Semi-Auto Battle Rifle... Which one?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Favorite Fighting Rifle

  • Stoner Variants- M4, AR-15, AR-10

    Votes: 73 33.0%
  • Kalashnikov Variants-AK47, 74, Valmet, Saiga, VZ58

    Votes: 43 19.5%
  • FN FAL

    Votes: 30 13.6%
  • M1-A

    Votes: 29 13.1%
  • Steyr AUG

    Votes: 1 0.5%
  • M1 Garand

    Votes: 25 11.3%
  • HK G3

    Votes: 4 1.8%
  • Mini-14

    Votes: 2 0.9%
  • FN SCAR/ Bushmaster ACR

    Votes: 13 5.9%
  • Robinson XC R/ SIG 556

    Votes: 1 0.5%

  • Total voters
    221

seurto

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Dec 13, 2010
Messages
106
Reaction score
0
Location
OKC
So basically you're saying... this is a stupid question/thread and it doesn't deserve a serious answer.
I havent said anything, directly technically.. I have given my serious answer, so, that should negate any derivative of wich you wish to presume from my comments. ;)
What I am saying is, (which I believe I said in an earlier post), is that its not worth getting worked up over. As I have seen a many threads like this devolve into offline threats of fisticuffs from some of the more adamant believers of thier absoluteness.. One reason why I havent commented on the gold/silver thread, its the same old arguements over and over again. It gets old after the 100th time..

Yeah I guess the thread should have technically been named: "What is your favorite assault/battle carbine/rifle?"
That might have assissted in clarifying the mud, but I doubt it.
 

henschman

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Jul 22, 2008
Messages
4,396
Reaction score
24
Location
Oklahoma City
Wow, I wish I had seen this thread earlier... I could have saved you the trouble of all this arguing, and just told you that the M-14 is the best battle rifle ever made! ;)

I like them because they have the best iron sights ever put on a rifle, and they are very reliable. They also generally have very good factory triggers, and are plenty accurate. Basically they are a very good all-around rifle that scores fairly highly in all categories that I think make a good battle rifle. All the others fall short in at least one category.

I don't necessarily think a rifle has to be a .30 cal to be a battle rifle... I still would have considered the M-1 and FAL to be battle rifles in their original chamberings of .276 Pedersen and .280 British, respectively... but it certainly has to be chambered in a full power round. 7.62x39 and 5.56x45 are not full power rounds. Neither one is too terribly effective out past 300m, either... battle rifles are supposed to be able to handle an enemy at least out to 600 yards, IMO.

Though the M-14 is my favorite, I am very glad we have so many great battle rifles available to argue over! Ultimately it's the indian, not the arrow... a Rifleman should be able to take care of business with any of the above listed tools.
 

Mitch Rapp

Sharpshooter
Joined
Nov 21, 2005
Messages
4,274
Reaction score
25
Location
Broken Arrow
It is a poll, and one of the options was M1 Garand. So guess what I picked.......


And if you don't think a Garand is a solid perfomer compared to other more modern weapons, you apparently have never seen Jesse T. aka Shifty on here, run one at a rifle match.
 

Werewolf

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Oct 1, 2005
Messages
3,471
Reaction score
7
Location
OKC
Hmmm...

Learn something new every day. Never knew there was a difference between a battle rifle and an assault rifle though it makes sense that there is.

So what's the difference and what authority that defines such things defined it.
 

Glocktogo

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Jan 12, 2007
Messages
29,427
Reaction score
15,662
Location
Collinsville
Hmmm...

Learn something new every day. Never knew there was a difference between a battle rifle and an assault rifle though it makes sense that there is.

So what's the difference and what authority that defines such things defined it.

I don't know whether it's Jane's or Small Arms Review or some other such authority, but an assault rifle is a light weight, select fire (safe/semi/burst or full) rifle or carbine firing a medium power cartridge.

A battle rifle would be a one that may be either semi-auto only or select fire, that fires a full power rifle cartridge, and usually has a rifle length barrel. Most "battle rifles" are chambered in .30 cal or larger and have a max effective range of 600 meters or more. They're usually a couple of pounds heavier than an equivalent assault rifle. That's the tradeoff for the greater range, more weight to hump and usually a smaller amount of ammo per marksman.
 

Werewolf

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Oct 1, 2005
Messages
3,471
Reaction score
7
Location
OKC
I don't know whether it's Jane's or Small Arms Review or some other such authority, but an assault rifle is a light weight, select fire (safe/semi/burst or full) rifle or carbine firing a medium power cartridge.

A battle rifle would be a one that may be either semi-auto only or select fire, that fires a full power rifle cartridge, and usually has a rifle length barrel. Most "battle rifles" are chambered in .30 cal or larger and have a max effective range of 600 meters or more. They're usually a couple of pounds heavier than an equivalent assault rifle. That's the tradeoff for the greater range, more weight to hump and usually a smaller amount of ammo per marksman.

That makes perfect sense. Thanks.
 

henschman

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Jul 22, 2008
Messages
4,396
Reaction score
24
Location
Oklahoma City
I pretty much agree with glocktogo's definition, but I don't believe a battle rifle has to be semi or select fire. I think the term originated from back when all battle rifles were bolt action. I consider the mil surp bolt actions to be battle rifles, too. The characteristic that delineates them from hunting rifles is that a battle rifle is designed to be loaded quickly (i.e., with stripper clips if you're talking about a bolt gun). Battle rifles also are generally designed to be quickly and easily field stripped.
 

Glocktogo

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Jan 12, 2007
Messages
29,427
Reaction score
15,662
Location
Collinsville
I pretty much agree with glocktogo's definition, but I don't believe a battle rifle has to be semi or select fire. I think the term originated from back when all battle rifles were bolt action. I consider the mil surp bolt actions to be battle rifles, too. The characteristic that delineates them from hunting rifles is that a battle rifle is designed to be loaded quickly (i.e., with stripper clips if you're talking about a bolt gun). Battle rifles also are generally designed to be quickly and easily field stripped.

Agreed. My definition was geared more toward the debate in this thread on various autos, but there are plenty of bolt gun battle rifles. The 03A3, Enfield, k98 and Mosin Nagant are perfect examples.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom