What do you think is the best combat rifle?

Marika

depends..
i like the m16..accuracy and its what i train with the most.. but my fave differnce with m16 verses an AK is that although ak is bigger caliber, an m16 bullet(556) enters your body and bounces around doing extensive damage.. goes in through your knee and out @ss.. lol ;) (as opposed to ak where it goes straight through)
but M4 is definettyl the best when clearing a building. the smaller rifle makes it easier to round corners.
so again, it all depends..

The_moondog

The AK-47 didn't really win the war in vietnam, but that is not the point of the question.

I have to go with the M-16, although there are several disadvantages compared to the AK-47. The M-16 is light, and fortunately, lessons were learned in Vietnam, and many of the problems discovered with the M16 there have been fixed. Today's M-16A2 is fairly robust, but still made with aluminum and plastics to keep the weight down, as does the 5.56mm ammunition. Fully loaded, and M-16 weighs in at around seven pounds. Because of the small round with a big charge behind it, you have pinpoint accuracy well over five hundred yards, by the book, it is accurate to 850. The M-16 is realtively simple to maintain. Two pins to separate the upper and lower receiver, pull the bolt carrier out, and you can hve an inspection ready rifle in a few minutes (in fairness, I have never disassembled an AK-47).

When you are talking about a combat rifle, it is important to follow one rule: Keep It Simple Stupid!

cantcu

No I don't There some things about the M16 I like, but not many, and one is stopping power. They can put a lot of rounds out pretty accurately but it is a pretty lousy combat rifle!

Army Times reported that in an Army small-arms survey, soldiers criticized M16 and M4 reliability under harsh desert conditions of Iraq.

Armyâ€™s Delta Force replaced its M4s with the Heckler & Koch 416 in 2004.

The elite unit linked up with the German arms maker to develop the new carbine. H&K replaced the M4â€™s gas system with one that experts say significantly reduces malfunctions while increasing parts life.

Members of the commando unit â€” formally known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta â€” have been carrying it in combat ever since.

Deltaâ€™s move to the 416 prompted U.S. Special Operations Command to raise its standards for small-arms reliability. In November 2004, SOCOM awarded a developmental contract to FN Herstal to develop its new Special Operations Combat Assault Rifle to replace all those from the M16 family.

When contacted April 26, Colt officials expressed pride in the M4 and its performance in combat.

â€œWe stand behind the M4,â€ said Jim Tipton, assistant operations officer for Colt Defense LLC. â€œItâ€™s a proven combat weapon.â€

Coburn wrote in his letter that he wants the Army to hold a competition to evaluate alternatives to the M4.

â€œA number of manufacturers have researched, tested and fielded weapons which, by all accounts, appear to provide significantly improved reliability,â€ Coburn wrote, but did not cite data for any, including the M4.

â€œTo fail to allow free and open competition of these operational weapons is unacceptable. Â… I believe the Army needs to rapidly revise its rifle and carbine requirements.â€

I think we have had lousy weapons since the M1A1, though the m14 was not a bad weapon!

â€œWe stand behind the M4,â€ said Jim Tipton, assistant operations officer for Colt Defense LLC. â€œItâ€™s a proven combat weapon.â€

Coburn wrote in his letter that he wants the Army to hold a competition to evaluate alternatives to the M4.

â€œA number of manufacturers have researched, tested and fielded weapons which, by all accounts, appear to provide significantly improved reliability,â€ Coburn wrote, but did not cite data for any, including the M4.

â€œTo fail to allow free and open competition of these operational weapons is unacceptable. Â… I believe the Army needs to rapidly revise its rifle and carbine requirements.â€

I would not want Colt making any weapon for me!

futuretopgun101

Easily the C8 carbine. Its an m4 with all the bugs worked out and is far more accurate.
Used by most special forces.

