WWII rifles. Are they still viable?

In on the M1 Garand bandwagon. I own one, bought it from the CMP last year. It's the rifle that won us the war and 60+ years later, still stands as one of the greats

reply to post by ANNED


Very fine post and "accurate"

Scoutsniper

reply to post by oldgoat


Your post is absolutely "Right on"! Great!

Scoutsniper

The rifle if in good condition will function as intended. The real accuracy behind a rifle is the spiral twist in the barrel called "rifiling". Today even modern blackpowder guns have rifiling. If you have any specific questions let me know. But the fact is that modern rifles are more accurate (overall) than their earlier models.

reply to post by projectvxn


well i was just proving to them about weapon expertize. you get clowny people who think they know more about your weapon , which you shoot a lot. and they only read about.

if i tell you to hold the weapon tight and pull your eye back from the scope, because this gun is going to kick the snot out of you and the scopes going to rip out your eye socket....you better listen....or dont

Originally posted by aliengenes
reply to post by projectvxn

 

well i was just proving to them about weapon expertize. you get clowny people who think they know more about your weapon , which you shoot a lot. and they only read about.

if i tell you to hold the weapon tight and pull your eye back from the scope, because this gun is going to kick the snot out of you and the scopes going to rip out your eye socket....you better listen....or dont

nice analysis.

I'm a pretty big fan of WWII weaponry

Pre-WWII but still an excellent weapon the Springfield 1903 .30 .06, helped earn the "Teufel Hunden" nickname for the USMC.

M1 Garand .30 .06 a very good weapon to spite it's 8 round capacity and distinctive noise made when the clip was ejected but could also be turned around by throwing one of the clips to fake having to reload lulling the enemy to come out of cover thinking the Infantryman is having to reload.

M1911 .45ACP pistol very good gun that has served many people well for many a decade.

Thompson .45 ACP SMC is IMO one of the best SMGs ever produced and is still a viable option for Law Enforcement. Personally if I was in law enforcement I would choose a Thompson over an AR platform as it is much more useful in the ranges that law enforcement encounter.

M1919 .30 .06 MMG An excellent company or battalion support weapon requiring at least a 2 man crew but did what it was designed for with the utmost efficiency.

M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle .30 .06 Machine Rifle a very good Automatic Rifle that could also be used in a LMG role via bi pod and is to date the lightest LMG to fire the .30 .06 cartridge, but it's 20 round magazine held it back in this role. I love the sound of the BAR firing in the slower cyclic rate especially.

Last but not last,

M2 .50 BMG HMG an extraordinary weapon system still in use today and projected to be in service for at least the next 20 years with the new M2E2/M2A1 revisions which will make it by far the longest service of any US Small Arms. A real blast to shoot another gun where the sound alone could give me wood.

Ask yourself,did the gun and bullets kill people in ww2? So,have people evolved past these guns? No such thing happend.

reply to post by machines4200

see m25 and m21 sniper rifle, look before deciding what is what,m21 based on the m14/ BAR.Then m25 is the M1 garand with the 308 /7.62x51, 1954, or later some M1 were mod to take the NATO round, look for manufacture date, 1947 and newer. M1's. best ever made!!!! an other good rifle is the 03 spring 30-06 cal yes bolt action, but very reliable. and this is what one needs,

reply to post by whipsandchainsamerica
no, we have learned how to spray lead , 3rounds to one? auto fire 700+ rounds per min not just shoot them but lets cut him half, BMG 50 at 100 yards can you say confetti!

To be honest the only WW2 rifles today that could still function decently as a standard infantry firearm would be the SKS, STG44 and the SVT40. Garand just lacks having a magazine and the G43 was not that reliable apparently, but still id take it over the Garand.

Originally posted by tomcat ha
To be honest the only WW2 rifles today that could still function decently as a standard infantry firearm would be the SKS, STG44 and the SVT40. Garand just lacks having a magazine and the G43 was not that reliable apparently, but still id take it over the Garand.

We are are not talking about standard infantry but a civilian without the logistics train to supply all that expended ammunition. A big magazine just makes going prone difficult and its one more thing to go wrong Doing the "A team thing": jumping out of the truck while it slides to a halt; ripping off a 30round mag into the air only makes the bad guys laydown their weapons on t.v.

