RE: best military weapon of all time
 

Depends on era but the Browning bar kicked some butt.

M-60 for laying down alot of cover fire
M-2 for taking them out behind cover
MK-19 Grenade launcher becuase its nasty on everything
M-16 or M-14 for closer stuff

20mm Vulcan- When the **** hits the fan nothing can hide and nothing escapes. Why they didn't have these in every firebase in vietnam escapes me. So many lives would have been saved.

RE: best military weapon of all time
 

Those are all small arms! Rifles as a matter of fact! The term "military weapons" encompasses a lot more than merely rifles.....

Why did you leave the Kalashnikov weapons off your list? I see the M16 is there, but not the AK.

Bad list!!

RE: best military weapon of all time
 

The M1A is the semi-auto civilian version of the M14. If you think the M1 Carbine is a good military weapon, you have never had to defend yourself with one of the damn things! They're even marginal for jackrabbits!

RE: best military weapon of all time
 

At the time Patton said that, it was true. The M14 is a definite improvement over the M1-I have used both in combat operations. Both are totally reliable, but that 20-round box magazine DOES make a difference! And Georgie had never seen an AK 47 or an M16......

RE: best military weapon of all time
 

Yeah, the M1 was a huge improvement over trapdoors and bolt actions. But, marginal today. Too heavy. Only holds 8 rounds. Makes that ridiculous ka-ching noise when emptied, letting the bad guy know you're out of commission for a few seconds. It's really not competitive with the M1A, the FN-FAL, the G3, the newer M16variants, the AK's.

RE: best military weapon of all time
 

Patton would've probably laughed if he saw an M16. :DThe M14/M1A on the other hand.... IMHO the M14 wasfinest evolutionof the full size/power battle rifle. Putsthe5.56jamomatic to shame.

RE: best military weapon of all time
 

It was so great that it was the standard issue rifle for what? 2Years?:eek:

Doubtful. The M1 was a radical design in its time as was the M16 when it was introduced. The M16 has already been a standard issue military rifle for twice as long as the M1 and M14 were combined.

RE: best military weapon of all time
 

I agree with you. I notice that now, when the military really needs a rifle that will kill something that is not a mere 50 feet away, many M14's have been taken out of the cosmolineand re-issued to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan!

WARNING!! WAR STORY AHEAD!!

When I arrived in RVN in 1967 as an "advisor", MACV issued me an M2 carbine and 90 rounds of ammo (three banana clips). When I got to where I would be "advising", I found a Special Forces "A" team not too far away. So I went visiting them to see what kind of real weapons I could "requisition". There were some things I had that they needed, and vice-versa. So I managed to acquire an M1911A1 and an M14 "on loan".

So I "goo'ed up" that ancientM2 carbine with LSA, and stored it in a wall locker. When I left country a year later, I returned the carbine in pristine condition. The supply sergeant looked at it and said "no-one has ever returned a weapon as clean and nice as this one." I said "sarge, take care of your weapon and it will take care of you." Little did he know that I had never used it ONE TIME! The same cannot be said for that M14, however..........

We have Curtis LeMay to thank for the M16. He was at a picnic one day, and was impressed by the way a .222 Remington that someone had along blew up watermelons, and decided he wanted a rifle in that caliber to issue to the USAF (if it could penetrate a steel pot at 500 yards with FMJ ball ammo). The rest, as they say, is history!

IMO, there's nothing LeMay didn't know about using airplanes to totally destroy evil countries, but his expertise about what an INFANTRYMAN needs in combat left something to be desired. To me there is little doubt that the M14, in 1960, was a better weapon than the M16 was in 1965! Yes, it takes more storage space and vehicles to keep an M14 in ammunitionthan for an M16, but in those days, that was the M16's only realselling point-easier logistics! Maybe they're better now, I don't know. Still don't LIKE them, however!

RE: best military weapon of all time
 

Right on! I'd rather have a few less highlyeffective rounds in a rugged/reliable weapon than a few moreweaker roundsin a weapon known for its unreliability. The modern M16 is still very prone to jamming.

RE: best military weapon of all time
 

As I said before, my vote was for the M14, but... I've never had a single jam in my AR-15. To be fair, I've never used it in real combat conditions, but, it's seen some range time, some hunting time, and a number of IPSC three gun matches and has never missed a beat, even with cheap-o ammo.