre nice. 7. 62X 39 is a decent round, and the gun is idiot proof.

Never owned an AK, but I'd like to own an AK-74 some day.

Eric

 

[Pit Bull]

My Dad use to be a manager at Lake City arsenal when I was growing up. Shot the M-14 and the M-16 in the USMC. The M-14 was heavy and the M-16 would jam. I liked the M-60, it was worth its weight in gold Man I'm getting old that was a life time ago.

 

[TomGolden]

My ranking:

#1 - M1 Garand

#2 - M14/M1A

#3 - 1903 Springfield



In my extremely biased opinion, anything smaller than a . 30 caliber is a JOKE for a battle rifle. Why do I have this opinion? Well, as a life long hunter, and having used . 30 and . 22 caliber rifles to kill a variety of game, even though yes, a . 223 will kill a human, it is also much less likely to do so for a given point of impact than a . 30 bullet. When I was in Basic Training in the mid 1980's, the two lame reasons our weapons instructors gave for the US Military switching from the . 30 to . 223 caliber, was the lighter ammo meant a soldier could carry more, and it was felt preferable to wound an enemy ratrher than kill him outright, as it would then require additional enemy personnel to carry the wounded soldier off the battlefield, thereby taking more than just the one enemy "out of action".



I absolutely disagree with these ideas for the following reasons:



Simply by carrying more ammo means nothing. As anyone who has ever served in the US military can vouch for, the large majority (in the last 50 years I'm certain) of draftees and enlistees have never seen a gun, much less have any experience firing one. By telling them they can now carry twice as much ammo as before, they easily get the idea "hey, I have all the ammo in the world, so I can just spray lead and don't have to aim". As most any kid who was fortunate enough to grow up learning how to hunt can tell you, proper aiming and conservation of ammo will benefit you much more than just mindless spraying of lead and hoping the odds end up that you eventually hit something.



While it is true that some military forces would simply abandoned their dead on the battlefield, many will also carry their dead off the field. Which negates the idea that wounding an enemy takes more of them out of action. Also, a wounded enemy can eventually return to battle, and someday, he might kill me! But if I kill him the first time, gauranteed he ain't ever going to be a threat again.



One final thought: Carlos Hathcock, one of, if not the most famous US Sniper in history, said he felt the absolute perfect and best suited round for killing a human being was some type of . 30 caliber. To me, someone with 93 confirmed kills as a sniper, many at ranges beyond 1000 yards, is the best authority on such a subject.



Sorry for the long winded rant, but as you can tell, I am quite biased and opinionated where firearms are concerned



Tom

 

[WTBurke]

Hey Eric

Yep... 62 grain is standard Lake City stuff however, I received some 69 LC from a friend, (don't want to mention who he's with) this is when I found my 1 in 9 right twist was stabilizing quite well. I know there is stuff all the way to 80 grain but I don't have the 1in7 twist to stabilize the heavier lead.



Hey Pit Bull if your AR/M style rifle jammed alot back in the intro 60's the ammo's powder was the blame. Today I think you would find it much improved. Heck I'll sneak up into the face of hell with my A3



Hey Tom... I agree but, I'm not laying in wait or doing 1000 meters, I'm a run through the jungle type guy... and if I gotta sit and wait... . I'm in a full Gillie with synthetic skunk-stink as aftershave. The misconseptions of "muco-ammo" is just that.

I'm a confirmed student of Carlos, I never performed in this fashion, but he does set the standards. Yet I think you may agree that out to 400 meters one shot placed at 69 grains is as deadly as the 308. I know I don't want to stand there.

BTW the AK-74 is 5. 56 is it not

Oh I should explain... I hunt coyotes for farmers who have failed many times and educated the pack. I do the hard ones



William

 

[Champane Flight]

I'd take the

I would take the AK-47 over anything. Beat-em, abuse em, and they keep on going. They are light,versitile, and trouble free.

 

[The patriot]

Originally posted by WTBurke

Hey Eric

Yep... 62 grain is standard Lake City stuff however, I received some 69 LC from a friend, (don't want to mention who he's with) this is when I found my 1 in 9 right twist was stabilizing quite well. I know there is stuff all the way to 80 grain but I don't have the 1in7 twist to stabilize the heavier lead.





BTW the AK-74 is 5. 56 is it not





William

Ok that explains it. I was told that Federal is running the L. C. ammo plant, so guess they decided to run some 69 sierras.

You might be able to use as heavy as 77 gr sierras with the 1/9" twist, which BTW is now a factory Federal load.

Some 1/9" bbls work with it, some dont.

My little brother was on the All Guard team a while back. He got me some 69 gr federal GMM, 73 gr Berger (all guard team hand loads), and some experimental Black hills 80Gr sierras.

The AK-74 is a 5. 45x39 if memory serves me. The factory round could not be a hollow point because of the Geneva convention rules, so they built the round with a hollow cavity, so technically it wasnt a hollow point.

I dont think this round is available in the US in the original configuration.

Eric

 

[vinconco]

Battle rifle guys ... that means grunt rifles. I have an old SKS Vietnam war trophy that fought the French and it still shoots a palm size group at 100 yds. and its beat the f*** up bad. I

guess a GI with a M-14 took it off some poor NVA's corpse.



Personal choice is a two man team w/ one a bolt gun and the other a M-14 --both with good glass.

 

[WTBurke]

Hey Eric

Yes thanks... . I would like to see how my A3 does with 77 grain at some point but, my mentor (former Marine sniper) has assured me that 73 grain is about the limit for 1 in 9 twist. He reloads and shoots competition with bizzar space-rifles that I can't afford. I see some of the manufacturers are doing 1 in 8 twist on DCM rifles... . boy all I need is to tell the wife I need another upper to stabilize 77 grain and she'll shut the door on my new 4" Banks SS monster pipes. You know it's a pain... . ya Bomb da truck or the guns but not both



Hey Champane

AK-47's are cool but, they rattle too much for me... it's hard to sneak around without the clatter of steel giving up your posistion



Hey S. Vincent

I have an SKS dated 1954 all matching numbers and all dolled up with Zytell stock ect. Your right..... this thing was designed for a rice-paddy thug who has never seen an electric light switch in his life. You could kick this around in the mud and it would still work

The SKS killed alot of our guys... too bad... I still hate Viet Nam D**n IT !



I'm going for an M-14 as soon as I can get away with it! Wife is just too sharp for me after 21 years of marriage:-{}



William

 

[sdalton]

I almost forgot. The FAL L1A1 Battle Rifle. . 308 cal. 20 round box mag. I built one from parts. I put some match bullets in it and a scope on it. I put my rounds in under an inch at 100 yards. A friend of mine who shoots rifles better, put 8 rounds in under 1/2 inch at 100 yards, he said it was close to 1/4 inch. This rifle is amazing. It is big, heavy rugged, and accurate. It is used worldwide almost as much as the AK-47.

For jungle and close range work, I think the AK-47 is it, but for all around battle rifles, the M-14 and FAL L1A1 are tops.