Ian F

it all depends on the scenario. the m-16 is a dependable rifle but it's too big and clunky. makes it impractical for some forms of combat. the ak 47 while cheap and low maintnence is not accurate worth a damn. it's more powerful than the m16 due to the larger round but it's less accurate making it a less practical weapon at range.

my personal favorite is the new version of the Israeli bullpup. it has a strong rate of fire when necessary on automatic , adjustable to semi automatic and comes in a small package, about the size of an smg (they also have a specialized recoil system that removes virtually all recoil thus making the gun far more accurate) and due to the internal barrel the gun is sniper accurate up to 300 yards.

lilfry14

General George S. Patton Jr., â€œIn my opinion, the M1 rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised.â€

Me personally, I would take an M16, but I am a more marksman type of guy. The Aug isn't a bad piece of really expensive equipment either.

forgivebutdonotforget911

Other than knowing it is NOT the M16, I have no real opinion.

I do know the next US military rifle is not going to be based on any Stoner "Jam-o-matic" design and the round will have quite a bit more power than the 223.

You have to review to confirm my info, but the original Stoner design LOST to the M14 design, which is why we went from the M1 to the M14. Then along came MacNamara and his bean counters and we went from the M14 to the M16 to save money on ammo. No one really knows now many troops died because their Matel toy jammed on them during the early years of its deployment. And since then we have tried to make the M16 work like a real battle rifle but still the troops are not happy. They want something with more power at distance, such as the SOCOM II by Springfield Armory.

Johan from Sweden

Either the M-16 or the swedish AK-5. Johan

Matt

I personally like the M16 or M4. You can put a combat optic(scope) on it, you can attach a tactical light. you can attach a foreward pistol grip. You can attach a laser for pinpoint shooting at night.
You're talking about a combat rifle. And combat happens round the clock. I'd much rather have the ability to effectively employ my weapon at anytime of day. Which definately outweighs the stopping power. Now if they chambered it in a 6.8, I think it would be even better.

jack daniels

The AK 47 any mug can use it.

To the smart Alec praising Austrian engineering i don't doubt that your weapon of choice is superior but in actual battle conditions in all kinds of weather the AK 47 knocks the socks off everything out there.
Why would a member of the SADF ( South African Defense Force) want to be a mercenary you arrogant twit.

sixthskinjob

The heated love affair for the AK continues it would appear. Okay, I think its pretty much understood by most that, yes, its easy to manufacture and yes, it sounds 'really cool' when fired on full auto, and yes any moron with opposable thumbs can use it. The AK is the clear winner in the 'popularity' contest.
But the fact of the matter is that the AK was, is and always shall be the weapon of the peasant. That's not necessarily a bad thing or meant as insult...but let's face it, the AK is awkward and ugly. Besides, the design is over 50 years old.

So if someone were to ask me which weapon I would prefer going into combat with, I'd like to think that I would pick the best weapon...not just the most popular. Which would lead me to choose the Steyr AUG. The Steyr has a longer range (almost 2x more), higher rate of fire, higher muzzle velocity, less weight, shorter barrel length, comes with 1.5x optical sight (standard), ambidextrous controls, is far more versatile and upgradable, and so on and on and on....
I think its pretty clear which is the better weapon. As I stated previously...the infatuation with the AK continues unabated, and it will go on and on. So if you still doubt which weapon is more effective...think about this: You take your precious AK and I'll take the Steyr....we both take aim at a target, say, 30 yards away and fire on full auto. Good luck trying to keep your AK muzzle on target for all 30 rounds...I don't think it'll be as much of a problem for the Steyr.
Finally, and this is just my personal bias, I will take Austrian engineering over Russian any day.

*Comments like those of "Jack Daniels" are a typical example of the 'brain trust' that seem to infest all discussion boards, chat rooms, etc. Those of us with at least half a functioning brain try to tolerate such 'wisdom'...but they don't make it easy, do they.
So I suppose you fancy yourself some kind of mercenary, eh?
Well, whatever floats yer boat. The point being that, as it appears you are unaware, in one sentence you managed to call my choice (the Steyr) both 'superior' and 'inferior' to your precious AK. Which is it? If you 'have no doubt that my weapon of choice is superior' than I don't understand your logic....do you need a definition of the term? I would think that a 'mercenary' like yourself would possess enough sense to realise that he contradicted himself in the span of just a few words. So what are you trying to say? That the Steyr is only good for target practice...is that the gist of your pretzel logic?

