[Rowan.]

would anyone agree with me that the most reliable, basic, best and deadly rifles off the 20th century and now, Wa the Kalshnikov. aka AK47.

I'ts basic working sytems and world wide popularity give it an extreamly good image. It ha been ued in almot every terrorit operation from 1950 onward.

[smashthestate]

No other weapon has the durability and strength that the AK-47 has. I agree with you 100%.

[Rowan.]

yes adn that also goes for other Kalashnikov weapons. RPK machine gun and the Dragunov SVD. Better than the Americans rifles. There is just no doubt that old Soviet war effort weapons are most reliable. Unlike the M60 which had a serious barrel melting problem in Vietnam, and the unforgettable jamming of the M16A1.

The Iraqi sniper who was famous for killing US troops with single shot a few months ago used the Dragunov SVD rifle.

[Truth-a-naut]

I actually think the K98 and the Colt 1911 are by far the best and most reliable weapons of the 20th century.

[Rowan.]

ok but as far as assault rifles capable of firing automatic rounds at a stable speed we will say anything past 1950 ak47 has to be the best rifle.

[Truth-a-naut]

unforgettable jamming of the M16A1.

Wasn't this due to the rounds they used, if I remember it they were trying to use more powerful rounds then what the gun was meant for.

Wasn't the AK-47 built off of the German Stg-44?

[Milorg]

the AK-47 Seems like a clumsy weapon when firing from a laying position. The magazine would affect stability wouldn't it?

[Truth-a-naut]

The rounds are to big too.

[Jing]

AK-47 was most trusted weapon- I agree with that- but if you compared to everygun of the 20th century- the answer is no. If you compare Ak-47 with other weapons at that time yes- M-16 were dodgy. But if you compare to guns now days, such as FAM-AS, M4, M249 SAW, MP-5, and etc- Ak-47 is not that good. Ak- 47 is a good gun, so is AK-74 which is it succesor. But I think best gun ever made is MP-10, or FAM-AS.

[Truth-a-naut]

I like the Steyr AUG line and those new bullpup Enfields that the British Army uses. Although I'm not really a shooter the aforementioned look really neat.

[smashthestate]

Let's make this more clear:

What is the best OVERALL weapon? Including, but not limited to, durability, accuracy, dependability, versatility, etc.

If you want to talk about specific situations, then there is no gun that is the best in every situation. For example, a .50 BMG sniper rifle would be far more sought after for a long-range anti-vehicle mission than a .45 Colt 1911.

[SpiderMonkey]

I like the Steyr AUG line and those new bullpup Enfields that the British Army uses. Although I'm not really a shooter the aforementioned look really neat.

You think that british army rifles are good? I used to use them when I was in the army cadets and they are constantly jamming - and that was under the good conditions on the firing range.

I hear lots of british troops in Iraq have started picking up AK-47s now.

[smashthestate]

Yeah the new Enfield rifles is probably one of the worst standard-issue rifles of most of the "modernized" militaries. The AUG and the M4A1 are most certainly better in almost all categories of weapon critique.

[joe]

I thought it was the AK47 that always jammed...

[smashthestate]

I thought it was the AK47 that always jammed...

Quite the contrary. The AK-47 has been used in almost all parts of the world in conflict. The AK-47 has shown extraordinary dependability in conditions which would render most guns unworkable. No amount of sand, snow, or water could make the AK-47 totally inoperable.

[Jing]

Ak-47 is the terrorist weapon because you could get them easily- unlike M4 and Steyer (or was it Steyr?) AUG which is just supplied to countries which can afford to buy them. Like Colombian Drug Lord says, it rarely jamms because of its simple design. If Ak Rifles were unreaible, it won't be around the world. Sniper Rifle are getting worse because they getting complex- they are becoming more of a machine- not a gun. They make the sniper rifle user friendly- I think that is the problem with the modern sniper rifle- my friend quotes "Modern Snipers aren't snipers- WW2 Snipers are". My opinion is that snipering is one kind of a art- patience, concentration and etc, is required to do this- and these kind of things can be considered as art. Thats why Iraqi Troops uses Dragunov SVD and kills British and US soldiers in one shot.


AK series are most likely better series than M16's and stuff. It is because of their thinking of creating rifles of USSR- making a affective gun with limited resource and money. M16A1 has technical problem at that time- having too much stuff on guns- like M60, they were thinking of All-rounder gun. I also heard stories about M60 in Vietnam war that when vietcong captured M60 and tried to used it against US troops they actually needed to stand on the barrel to steady the gun. M60(unmodified) was one of the worst weapon in the world. Nowdays M60 is much better than old days because they modified it. The guns which was used during the vietnam war was oneof the worst guns because they are thinking way over their technology.

[Rokossovsky]

The SA80 is held in pretty much low regard by the British army. The MOD spent so much money refitting and upgrading it they could have invested in a totally new (and probably ten times better) rifle.

Which is why the SAS use american rifles instead.

[Gustav Fluffy]

It is true that the SA80 is a terrible weapon for the soldiers who have to use it, yet it does have one thing the AK47 lacks - a long range. The AK47 is far too inaccurate for this, but more reliable.

[jaakko]

the AK-47 Seems like a clumsy weapon when firing from a laying position. The magazine would affect stability wouldn't it?

Quite the contrary. The 30 round magazine actually serves as a good support, and soldiers are taught using it that way. It's harder to keep it stable with a shorter clip that doesn't touch the ground.

It is said that the practical effective range of a normal AK-47 (actually most of them are AKM) is about 300 meters. AK-74 (which is 5.45mm) is said to be about 500 meters. One reason for AK-47's comparatively low accuracy is its reliability; somewhat loose moving parts to endure dirt and a chromed barrel. The Finnish assault rifles (RK-62, RK-95) which are based on Kalashnikov use somewhat more tight mechanism and non-chromed barrel and is very accurate (for that 300+ range that it's meant for).
http://world.guns.ru/assault/as43-e.htm

M16 ain't that bad either, I've read most reliability problems in Vietnam were caused by the marketing of the gun as 'self-maintaining'. Later the soldiers were issued with maintenance sets. Or atleast the M16A2 should be quite reliable if properly taken care of (shouldn't be too much of a problem for those who use it).

Just making my occasioanl intervention to Militaria, I assume TS has something to add or correct...

[Kov]

Sadly I think the best rifle ever made in the last century was the AN-93... the newest of all Russian rifles...

IT has a duel gas/muzzle blow back system, meaning the kick hits you some 1.5 seconds after the shot, and it shoots 2 rounds at a single time rather than one. It is the best weapon out there... all though I like the Bull Plups myself... and the G3-Sg1....