If assault rifles are so deadly.....

[4thdimension]

why is it that soldiers whom earned the most confirmed kills in every conflict from WW1 to the present used bolt action rifles? If you look into military history nearly every soldier who made headlines for racking up the most kills used a bolt action rifle and operated as a sniper. Chris Kyle liked a bolt action 300 Win Mag. Carlos Hathcock used a bolt action 308 in Vietnam. That Finish sniper who whacked a lot of Russians during the Winter War used a Mosin-Nagant variant without a scope. I could sit here forever and list highly decorated soldiers who earned above average combat kills with bolt action rifles during wars where semi and full auto were the most common rifles on the battle field.

[stainless]

Apples and Oranges. Combat, spray and pray vs potentially long distance shots.

[4thdimension]

I am not suppose to use the term assault rifles?

[RenoV8]

Not unless you are a Liberal, fear mongerer...

[Emptymag]

I am not suppose to use the term assault rifles?

By definition, one of the features of an assault rifle is the capability to fire in full auto.


A 2 wheel drive pickup looks visually identical to a 4 wheel drive pickup, but that doesn't make it a 4x4.

[jakebrake]

I am not suppose to use the term assault rifles?

supposed to? don't know to be honest. the protocol is getting tiresome.

reality, an ar-15, or an AKM isn't actually an "assault rifle". they lack a setting for select fire....all they have is "fire" and "safe".

no "full auto" setting. that setting is a requirement for an "assault rifle".

[john9001]

what is a salt rifle?

[RenoV8]

what is a salt rifle?

used to kill flies...and they work well...lol

Even flies are assaulted with a fly by shooting.

[McSull]

Assault is an verb, not an adjective.

People assault. Guns don't

[caelum]

I am not suppose to use the term assault rifles?

There is a lot of confusion because anti-gunners have co-opted the actual historical military definition of 'assault rifle'. Semi-auto rifles are NOT assault rifles. For a weapon to qualify as an 'assault rifle', it must have a select fire feature (full-auto/burst capability) and fire an intermediate cartridge (explained below).

Although some argue that the Russians created the first assault rifle in the 1920s, the first mass-produced assault rifle was created by the Germans in WW2. The German military sought to create hybrid weapons between the Kar98k (bolt action standard rifle), the MP40 (submachine gun), and the MG42 (machine gun). These hybrid weapons sought to capitalize on the strengths of each weapon, while lessening their weaknesses. One example is the FG42, which was likely intended to by a hybrid between the MG42 and the Kar98k. However, the revolutionary gun that started it all was the hybrid between the Kar98k and the MP40: the Sturmgewehr 44 (StG44). The StG44 sought to have the compactness and fire rate of the MP40 (particularly for vicious block-by-block combat in Eastern Europe) while also having the punch of the Kar98k. To accomplish this, German engineers designed the 7.92, an intermediate cartridge to provide more power than the MP40, while still remaining somewhat compact and manageable. "Sturmgewehr" literally translates to STORM rifle, or ASSAULT rifle, as you use it STORM/ASSAULT an enemy position with its compactness, high ROF, and powerful cartridge. The Russians were stunned by the effectiveness of the StG44, so a young man by the name of Kalashnikov designed his own assault rifle in response, and in response to the AK, Stoner created the Armalite.

That is the general history. When people say "assault rifle" these days, they usually aren't referring to the aforementioned proper definition or history. They are most likely mislabeling semi-auto rifles either out of innocent mistake or for political purposes.