Vote for your Favorite U.S. Infantry Rifle.

[Das Nemesis]

looks like the m14 is in the lead.
i dont see why they ever replaced it anyway =P
"to much recoil" i say the soldiers should be stronger and have more control...right now we would not be having the problem with the .223 lacking the knockdown required for the war in iraq.

[synergy]

looks like the m14 is in the lead.
i dont see why they ever replaced it anyway =P
"to much recoil" i say the soldiers should be stronger and have more control...right now we would not be having the problem with the .223 lacking the knockdown required for the war in iraq.

.308 doesn't have "knockdown" either.

[panther76]

Just something fun to see what everybody thinks, vote by reply and i will post the results later. Will try to do something like this every week.


1. 1903A3
2. M1 Garand
3. M1 Carbine
4. BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle)
5. Thompson M1A1
6. M14
7. M16A1
8. M16A2
9. M4

Are we talking "in their day" or overall?

Not to be pedantic, but...

Strictly speaking I wouldn't include the BAR as it was intended and used as a squad automatic weapon, not an individual weapon for riflemen, the name aside. It would have to be compared with the M249. Or more rightly the Chauchat.

The Thompson is obviously a subgun not a rifle, so that's out. It weighs enough to be a crew served weapon, though. Movie screen time and the effectiveness of the .45acp at close range aside, I wouldn't want to lug one around a battlefield. Cleaning one is also just as ugly as working on a crew served weapon.

The M4 and M1 carbine are, well, carbines. So I don't really think it is fair to compare them in the same lot either is it?

As an aside:
The M1 carbine always gets a bad rap for the effectiveness of the cartridge by WWII vets. I have often wondered how fair the reputation was, though. The one I've fired seemed pretty accurate at range compared with a Thompson, and a whole lot lighter than a Thompson. As for the effectiveness of the cartridge, given that the baseline for comparison was .30-06 at range and .45acp close-up, I question how fair the comparison is. All things considered, as an infantry PL or PSG I'd have probably rather had the carbine than a Thompson, especially if I was also carrying a 1911.

[Das Nemesis]

.308 doesn't have "knockdown" either.

at 500 yards the 308 has 3 times as much kinetic energy than a 223.
getting hit with 1500 ft/lb of force at 500 yards seems sufficient to me. granted it has nothing on a .338 lupua which has nearly 3000 at that range.

[panther76]

OK so my gripes and complaints about the question aside...

Between the:
6. M14
7. M16A1
8. M16A2
1. 1903A3
2. M1 Garand

"In its day" I'd give the prize to the M1 Garand. Patton thought so. It beat the pants off the 1903A3, and all the other infantry rifles of WWII. No contest. Even today I find the M1 Garand to be a fun rifle to shoot and oddly "handy" for a weapon that heavy and long. And I'm a short guy. It gave the American infantryman a unique advantage over his adversary armed with a bolt-action battle rifle.

Overall I'd give the prize to the M16A4. They have all of the enhanced accuracy of the A2 and the rail mounted optics to take advantage of that potential. 5.56mm is not my idea of an ideal cartridge, but with the modern M855 cartridge and a 20" barrel I think it is acceptable. Up against an AK-47 with no optics, the A4 gives the American infantryman an advantage, not quite equal to the advantage the Garand gave him, but an advantage over his adversary. And with the exception of the gas feed design it corrects all of the perceived and real flaws of the design as originally produced and fielded in Vietnam.

For all those who have posted about COE use of the M14:
The M14 is used as a DMR. In that role it offers advantages, but mainly due being chambered for 7.62 not 5.56. The SR25/MK11/M110 is also available for that purpose. I would leave any comparison between the two to someone who has used them both in that role (DM), which I haven't. That said I think it is very good thing to have DMs with a weapon like that in a platoon. That is their appropriate role, not as a standard infantry rifle.

[Guy Fawkes]

M-1 Garand, just a classic and was instrumental in winning WWII.

[USAFSP]

I'd have to say numero 6

[P89]

Give me .30cal and I'm happy.

I think an important one that was omitted was the 1941 Johnson.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1941_Johnson_rifle
I want one soooooo bad.

[str8shooter]

M1 Garand for me.

Ping.....