In the current edition of the American Rifleman the learned editors have chosen what they say are the top infantry rifles of all time.  They were chosen based on a complicated formula & the top three are:

 

1)  U.S. Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 "Garand" - Designed by a Canuck John C. Garland who was an employee of the U.S. Armory. It was adopted in 1936 & by the time Germany & Japan surrendered their were 4 million of em in service.  It was the first successfull design capapble of firing a full-power rifle cartridge via semi-auto operation. The U.S. was the only nation to fully arm its troops with a self-loading design.

 

2)  The Avtomat Kalashnikov (AK-47) - Both rudimentary & revolutionary, Mikhail Kalashnikov's AK-47 is the most enduring & ever-present firearm designs today.  In service for over 60 years it was developed for the 7.62x39mm, a .30 cal intermediate cartridge that combines the pwer of a conventional rifle with the rate of fire & controllabiility opf a submachine gun. The simplicity of it extends to its design & manufacture making it the most popular battle rifle in the world.

 

3)  Mauser 98 - Developed by Paul Mauser the 98 has seen service in two World Wars & has it's jam-proof , non-rotating claw extractor makes it simple safety effective.  Every major country has copied the design with variations for their own battle rifles but most experts agree that the 98 Mauser is the best bolt action rifle ever built.

 

Now I know that the limeys will get their panties in a wad cause no Brit design made the top 3, & of course they will infer that since this poll was taken by the NRA that it is predudiced against them, but I shall let the suspense build & post the rifles rated 4 thru 6 later. As always, comments & insults are encouraged.

 

T-Dog