Other Post Best military rifle of WW2???

[HighlandSniper58]

Sorry mate - as the guys say -no offence meant notworthy:

 

[Doc 2/47]

Now y'all boys don't be gettin your kilts all outta kilter.
If everybody absolutely agreed on everything,forums would be awfully boreing places.Discussions allow the folks that are involved in them-and other folks that just wander by and read-an opportunity to learn something.This particular topic is a case in point.Never would have occured to me that there was anybody that considered any SMLE was the equal of the M1 Garand as a battlerifle.

I was thinking that this was a very good topic because there are an awful lot of subjects that folks on both sides of the pond don't have enough common interest in and/or knowledge of and/or experience with to be able to carry on a decent discussion.Heck, it's hard enough just tryin to figure out what y'all are talkin bout half the time.

Now if folks are gonna get all sensative an get their feelins hurt,it ain't worth it.Lets just repair to the bunker an I'll buy the first couple a rounds.
But if that ain't a problem,I've got a few more thoughts on the matter.Y'all tell me.

 

[D_squad_22_SAS]

Perhaps I have been abit too hasty....I am from the USA , but pround of my English ancestry. Perhaps I let my pride get the best of me....I will say that I am proud to be American too.

 

[HighlandSniper58]

Doc 2/47 wrote:

Never would have occured to me that there was anybody that considered any SMLE was the equal of the M1 Garand as a battlerifle.

Sory to be pedantic, but the SMLE and the No.4 Mk.1 Enfield are different rifles - the SMLE was the WW1 rifle officially replaced in 1941 by the British Army, but the SMLE soldiered on in the Far East, and was never replaced by the Indian and Australian armies. The major differences were the sights and stock/muzzle, the SMLE usually had a magazine cut-off missing from all but the very earliest No.4s

That aside, the SMLE also had a fearsome reputation for rapid/accurate fire and well-triained troops could lay down withering accurate fire out to 1000 yds., and did so on many occaisions in WW1 and later.

OK, at short range I conceid that the Garand was in many ways the better battle rifle - but overall do not underestimate the Lee Enfield system - the bolt arrangement on the Enfield rifles allowed for incredibly rapid and accurate fire.

I once accepted a wager from a weapons instructor - he would use an SLR and twenty loose rounds, I a No.4 Mk. 1 with 20 loose rounds, the challenge being to load and fire the 20 rounds at 300m, accuracy and speed to count. I beat him on both speed and accuracy and I didn't even bother to load the second 10 rounds into the magazine, I just single loaded. OK, so the same excersie couldn't be repated with the M-1 - but I would guess that with a clip-loaded Enfield the result might just be the same - certainly on accuracy, maybe even on speed.

Whatever - an impossible question to answer at the end of the day.

 

[Eagledriver]

Did i just hear someone say something about The Bunker? Let's go. I'm thirsty! dr; dr; dr;

 

[HighlandSniper58]

Beer, beer.............where's Eagledriver?

No mention of rifles, just give the man a beer! roc;

 

[Eagledriver]

Here ya go, Sniper. Try a good ole American Bud for a change. On me. dr; dr; dr;

 

[Eagledriver]

And if Bud don't suit ya, try this one on for size.

 

[Bombardier]

Ahhhhh my namesake, I LOVE IT!!! :mrgreen:

 

[HighlandSniper58]

Aaaaah, that was good, cheers ED.

I'm off to the land of German beer in October, always enjoy that.

 

[Eagledriver]

Aw, man! Did ya have to remind me? I just gotta get back for Oktoberfest one of these days!

 

[D_squad_22_SAS]

You are lucky Highland , you are close to all the good beer!! You know , I have a no4 mkI(in very good shape) but I never considered that it would be as effective as my SLR(neat story Highland). I also have never fired anything other than blanks through the No4 MkI too.....Perhaps I should take it with me to go shoot next time and give a comparison.

 

[HighlandSniper58]

The No.4 is sweet to shoot as long as you haven't got one with a stock which doesn't fit. As you will know, the No.4's butt is removable and they came (I think) in short/medium/long - I remember shooting about 200 rds one day with a short butt rifle - it kicked the living daylights out of me - give me a long and I'm happy as Larry.

What I would suggest is one of the slip-on rubber recoil pads made by Pachmayr or similar - makes one helluva difference.

Do have a go with ball ammo, they are really accurate to shoot - remember the windage is in the foresight - I have permission to acquire one on my firearm certificate and must find a good one sometime soon before it's too late.

Of course, SLRs etc. are impossible for us here these days - we'll never be able to own/shot semi-autos here again.

 

[D_squad_22_SAS]

Highland ,

I truly am sickened by the silly gun laws of the UK , and am sorry that you have to be subjected to it....it certainly isn't fair , or even useful as a law(of course IMO). So what type of guns are allowed for ownership there??? The UK had some really good WW2 reenactment units a few years back , how were they able to do that with the laws being the way they are there? I believe my No4 MkI has a longer stock , cause I have put a bunch of blanks through it before without incident. I actually keep it at my store , and have some silvertips to go with it in the unlikely case of robbery. I could even get AP rounds for the No4 MkI if I wanted them.....If you are serious about the purchase of one , and they aren't readily available in the UK , we have quite a few larger gun dealers offering them for as low as 150$ US in the Shotgun news.....I could search for the web address if you would like.......BTW , whoever was responsible for adorning my title with the winged dagger , you have my deepest gratitude notworthy: I am truly not worthy of their excellence!

 

[D_squad_22_SAS]

Enfield #4 mk 1 rifles, 303 caliber, with bayonet included. Classic WWII era design rifles. They have nice bores, but are missing most if not all of the finish from the metal. May have replacement and/or repaired stocks. These rifles have seen service throughout the British Empire, including India. C&R eligible.
Item Number: 15-51
Quantity: 0 2 5 10
Price: $149.95 $149.95 $149.95 $149.95
Number to add to cart:


http://catalog.jgsales.com

there is the link Highland...I bought mine at a local gunshow , and paid 180$ for it. It is in very good condition , and the guy even threw in the frog sticker with it. My only complaint is that whoever had it before shellacked the stock!! instead of leaving it in its original condition . It looks okay and all , buy every time I pick it up I can feel that coarseness.[/url]

 

[gunplumber]

I'll throw in my 0.02 here......the best all round semi rifle in WW2 is in my opinion the G/K 43 and the best bolt with out any doubt was the LE No 4

 

[D_squad_22_SAS]

Either of your choices would be hard to argue Plumber.....I can see where the M1 Garand could be bandied in as well as the others , and I would give it the slight nod over the G43 .....but only slightly.

 

[gunplumber]

the nod goes to the G43 over the M1 garand only because of the 10 rd detachable magazine...thats the only thing I never liked about my garand ..those damn 8 rd enbloc clips

 

[D_squad_22_SAS]

I have fired both , and I liked the feel of the M1 Garand slightly better than that of the G43. Germany came up with some fabulous weapons during WW2. The MG42 , the FG42 were just top rate. At first , they seemed to suffer though from over-engineering too many of their weapons....something would break , and it would need major surgery performed on it to act right again(and machined parts that were in shorter and shorter supply)....I always liked the PPSH41 , and the STEN's....yeah they were cheaply made , but breaking them down was rather easy(especially in the case of the PPSH).

 

[NorthShore]

Look who won the war????

Not to get into a debate here, I still think the Garand was best. #1-look who won the war. #2- Rob, the M14 didn't come out till just after the Korean War. The Mauser 98 and the Lee-Enfield were great in their own right, but they were bolt action. When you got in a tight, you needed firepower.

Canada and Great Britain were using the Lee Enfield long beofre the even USA got into the war, after nearly getting getting caught sleeping in December 0f 41. The German infantry stated on numerous occassion that some of the Canadian infantry regiments were the toughest they ever faced, and they were not using any M1's. They were using Lee Enfields.