What was the crappiest bolt action rifle during WWII?

However, Finnish mosin are renowned for their precision

Finnish mosin 28/76 which are precision weapons are built on octagonal receiver mosin with TRIGERS M27
and Russian mosin can shoot in any condition, and hit their target with a good shooter

I remember a test for the sniper rifle
No4T
m1 garand
98k
mosin 91/30 PU

if I remember correctly, the mosin arrives first position
 
lavoltiges said:
However, Finnish mosin are renowned for their precision

Finnish mosin 28/76 which are precision weapons are built on octagonal receiver mosin with TRIGERS M27
and Russian mosin can shoot in any condition, and hit their target with a good shooter

I remember a test for the sniper rifle
No4T
m1 garand
98k
mosin 91/30 PU

if I remember correctly, the mosin arrives first position
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IIRC, the scopes used in that test had a lot to do with results, as did the ammunition.


The .303 British ammo was apparently falling apart and had to be broken into reloading components by the testers?
 
Honestly, I'm going to suggest the old Berthiers and Lebels the MAS-36 was meant to replace, but didn't in time should probably be on the list somewhere.
 
Lee Enfield and the Carcano would be my choices I can't comment on japanese/french rifles havent seen or used 1.

I for one won't love an Enfield cause I live in Canada Like most
 
Gentlemen, the topic is crappy rifles.

Can someone kindly point out to me the sterling qualities of the French Berthier 1907/15/29?

I have been trying to find those selfsame sterling qualities for the past 50 years..... with but little success.
 
Carcano is about the worst, even though it allegedly had superpowers on November 22,1963.
 
smellie said:
Gentlemen, the topic is crappy rifles.

Can someone kindly point out to me the sterling qualities of the French Berthier 1907/15/29?

I have been trying to find those selfsame sterling qualities for the past 50 years..... with but little success.
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I agree, the Berthier get the top spot. I have not shot one, but have read books that indicate the numerous issues.

The French did make the Chauchat... and had numerous crappy weapons in service at that time. Perhaps crappy is the wrong terminology. "unsuitable for combat conditions"

I could be wrong, but it seems the French didn't get their sh!t together until they made the FAMAS.
 
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EL34/6L6 said:
The mosin bolt can vary. Two of mine are like butter the other two are more clunky. The two better mosin bolts actually sound different to the ear when cycling. Love em.
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Yeah Ive seen that, I got a 91/30 and a 91/59 ( factory carbine 91/30 ) and both got different trigger pulls and bolt feel.
 
The crappiest bolt action rifle of WW2? You guys must be really bored today.

None were crappy as their respective designs had been adapted from WWI and improved upon over a substantial period of time. They were however ALL OUTDATED and had no business as the front line infantry weapon on a WW2 battlefield.

America was the only nation that got it right by issuing a modern self loading design as general issue in the M1 Garand. Russia and Germany at least made an effort to field the SVT40 and the G43 in signifficant numbers. Everyone else was stuck back in WW1 including the Brits.

Conclusion: By WW2 all bolt actions "sucked".
 
RobertMcC said:
I found the mosin bolt poor... Wasn't till I put a bent handle that it made the bolt action feel decent.

Its more of a slap open design. Kinda like working a land rover defender shifter. Nothing smooth about it.
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but it will work in any weather coated in mud its crude but works that can be said for just about any Russian rifle the Lee Enfield could do just about the same I think the Mauser and the Springfield's the tolerances are too tight
 
BeaverMeat said:
I agree, the Berthier get the top spot. I have not shot one, but have read books that indicate the numerous issues.

The French did make the Chauchat... and had numerous crappy weapons in service at that time. Perhaps crappy is the wrong terminology. "unsuitable for combat conditions"


I could be wrong, but it seems the French didn't get their sh!t together until they made the FAMAS.
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The MAT-49 deserves a can do reputation. Loved by all who carried it.

But, as with the FAMAS, we are far from bolt guns.
 
Phat Eagle said:
All of them... The Garand kicked their butts!
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This will (no doubt) create a bit of controversy, but according to my late uncle who fought in Italy during WWII, the Americans were pushing Britain to adopt the Garand as the "be-all and end-all" in battle rifles. From what I was told, field trials were set up with the Lee Enfields going head-to-head against the Garand. What the Brits concluded after the trials was this: no significant advantage in rapidity of AIMED fire by the Garand, 8 rnds. vs. 10 rnds., inability to top off partially expended magazines, mechanically more complex, more ammunition sensitive than the LE, and the famous "ping" of the en bloc clip leaving the rifle. The biggest advantage the British had over almost any other army was their marksmanship training for the regular army, which they still called "musketry". After the humiliation of the British by the boers with their mauser rifles, the brits trained intensively with their rifles and the standards of marksmanship on a soldier to soldier basis made them superior in speed and accuracy to almost any other army of their day. The BEF of WWI (the Old Contemptables) laid down such withering fire that the Germans thought they were facing machine gun battalions, not to mention the legend of the "mad minute".
 
^I get it that some people really have a sentimental attachment to the LE rifle. British special forces were not so type cast though. During the Korean War British Royal Marines issued M1 Garands to their raiding parties that mined North Korean railroads along the coast. The SAS were often seen using M1 carbines during WWII. The whole ping argument is kind of hard to believe though. In effect the rifle has literally unloaded itself and the action is automatically open, waiting for the operator to merely push another en bloc clip into the empty space. We are literally talking about mere seconds here to reload. Then it's game on once again. If the Allied forces had to invade mainland Japan the Americans insisted that they use their rifles instead of the old timey bolt actions that were modern for the year 1919.

Sorry, Lawerence that's hard to believe........I suspect the real reason they would not adopt another rifle was the feasibility and cost of rearming to a better battle rifle during a world war.
But they had no excuse for the Korean War! No British/Commonwealth troops should have faced the Chinese hordes with ancient WW1 designed rifles.

Cheers!
 
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