The Battle Rifle Poll

Baattle Rifle -Battle Royal

  • BM59

    Votes: 3 3.0%

  • HK G3 / CETME

    Votes: 25 24.8%

  • FN FAL

    Votes: 38 37.6%

  • Stgw 57

    Votes: 2 2.0%

  • M14

    Votes: 63 62.4%

  • MAS 49

    Votes: 1 1.0%

  • Ljungmann AG42 / Hakim

    Votes: 3 3.0%
  • Total voters
    101
  • Poll closed .
J

Jo6pak

New member
OK, so after getting alot of good votes and replies on the Assault Rifle Poll. I thought I would step backwards and do the same type of thing with semi-auto battle rifles.

I included only post-war designs, so there is no Garand, G43, or SVT. The criteria is similar to the Assault Rifle poll.
> Adopted by a military, or used in significant numbers to allow for an educated refernace to it's reliability, accuracy, and ruggedness.
> Generally considered full caliber, box magazine fed, semi auto or select fire.


>Please choose 3 off the list
 
In any situation, where you have the oppurtunty to have distance between you and the target, I'll take an M14 any day. Putiing hits on a target at 100-200 yds leaves any ak47 or short barreled rifle at a loss. Never let the target or targets using assualt rifles get any closer than 100 yds. An ak, a m16, all designed for the shooter who believes if you put enough rounds in the right direction, you'll hit something. With a M14, one shot, one kill.
 
The FN-FAL. I have yet to see a battle rifle more robust, ergonomic and reliable than the FAL.
Adjustable gas system? Check. All ordnance grade steel design, built like a tank? Check. Thick receiver walls? Check. Great control and handling thanks to a pistol grip, recoil absorbing butt pad, thumb operable safety? Yes. Easy to disassemble? Yes, very. Service life? Long. Is it hard to mount a scope on it? Its extremely easy to do. Is the recoil with full power 7.62x51 bad? It has less felt recoil than a 7.62x39 AK!

It is THE battle rifle.
 
M14 Rifle - Deadly Accuracy

Weapon is still used by American soldiers 50 years after its development.

The M14 remains in limited front line service with the United States Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. It was the last American "battle rifle" (a term applied to weapons firing full-power rifle ammunition) issued in quantity to U.S. troops. The M14 also provides the basis for the M21 and M25 sniper rifles. See link below:

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/weapons/a/m14.htm

:D:D:D:D
 
Geez, I just gotta' go with the M-14. I shot M-1's in High School Jr. ROTC and trained with M-14's at Ft. Knox. I love the feel of wood, I still shoot my M1A regularly and like the "conventional rifleness" of the design. I appreciate the finer points of the FN-FAL (have 2 of those, one metric, the other inch) ... but the M-14 ... I have such a deep, emotional attachment to it that simple "logic" just can't overwhelm the emotion. :D
 
Id take the G3 over the M14 (or any of the others), without hesitation. Just as accurate, and readily adaptable to different configurations and optics as they come. They also have the best "combat" iron sights of any of them.

The G3's were the innovators, the rest never caught on, and never moved on.
 
The many variations of the M14

blacksky

Weapon is still used by American soldiers 50 years after its development.

The M14 remains in limited front line service with the United States Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

It was the last American "battle rifle" (a term applied to weapons firing full-power rifle ammunition) issued in quantity to U.S. troops.

The M14 also provides the basis for the M21 and M25 sniper rifles.
Click to expand...

That and so much more :)

Fab5.jpg
 
I had an original FN FAL back in the 80's. It was reliable, but that was about it. It wasnt particularly accurate, and would string its shots as the gun warmed up, which was a fairy common thing from what Ive been told by people who were issued them. They also didnt have any easy way to readily attach optics.
 
It was a toss up between the FAL and the G3 for first. Both are ergonomic, feel well balanced in the hands for quick and easy targeting, reliable and proven designs, mounting optics aren't a problem, power isn't a problem either with the 7.62 round, parts aren't extremely difficult to come by, and both come in black (joke).

But for first place I'd have to put the G3, I'm a fan of the roller lock system. (maybe because I like complicated things, after all I was an Automatic Trans tech :D ) But the sights do it for me, the G3's sights I think are a hands down win over the other BRs.

Second comes close with the FAL.

Third the M14, no question it's a great rifle. But in an opinion poll, it falls short to me. The biggest issue I've had with the M14 (which in this poll is the wood stocked Military version (assumed), not a space commando poly stock, lightened, and modified rifle.) They've always felt end heavy making swinging and target aquiring feel like waltzing with a linebacker. I've handled some heavy weapons before, but the M14 just feels awkward to me.
 
Hmm. 40 voters and only 48 total votes? Clearly not very many people are voting for three off the list.

Yes, Meatgrinder, this is a poll of the rifles in their military configuration as a general issue weapon. While adaptability is definately a factor, it is not necessarily a needed attribute to a great infantryman's rifle
 
I haven't shot the others. I just voted on what I am familiar with.

I admit if I had a wish book in front of me the 14 wouldn't be my first choice based on my reading but right now today it's the only one I have first hand experience with and the comfort factor of knowing how to shoot and maintain it is a big factor.
 
+10 230therapy! At some point in the last few years I've owned almost everything on the list. Most ended up being sold and I now have POF which IMHO has the best design aspects of all of them in one package. Having used them all quite a bit I'd still pick a quality AR 10-type rifle over the others... Even my beloved M1A (which I would never sell!!)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top