Thread: WW II bolt-action rifles: Your choice?

Mosin all the way. Might only have a 5 shot mag, but with the noise my M44 made it has to have twice the power of the others as its twice as loud!!!!!!!! Besides, the Russian stuff simply worked. 10 degrees below zero? No problem...K98 frozen shut, Mosin wont be.....I love shooting the Mosin. Just puts a smile on the dial.. In saying that, my go to hunting rifle is a 303

Mosin by a mile, and the the sights do go that far. Only rifle thats a internet meme.

AR15: Your bayonet will do an alright job of butchering your kill if needed.
AK47: The bayonet doubles as a decent hunting knife.
Mosin-Nagant: Your bayonet can be used to spit roast an entire pig.

AR15: Nice and light for carrying over obstructions.
AK47: Handy package for carrying over obstructions.
Mosin-Nagant: You can pole vault over obstructions.

AR-15: Carried by elite special forces and highly-trained American soldiers
AK-47: Carried by illiterate peons and unwilling conscripts.
Mosin-Nagant-Nagant: Carried by Vassily Zaitsev.

AR15: Shot by the free world
AK47: Shot at the free world
Mosin-Nagant: Almost free to shoot

AR15: One inch groups at 100 yards.
AK47: Five to six inch groups at 100 yards.
Mosin-Nagant: Muzzle is one inch from target at 100 yards.

AR15: Invented 50 years ago by a consummate engineer
AK47: Invented 60 years ago by wounded tank sergeant
Mosin-Nagant: Invented 117 years ago by two drunks on a budget.

http://www.everydaynodaysoff.com/201...-mosin-nagant/

AK: It works though you have never cleaned it. Ever.
AR: You have $9 per ounce special non-detergent synthetic Teflon infused oil for cleaning.
Mosin: It was last cleaned in Berlin in 1945.

AK: You are able to hit the broad side of a barn from inside.
AR: You are able to hit the broad side of a barn from 600 meters.
Mosin:You can hit the farm from two counties over.

AK: Cheap mags are fun to buy.
AR: Cheap mags melt.
Mosin:What's a mag?

AK: Your safety can be heard from 300 meters away.
AR: You can silently flip off the safety with your finger on the trigger.
Mosin:What's a safety?

AK: Your rifle comes with a cheap nylon sling.
AR: Your rifle has a 9 point stealth tactical suspension system.
Mosin:You rifle has dog collars.

AK: Your bayonet makes a good wire cutter.
AR: Your bayonet is actually a pretty good steak knife.
Mosin:Your bayonet is longer than your leg.

AK: You can put a .30" hole through 12" of oak, if you can hit it.
AR: You can put one hole in a paper target at 100 meters with 30 rounds.
Mosin:You can knock down everyone else's target with the shock wave of your bullet going downrange.

AK: When out of ammo your rifle will nominally pass as a club.
AR: When out of ammo, your rifle makes a great wiffle bat.
Mosin:When out of ammo, your rifle makes a supreme war club, pike, boat oar, tent pole, or firewood.

AK: Recoil is manageable, even fun.
AR: What's recoil?
Mosin:Recoil is often used to relocate shoulders thrown out by the previous shot.

AK: Your sight adjustment goes to "10", and you've never bothered moving it.
AR: Your sight adjustment is incremented in fractions of minute of angle.
Mosin:Your sight adjustment goes to 12 miles and you've actually tried it.

AK: Your rifle can be used by any two bit nation's most illiterate conscripts to fight elite forces worldwide.
AR: Your rifle is used by elite forces worldwide to fight two bit nations' most illiterate conscripts.
Mosin:Your rifle has fought against itself and won every time.

AK: Your rifle won some revolutions.
AR: Your rifle won the Cold War.
Mosin:Your rifle won a pole vault event.

AK: You paid $750.
AR: You paid $2900.
Mosin:You paid $299.95.

AK: You buy cheap ammo by the case.
AR: You lovingly reload precision crafted rounds one by one.
Mosin:You dig your ammo out of a farmer's field in Ukraine and it works just fine.

AK: You can intimidate your foe with the bayonet mounted.
AR: You foes laugh when you mount your bayonet.
Mosin:You can bayonet your foe on the other side of the river without leaving the comfort of your hole.

AK: Service life, 50 years.
AR: Service life, 40 years.
Mosin:Service life, 100 years, and counting.

AK: It's easier to buy a new rifle when you want to change cartridge sizes.
AR: You can change cartridge sizes with the push of a couple of pins and a new upper.
Mosin:You believe no real man would dare risk the ridicule of his friends by suggesting there is anything but 7.62x54r.

AK: You can repair your rifle with a big hammer and a swift kick.
AR: You can repair your rifle by taking it to a certified gunsmith, it's under warranty!
Mosin:If your rifle breaks, you buy a new one.

AK: You consider it a badge of honor when you get your handguards burst into flames.
AR: You consider it a badge of honor when you shoot a sub-MOA 5 shot group.
Mosin:You consider it a badge of honor when you cycle 5 rounds without the aid of a 2x4.

AK: After a long day the range you relax by watching "Red Dawn".
AR: After a long day at the range you relax by watching "Blackhawk Down".
Mosin:After a long day at the range you relax by visiting the chiropractor.

