| Fuzzy Bunny | August 22nd, 2007 01:14 AM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by jumjum
(Post 3873467)
Also the US Civil War-era Sharps Rifle/Carbine belongs, and the similar Spencer Rifle too. It started the long process of changing the generals' minds about the value of small units vs. large formations of troops. "Load it on Sunday and shoot all week."
| Good call, hadn't thought of it aside from the original Springfield (the big heavy hitter with minie balls). Quote:
The Maritni Henry. While the breech-loader broke no new ground, it served for 40 years as the weapon of the British Empire in dozens of wars, big and little. Probably responsible for the death of more third-world citizen-soldiers than any other instrumentality.
| 100% agree, especially because it was mentioned in The Man Who Would Be King. Quote:
I would go for the BAR in place of the M-14 since it was in use far longer. If I could I would pair it with the Bren (if the Bren had semi capability - did it?). They were both very successful "rifles" in long use as squad-support weapons, although I would choose the BAR as less awkward in its configuration.
| Also dead-on, IMHO the first "assault rifle". I disagree about the M-14, because it was such a ubiquitous weapon. Remember, the stupid thing about a list like this is that, as I said, you need to be clear on your criteria. The M-14 was not a successful or combat-influential weapon, but it was extremely widely used and a mainstay in the early Vietnam war. Quote:
The SKS has been around almost forever it seems. If you consider it a separate weapon from the AK, it may have been produced almost as much. Also the absolutely cheapest contemporary military rifle. Several years ago my father thought SKSs at $100 a pop would make wonderful Christmas presents for his four sons - all four grown-married-with-children-professional sons. Hey, we went ahead and got a few thousand rounds of military 7.62 x 39mm and some 30-round mags - Ivan and Jose better not come parachuting into our high school. GO WOLVERINES!
| A friend of mine bought an SKS in California for 50 bucks with a few hundred rounds of ammo (it's classified as a collector's weapon.) About half the rounds were duff, great fun. Quote:
Otherwise, I think I would combine the 1903 Springfield and the SMLE as similar weapons. The Springfield was simple, tough and accurate, and used the superior 30-'06 cartridge. The Enfield had "too many parts", but had a quick bolt action, and that wonderful life-saving 10-round magazine.
| ... Quote:
Couldn't go with FuzzyBunny's Krag-Jorgensen because of reliability and breakdown problems on active service. But the K-J Carbine did look so cool when in Lee Marvin's legendary-Mountie hands it in Death Hunt.
| That's why I included the Krag -- it was basically the predecessor of the Springfield 1903 and, in terms of design, very influential. Quote:
The Steyer AUG? Why? Other than it be stylin' so fine?
| I think it was more because of the futuristic looks and bullpup design. There are several rifles (the British and French ones currently used, whose names I forget, come to mind) that you could use in their place.
And I totally agree about the Lebel.
It also just occurred to me that it's sort of unfair to not include weapons that were not widely used, but still revolutionary in design, such as the Soviet underwater assault rifle, or the Stoner system -- just because they were both so ahead of their time. | 