Sigi H

Hm.... "Armyâ€™s Delta Force replaced its M4s with the Heckler & Koch 416 in 2004.

The elite unit linked up with the German arms maker to develop the new carbine. H&K replaced the M4â€™s gas system with one that experts say significantly reduces malfunctions while increasing parts life."

It looks like the Germans have never forgotten to build really good weapons. I am not surprised. However, the AK47 is an old hat. Now the Russians sold 100.000 AK100 to Chavez of Venezuela. That's a better assault rifle than than its predecessor the AK47. I have not seen the specs yet - but I am sure it beats the M16 hands down

Tiger

The basass is the AK-47, it's because AK's are cheap to make,cheap also, durable, long-lasting, works in any envirement. As you would know, AK's are in masses in around more than 21 million of em are made. The AK comes in 4 parts and easy to clean. Unlike the M-16 they are semi automatic, and limited for their constraint to makings, evirement, heavy cost.
AK's are man weapons, as you would see every country has AK's. Some countries use AK's as their contries flag. Vietnam was AK-47 vs. M-16, as you may know the Vietnam war was lost by the US, Us has M-16's, so the AK's 47's won the war. AK maybe heavy, and bad accuracy they are good in the long-run.

fiestacarsrule

In our army's inventory, The M-4 hands down. The short design and collapsable stock make it great for urban warfare (which is what we mainly deal with these days). As for overall, I would go with the H&K G-36. Accuracy and dependability. The German made H&K's are superior to pretty much everything else.

der Bomber

it is always AK vs. M16 thingies....why don't anybody consider M1 Garand, mp40, Lee enfield, mauser KAR or anything else?ok iknow...they are from the past...i mean from the past

JosephC

First off, you need to look at what you define a good rifle. durability, accuracy, effectiveness. There are a few that have all. and some that have none.
in my book a good combat weapon is one that you can have the one weapon and it can ( to some extent) cover a good bit of your tactical needs

The AK47 - this is an all around good weapon, it has mutiple configurations that allow it to cover a good range of the requirements, and lets face it, it can take one heck of beating. this I agree with. but there are so many more

The 308 M1 ( Military M-21) this is a long range weapon, but a few tactical groups are adapting the SOCOM versions of this, I have to agree. I would like to throw a 308 down range vs a 223.

I think i remember that AUG being metioned. Sure after all the mods the need to be made to this weapon. its a great gun, but combat? Its to much of a unique gun for that.

the new weapon that is going to phase out the M-4 all together is called the SCAR - its is still a 5.56 round, but there are 6.8mm and 308 versions for other needs. This weapon is made by FN and from what i have played around with it, it has some major promise.

Another weapon to look at is new from a company that you normally would not see making guns, but parts that are well respected - MagPul - This gun is very similar to the SCAR, built on the same idea. it is Nice.

back to production guns.

you cant leave out the M-4, I own one, but owning a company that reviews weapons & Accessories for a living, I have a lot of guns.

Another Great weapon(s) is the FN/FAL - G3 variants. these guns are a bit heavy but gives you stopping power, Accuracy, and lots of distance from you and the target.
I grouped theses guns together because these are similar.

I could go on forever, the fact is, find the most likely situations you would be in. and build a weapon that is for your area. make it adaptable. and make sure it works, and keeps working. dont be afraid to go shooting and put 1000 rounds a week for a month without cleaning the gun. this will show you what is your true winner.
everyone is going to have there opinions, and they are entitled to the. I am not going to say i know it all. I just know from what i have experienced.

Sparky

M-14 or M1A. Hard hitting, long range accuracy.

Julius

The ak-47 beats all hands down.

fanta

one that is locked away or smashed to pieces

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