AK: After cleaning your rifle you have a strong urge for a stiff shot of Vodka.
AR: After cleaning your rifle you have a strong urge for hotdogs and apple pie.
Mosin:After cleaning your rifle you have a strong urge for shishkabob.

AK: You can accessorize you rifle with a new muzzle brake or a nice stock set.
AR: Your rifle's accessories are eight times more valuable than your rifle.
Mosin:Your rifle's accessory is a small tin can with a funny lid, but it's buried under an apartment building somewhere in Budapest.

AK: Your rifle's finish is varnish and paint.
AR: Your rifle's finish is Teflon and high tech polymers.
Mosin:Your rifle's finish is low grade shellac, cosmoline and Olga's toe nails.

AK: Your wife tolerates your autographed framed picture of Mikhail Kalashnikov.
AR: Your wife tolerates your autographed framed picture of Eugene Stoner.
Mosin:You're not sure there WERE cameras to photograph Sergei Mosin.

AK: Late at night you sometimes have to fight the urge to hold your rifle over your head and shout "Wolverines!"
AR: Late at night you sometimes have to fight the urge to clear your house, slicing the pie from room to room.
Mosin:Late at night, you sometimes have to fight the urge to dig a fighting trench in the the yard to sleep in.



There you have it.* In the end, it is clear to any open minded inquirer that the Mosin Nagant is the most superior weapon of all time, but the AR and the AK come out as a draw when compared side by side.

Originally Posted by scottrods

Think you forgot the Swedish Mauser / Huskys. the 6.5x55 is class.

Given that Sweden or Switzerland remained neutral during the war, they were not included as options.

Originally Posted by Ryan

Given that Sweden or Switzerland remained neutral during the war, they were not included as options.

Thats a shame as the Husqvarna / Gustav M96 6.5x55 is brilliant.

Himmm just read through this, after likeing the Lee! It would have to depend on the battlefield!
Look at the Boars vs the English? The boars out shot them in distance.
But if it was WW1 and western front then it would be Lee and a very sharp spade!!! Once they came over the top and got in the trench beside you, a rifle is not much help. Start swing that spade. That sharp knife on the end is just going to get stuck in one side of the trench wall, and your opponent is going to do the same, out comes the sharp spade! Sorry only offices had pistols and swords where soon taken from them as they had a habit of wavering them around when they went over the top and turning them and anybody around them into easy targets if your sniping then 300yards Max's so 8x57 is a good flat round for the time, latter on once the sepos joined the war sure 30'06.
All out attack defence back to the Lee 9 rounds in the mag good to go. (Yes it's a ten round mag but all where thaught to never load ten as it was prone to jam! Also most only every fired 5/6 in a fight)
WW2 again what battlefield? Africa? 303, 8x57
End of the day I think we would all chose the one that would be the most reliable and not jam.
Sure the Lee is fast to shoot, but if you load it wrong then your stuffed. Heat of the moment and that can happen.
8x57 30/06 Springfield is just a copy of the Mauser, they even paid royalties towards Mauser at one stage if I'm not mistaken.
So who wants a copy?
Nar it's all down to the 303 our the 8x57!

Originally Posted by Ryan

Given that Sweden or Switzerland remained neutral during the war, they were not included as options.

Ah, but the Finnish received 77,000 M96 rifles after the Winter War and Swedish Volunteer Units used them in the Winter War.... While they may not have been used by the countries that made them, they were in use.

Originally Posted by fernleaf

Ah, but the Finnish received 77,000 M96 rifles after the Winter War and Swedish Volunteer Units used them in the Winter War.... While they may not have been used by the countries that made them, they were in use.

Too late to change the poll now so we can just reserve an honourable mention for the M96.

Originally Posted by Sasquatch

I went with the Lee-Enfield for reasons listed above. Would of picked a Finnish M39, a Mosin on steroids but suppose that would fall outside of WWII?

there is a finish mosin on tardme

I don't want any of them. Think I'll be a pacifist.

My vote would have been for the, ... (@Toby, don't look) the 6,5

I suppose when we consider all the various types of bolt action rifles used by all the combatants during WW2, there isn't really a whole lot to choose between them when used under combat conditions -

Sure the '03 Springfield was super accurate on the target range but was that long range accuracy of any use/benefit when being carried by a 19yo US Marine on Guadalcanal who could barely see a target five metres away or by a 57yo French Algerian Tiralleur in Tunisia with three days training under his belt?

Sure the Lee Enfield held ten rounds and thats great when you've got ten rounds in the mag at the start of a fight (and that could make all the difference). I recall my grandfather telling me that they very rarely loaded all ten rounds into their rifle magazines once a fight had begun, and just went with loading five rounds as it got you back shooting faster.

Mosins, 98ks, Arisakas, MAS36s, Carcanoes - they really are all much of a muchness under combat conditions.

Never having used any of the above in combat conditions, I couldn't possibly comment.

When do we get onto the semis of WW2?

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For me a Mauser just feels more reliable. The Lee Enfield is great speed and mag capacity wise, but using a rimmed cartridge can mess you up. I feel especially sorry for Soviet infantry issued with wartime production Mosins. Rimlock till the day you die. Which is probably day one on the Eastern Front.

i have handled all but the Mas . . . the winner by a huge margin is the 3006 03 Springfield, to me it is a riflemans rifle, followed a ways back by a 98, preferably of BRNO manufacture but German or Swedish Mausers are good ( to me )

the others i wouldnt thank you for.