Best Rifle Of WWII

102first_hussars · 07-07-2006, 03:29 AM

Tell me what you think

lesofprimus · 07-07-2006, 07:18 AM

Whats a Gerand???

p1k3man · 07-07-2006, 08:47 AM

It´s Garand not Gerand...

Soren · 07-07-2006, 01:18 PM

Funny how thats the only word you guys noticed is spelled wrong

lesofprimus · 07-07-2006, 04:28 PM

Didnt want to completely shatter his balls, just a small, swift kick to em...

Jank · 07-07-2006, 07:56 PM

If I were outfitting an army, I would choose the Garand.

102first_hussars · 07-08-2006, 09:01 PM

The only thing about Garand was its ammo was fed from the integral box magazine, which was probably the weakest point of the whole design which means once you put the clip into the rifle you cant take it out, which is a real problem if you have an ammo related jam, where you need to take it out.

Though the Garand was good because it enabled a squad to fire faster against the enemies usually using slower action weapons.

Twitch · 07-11-2006, 02:41 PM

Yeah Gewehr was spelled wrong too and Nagant. The Gewehr 43 was far and away the best technically rifle advancement to take to the field during the war. Though its cartridge like the AK 47s is a compromise in power versus reasonable packaging, both it and the semi auto Garand could produce the one thing none of the other rifle could in 1944- firepower. Bolt actions were dead by then- actually long before- and any squad with Garands versus K98s was going to come out on top period.

trackend · 07-11-2006, 03:17 PM

Although it had a limited range the M1 carbine was a very good little weapon and when in conditions such as jungle or street warfare the lack of effective range (200 meters) was not such a problem. With the introduction of the M2 and its 30 round magazine and selective fire it was only lack of range that stopped it from being a true assault rifle.
However my choice from the rifles in the list above would be the Garand, the SMLE was a superb bolt action rifle and remained in service as a sniper rifle for many years long after the end of the war but as has been pointed out as a battle field infantry weapon it's day had gone by the 40's.
The only thing I may dispute a tad Twitch is if the US army had the Garand yet the standard issue for the German & Japanese army was bolt action weapons on your assumption the Germans and Japanese forces should have been swept a side with the superiour fire power of the Garand equipped US forces.

102first_hussars · 07-11-2006, 04:25 PM

Mind the M1 Carbine on had an efective range of about 200 yards, though in close quarter conflicts such as urban fighting is effective thats pretty much it, fighting the japanese it might have been more effective because those fights were pretty close alot of the time

schwarzpanzer · 07-11-2006, 09:56 PM

Hi hussars,

I'll tell you the correct spellings are; M1 Garand, Mosin Nagant, Gewehr (or Kar) 43.

- but we all know what you mean. My spelling is off too, thanks to a dodgy keyboard!

My favourite rifles of WW2 are the Stg/MP44/43/42 and the Fedorov Avtomat, but in the ones you've put, I'd go for either the Lee-Enfield or the G43.

There is a magazine eject catch on the Garand too hussars.

The G43 has the same cartridge as the K98 Twitch - I think you meant the Stg44?

Being on this forum has changed my mind about the M1 Carbine trackend, I know it has lousy combat effectiveness, but it's cheap, light, reliable and easy to use.

In cold weather though, the M1/M2 Carbine's poor penetrative power is near useless against thick clothing.

A point people forget is that the average Lee Enfield equiped infantryman had a higher RoF than one with a Garand.

Quote:

The only thing I may dispute a tad Twitch is if the US army had the Garand yet the standard issue for the German & Japanese army was bolt action weapons on your assumption the Germans and Japanese forces should have been swept a side with the superiour fire power of the Garand equipped US forces.

A lot of the time MG's and mortars were used, and in close-in fighting SLR's aren't that great, but better than K98's and Arisakas.

Also keping cool and getting 1 good shot off is better than emptying a clip into a wall.

102first_hussars · 07-12-2006, 05:38 AM

Quote:

I'll tell you the correct spellings are; M1 Garand, Mosin Nagant, Gewehr (or Kar) 43.

Yes that has been noted already, for like the third time, thank you.

Quote:

My favourite rifles of WW2 are the Stg/MP44/43/42 and the Fedorov Avtomat, but in the ones you've put, I'd go for either the Lee-Enfield or the G43.

Well considering the fact that this thread is about rifles, and those are sub machine guns umm yeah.

Quote:

There is a magazine eject catch on the Garand too hussars

not with the Garand, the garand could not be "topped off" you had to expend the entire magazine before the clip ejected, there was no mag release locate in front of the trigger gaurd like the SMLE

Quote:

In cold weather though, the M1/M2 Carbine's poor penetrative power is near useless against thick clothing.

Clothing? wow I dont even know how to approach this statement really

Quote:

A point people forget is that the average Lee Enfield equiped infantryman had a higher RoF than one with a Garand.

No they dont, I can tell you simply because I have fired a Lee Enfeild, anyone who joins the cadets in canada or britain will get a chance to, I can tell you though it has nice smooth action in the bolt, you wont fire faster than a guy with a gas operated semi automatic rifle with a bolt action im sorry it just doesnt happen.

trackend · 07-12-2006, 11:38 AM

The current world record for aimed bolt action fire was set in 1914 with a SMLE, 38 rounds into a 12" target at 300 yards in one minute. Still not bad for a BA rifle
A good rate of fire for well drilled troops was in the range of around 20 aimed RPM. My old man confirmed this figure although he started as a youngster in the home guard with a Ross, but was issued with a SMLE after he joined up. That said he preferred having his old Lewis gun fired up with its ability to pump out nearly 700 RPM which did tend to be a little more effective at keeping the Jerrys heads down.

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 07-12-2006, 11:53 AM

Well I wish you could vote for 2 here. I would vote for the Gewehr 43 and the Garand.

I do like the K98 though. It is a fun rifle to shoot and very accurate. As for bolt action weapons the K98 to me is the best.

Twitch · 07-12-2006, 02:23 PM

Yeah I have a K-98 too. Great to shoot! But my contention is that as Trackend said firepower DID sweep away the Japanese and to some extent the Germans. What I said was that a squad with Garands (a firepower advantage over any bolt) would come out on top of another squad with bolt actions in the field.

The M-1 carbine is a toy in comparison to the Garand. I have both. The M-2 fully automatic didn't come out till after the war. The Garand went in the direction it logically should have like the Gewehr with a detachable box mag when it became the M-14.

And yeah I was thinking of the STG 44 cartridge Schwarzy. Now if the STG 44 was on the list I'd vote for it!!!

And someone please kill that ridiculous myth that the Enfield fires faster than any semi auto. Hell my pal has one and we've actually done the comparison!! One of the 1st things we saw in basic was an old film showing a Springfield being fired against a Garand. The M-1 put all his rounds on target and was done before the '03 had like 3-4 rounds out. And if you've ever been in a skirmish you know that with a bolt action stick you lose the sight picture every time your cycle the action. They showed the M-1 versus the M-14 at full auto too. Same result- firepower wins.

As much as I personally like my old K-98 there is no question that by 1944, at least, it was outdated. If I'd care about staying alive in a squad I'd want the M-1 Garand in France 1944. We're not talking about Buffalo Bill's wild west show distance shot best done by snipers with bolt actions weapons. We're talking about staying alive in daily firefights with Wehrmacht units in France and later Germany.