I'll take ten guys with o3a3's who can shoot versus 10 noisemakers who like the sound of spraying projectiles from their tacticool ar's. Assault rifles have their place with suppressive fire maneuvering . but a civilian is not going to part of a fire team advancingona fixed position or room to room "house clearing".

If you're purchasing a rifle or pistol that is military surplus, the one criteria I always try to keep in mind is commonality and availability of ammunition.

For example, there are many fine military surplus rifles for sale, but ammunition availability will largely depend on the country of origin, and the country you live in. We don't run across much Japanese military ammunition here in the States, for example.

This will be particularly important if you wish to purchase a former military model with the capability to provide for your defense in a SHTF scenario, God forbid.

In the US for example, there isn't nearly the 30.06 available and likely to be available as say the .308, or 7.62. The M1 of WWII fame was fed from the top, through a strip clip, and fired the 30.06. A superb, durable, proven weapon. The M-14 is an M1 that uses the more efficient 7.62 (.308) and is fed through a 20-round clip. For one of these, folks such as Smith Enterprises builds them even for the military today.

Most folks won't attain the skills necessary for thousand-meter shots, and in fact, they won't even be going for the 800m shots, electing to stay within 200-400 meters. So the rifles will generally outshoot the shooters.

I like the .308 because shooting someone twice or thrice to kill them is just silly. Same reason I CC the 1911 in .45. And the ammo for the .223, the .308, the 9mm, and the ,45 will be around for decades as the military still uses them.

The most efficient rifle in the world is a damned finely machined club if you don't have ammo.

Of course, some former military weapons are just nostalgic and beautiful creations. Nice to look at and even hold on occasion, but not to rely on long-term.

Enjoy your search, and enjoy your weapon.

I own, collect and shoot services rifles from the WWII era and they can pack a punch alright and still very reliable.

For hard hitting the .303 Enfields cant be beaten and the 6.5x55 & 7x57mm Mausers are great for longer range.

hell wen i was in Montana, id seen allot of older era rifles. the Russian Mosin nagant was the most common an they were actually pretty cheap as well, like in the 100$-150$ range.

What about soviet-type weapons?
People tend to forget how wonderfull pieces of simple engineering make it out thru Berlin and Stalingrad, like the the Mosin Nagant and the PPSh-41...
Hard to find in good conditions, but still have their beauty

StG44, still in use in Iraq as you can see.



But this rifle is not a good choice because of it's rapid consumption. AK-47 in fact bases on this weapon but is more durable. Prototypes of AK-47 was made during WWII so I thing we could consider AK as the weapon from that era and this is still weapon of choice in majority of countries in the world.

Although they are modern-day reproductions, I have an M-1 Garand and an M-1 Carbine, made from the original mechanical drawings used for those weapons.
They are both accurate and quite deadly.
The Garand fires the powerful 30.06 round, which has power pretty close to that of 7.62x51 NATO, which the M-60, M-14 and FN-FAL use.
The M-1 carbine fires a .30 caliber round of a different type - ballistically, it's equal to a .357. It's really powerful and is absolutely no joke. Stories of its ineffectiveness during WWII and Korea were just that - stories. The issued ammo was apparently under-charged with powder, and coupled with enemy Chinese and North Koreans that had many, many layers of clothing it's easy to see how it could be thought to be a less than stellar weapon.
Surplus GI mags still in Cosmoline are quite available for the M1 Carbine - they hold 15 rounds of this powerful cartridge, and are sturdy and cheap to buy.
I'm no supporter of any gun laws, but despite its non-scary appearance, it is specifically banned from sale/ownership in New Jersey - it's classified by that state as an "assault rifle."
Anyone contemplating a Garand, I would suggest doing the following: buy a batch of metal training rounds, and use them to learn how to properly load the en-bloc clip. Cycle the rounds through the gun, and see how the clip ejects. Then repeat the process a few times until you become comfortable enough to perform the administrative functions of the weapon safely.

reply to post by JDBlack

I have an M-1 carbine, .30 caliber, and it shoots quite well, and is semi automatic. Costs near $2 each time I shoot it.

reply to post by aliengenes


yeah i got me a 1917 remmington mosin nagant and it shoots like a dream i guess its worth a decent amount of money for a nagant too highly reccomend it