ORIGINAL: 48thguns
ORIGINAL: eldeguello
ORIGINAL: 48thguns
Who made the finest foreign military rifle? GB, Swiss, Austria, Japan, Germany, Russia, Spain, Finland and on and on.
My choice is the Japanese 7.7mm Arisaka with monopod and AA sights. This rifle was a upgraded K98 with features which no other country had even the slightest clue. It is said by many to be the strongest bolt action rifle ever made (including Jack O'Connor). The flip out wing AA sights were innovative and worked. My father was a B25 pilot in the SP during WWII and griped about ground fire all the time while on strafing missions. The caliber is nearly identical to the Springfield '06 and the field disassembly is very simple which facilitates cleaning and maintenance. The Arisaka type 99.
As far as a COMBAT BOLT-ACTION rifle is concerned, there is no doubt at all that the SMLE in its' various versions was the best BATTLE RIFLE. It is sufficiently accurate, and will deliverRAPID, AIMED FIRE faster than any other bolt action ever issued by anybody. The 10-round magazine helps in that regard.
When US forces began arriving in Britain in preparation for the trans-channel invasion of Europe, the Brits (Sir Winston) challenged us to a speed-vs-accuracy rifle match - we used the M1, the Brits used the No.4 Enfield.
The Brits won!!
It is true that the ORIGINAL M 38 6.5mm Arisaka is the STRONGEST bolt-action ever, as P.O. Ackley proved. However the 7.7mm follow-on action is not a pure Arisaka, and it is NOT as strong as the M38s that were made during peacetime. I challenge your assertion that the Arisaka is an "improvement" over the M98 Mauser!
Hello El d. I did not use the word "improvement" in my original post.....I used the word "upgrade" and I'll stick to that. The Anti-Aircraft sights and monopod are upgrades as well as the simple bolt design, IMHO. I challenge your assertion that the Type 99's were not as strong as the M38.....it's the same action. Having said that, the "last ditch" specimens were made in desperation and other than a collector rifle, probably unfit for serious shooting. The ones made up to the end of 42 were still up to very high standards from what I've seen.
I started this thread to get members to look at other military rifles and glean someinformation from these wonderful old pieces of history. You posted exactly the history I was looking for.....great story. I own 2 MK4 No 1 Enfields a Savage and a Long Branch and they are in my hall of fame right along with my03, 03A3, Garands and many others.
Enjoyed the friendly bantering. I'm suprised no one has mentioned the Sako M38 Mosin Nagant or the Swede. Regards, Rick.
OK, Rick. I will concede that you probably know more about the 7.7mm Jap rifles than I do. I've only loaded ammo for one of them, and that was eons ago. I know they had that "airplane sight", but don't know how effective it was. I DO know most Japanese troops took those sheet-metal stamped bolt covers off their rifles and threw them away in order to quiet the riflesdown a little.
I see (understandably) that no-one mentioned any French rifles either.....