What is the best all around bolt action rifle of ww1 and ww2?

pcvando said:
No vote for the beloved Lebel 1886? ;) what about the MAS 36?

10 rounds in the Lebel 1886... That's a lot of continuous fire for a platoon.

The Lebel was great when it was made, blew every other rifle in the world out the door, first rifle to use smokeless powder. However, it was pretty obsolete not long after that. Still held its own through both worth wars.

Is it the best bolt action rifle? No. But it was, in 1886. :)
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I would rather have a 1886 Mannlicher over the Lebel, even though it had a rainbow trajectory, my speedy 5rd reloading would be better than the slow single loading Lebel with its fancy 8x50r cartridge.
 
gewehr76 said:
Mosin Nagant - Is the best bolt action rifle/carbine of ww1 and 2 as well as other wars up to today. 12 millions were made may be more. No other bolt action was used in actual combat more than MN. Yes there are better made rifles or faster action ones, however Service record and numbers built make all others left in the dust.
Cartridge and rifle availability plays big role in this, no wonder it is still in use in sniper variant around the globe.
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I agree that the Mosin is the best battle rifle ever........................................when EVERYONE runs out of ammo. As a battle club, it would rule the fields.
 
longbranch* said:
Based on mag capacity and speed I'd say the Enfield. Based on function and design the Mauser. Because its so darn Canadian the Ross.
I love 'em all.
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Everybody makes fun of the Ross. Mine is super accurate. But if you put the Ross in WW2 not in the trenches would it have done better? I love the sliding bolt. I had a race with a guy with a browning hunting rifle who could put 5 rounds down faster. I won easily.
 
Ok hold everything what about the Finnish Mosin nagant m39? It should be thrown in here too. But I still prefer the Lee Enfield. With the low recoil and great sound it makes when fired.

Order of best:
1 Lee Enfield
2 Springfield 1903
3 Finnish M39
4 Mauser
5 K31 just because it didn't see much combat
 
The Ross had growing pains, which every single rifle before it had as well, the only difference was the Ross had its pains in war rather than peace.

The big issues with the Ross was the chambers were too tight, which combined with out of spec British ammo lead to issues chambering and firing the rifle. Other than that the bolt stop was too small (easy fix once learnt), and a couple other small changes to make it completely 100% reliable. By 1916 it was fixed, but confidence in the rifle system was lost. Somewhat ironic, when it was finally ready to take its place as one of the best rifles out there, it was too late.

Another thing to note, is Enfield chambers weren't always these massive chambers you see now. I have a 1912 No. 1 Mk. 3 with its original barrel, and the brass looks just like it does from my P14, i.e. normal. The British secretly modified there chambers in WWI to make it so it could chamber ammo easily, particularly when using poor quality ammo. They never let the Canadians know this as they wanted the Ross to fail.
 
Speaking of ammo. 7.62x54R is still in use by large standing armies to this day. When everyone as you say run out of ammo and switch to pfazers and photon torpedoes then MN and AK47 will phase out black powder as basic available without any kind of license firearm.
sgt.rock said:
I agree that the Mosin is the best battle rifle ever........................................when EVERYONE runs out of ammo. As a battle club, it would rule the fields.
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sgt.rock said:
I guess (Supercub sarcasm aside) they should not include any semi-auto guns............sks Garand SVT40 etc
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Don't forget the MAS 40 ;) I think that is the best semi of WW2... too bad so few were made.

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