Military Power

I got to try a variety of infantry weapons on the rifle range. Here are my opinions, completely uninformed by any real infantry experience. Obviously ruggedness and reliability are important, and I didn't evaluate these characteristics or terminal effects.

9mm automatic pistol
Could be a useful weapons if you and your enemy are inside a phone booth. At longer ranges, you are unlikely to hit anything.

M1903 Springfield bolt action rifle
I'm sure a that a skilled user could do some serious damage with this weapon. I did not like the sight and having to chamber each round manually was a pain.

M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle
I am in love with this rifle. Accurate. Nice trigger action. Nice iron sight. Good rate of fire. The sound alone of this firing would tend to make the enemy seek cover. It is rather heavy. You can't top off the magazine after loading it and firing a few rounds. I wonder if the place where the clip is loaded would be vulnerable to dirt, ice, etc. It's length would be a detriment in urban or jungle warfare or inside a vehicle. Despite these issues, the Garand obviously is a truly great weapon.

AK-47
Can't hit anything with aimed fire. Somehow the trigger pinched my trigger finger. Ouch! I'm sure that it is a rugged and cheap bullet hose at short range, but at 100 meters or longer range, I would rather have a M1 Garand or an AR-15.

I have had very limited serious shooting experience.

Damn right the AK-47 is rugged. Shame they are so inaccurate.

Hopefully in the coming months I will be able to speak on the subject with greater experience. That being said, I'm only likely to be handling the SA-80 and SIG P226....

I have shot all of these before. One comment about the M1903...

Much like all bolt-actions, they are the slowest to reload which is a negative. However, bolt-actions are ALWAYS the most accurate. The reasons are because the action stays in place until the operator moves it. Also, the bolt does a much better job at keeping all of the power going down the barrel and pushing the bullet to where it needs to go. All of my deer rifles are bolt actions, as well as my target guns.

The 9mm will always be inaccurate, and I'm always amazed that the gang-bangers have any luck

But anyways guys, why are we talking about these firearms??? Wait till you try any .50 BMG...you will forget that you ever shot anything smaller.