Thanks for letting me know. I was considering watching it, but now I’m scratching that off my list of things to watch. Now I feel bad for Leslie Odom Junior for doing this.
Favorite WW2 BOLT-ACTION RIFLE
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I also voted for the K98.My absolute favourite :mrgreen:
Love buying lots of German Inf in my A&A games, just to see that advancing Wermacht and their K98’s :-D
Here is a pretty cool video about it,lots of other vids on Bolt-action rifles if you search hard enough also.
Surprised to see that the M1 Garand wasn’t up their, a secret Canadian gem :wink:
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I had to limit the poll, so semi automatic weapons had to go. They deserve a different poll.
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@ABWorsham:
I had to limit the poll, so semi automatic weapons had to go. They deserve a different poll.
Of course, my mistake :-P
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I’ve fired the bottom four in the poll. I to have a VZ-24 and love it. So the Mauser got my vote. My grandfather had a Jap rifle he got to keep from WW2. I was a child when I saw it and can’t tell you what it was. I do remember him and another WW2 vet telling me they had fired the weapon and were not impressed. They both said they preferred the Springfield to my grandfather’s war trophy by far. I think it was a late war production rifle. I struck me as crude even in my pre teen years.
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I’ve fired the bottom four in the poll. I to have a VZ-24 and love it. So the Mauser got my vote. My grandfather had a Jap rifle he got to keep from WW2. I was a child when I saw it and can’t tell you what it was. I do remember him and another WW2 vet telling me they had fired the weapon and were not impressed. They both said they preferred the Springfield to my grandfather’s war trophy by far. I think it was a late war production rifle. I struck me as crude even in my pre teen years.
My VZ-24 is a post war production rifle. I love that gun. My brother has offered me twice what i paid for the gun, which was 120 dollars. I do not plan on selling.
My grandfather brought back a Luger, i have not forgiven my uncle for stealing it and selling for drug money along with an Iron Cross. :x
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I have fired all but the japanese rifles and I own a K98, a 1903, a Carcano, and a Mosin.
The 1903 is the most acurate and has the best range. The Carcano is too light for a bolt action. I would have a hard time saying between the Carcano and the Mosin which is least acurate, they are both weak. All that said I love my K98 it is an original 1942 with matching numbers and I fire it all the time. It is more acurate with iron sights than my garand, I supose because of the semi auto. I love my 1903 as well, but the Kar edges it out for me.
By the way all four are original WWII rifles and I shoot them all from time to time.
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I love my K98 it is an original 1942 with matching numbers and I fire it all the time.
Wow. That’s awesome! What I wouldn’t give to own and fire that weapon often. Very impressive collection I must add.
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I agree with dezrtfish. The '03 is just edged out by the Kar 98. I wonder if the three people who voted for the Enfield have fired it and the ‘03 seein’ as how the '03 only has one vote right now.
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I do have a positive for the Enfield, if you’ve fired it you might have noted that it can be fired comfortably while holding the bolt between the thumb and index finger using the second finger. This enables the shooter to fire more rapidly than any other bolt action. I believe it was designed intentionaly so.
Also of note, the rifle that Lee Harvy Oswald used to shoot President Kenedy was the Italian Carcano, mine is the Carbine Version and his was a sporterized full length rifle. Of course that’s if you believe that theory… ;)
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I have fired all but the japanese rifles and I own a K98, a 1903, a Carcano, and a Mosin.
The 1903 is the most acurate and has the best range. The Carcano is too light for a bolt action. I would have a hard time saying between the Carcano and the Mosin which is least acurate, they are both weak. All that said I love my K98 it is an original 1942 with matching numbers and I fire it all the time. It is more acurate with iron sights than my garand, I supose because of the semi auto. I love my 1903 as well, but the Kar edges it out for me.
By the way all four are original WWII rifles and I shoot them all from time to time.
I wish I had a German Mauser with all matching numbers! I do have my father’s K-98, its all matching, but my father in the 60’s took everything military off the rifle. Shot his first deer with that 98, his longest kill ever- 400 yards.
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Well, I can keep a 1" group at 100 yards with my 98, I havn’t tried shooting it much further than that.
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Dezrtfish I didn’t try shooting the Enfield the way you discribe but I can picture it being done. Two things are going to keep me from trying that for a while. First the SMLE I fired was my ex-brother-in-law’s. Second my torn rotator cuff. No bolt action for a while. Don’t get me wrong though I think the Enfield is a fine bolt action weapon. I just prefer the 03.
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Ouch, well the 03 is definately a beter rifle, the thing about military rifles of that time that gets me, is the kick. I’m kind of a big guy and it dosn’t bother me too much out shooting, but rifles like the 03 and the 98 kick like mules. I inagine using them in combat and the inacuracy must have been tough to over come. Nothing like shooting an 30-06 with a metal but plate ;) and that 8mm mauser will jump up and smack you too.
When I think about some of the guys in my unit I wonder how they did it back then.
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Wow. and I thought the old 4 10 shotgun I first fired kicked like a mule. I can only imagine. Soldiers back then had a lot to compensate for. I sitll hope to find an original 98k someday at a gun show or somewhere. That’s the ONE weapon I want to own the most.
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I have a Mosin-Nagant that has been stripped down to the bare rifle. It also has been shorten to an extremly short carbine. The gun has knocked one guy should out of socket and left an empression on everyone who has shot it.
I bought the 7.62 rifle for 80 bucks at a pawn shop. It’s a perfect gun for heading to the bottom lands tracking hogs.
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I got my sons two toy springfields 1903’s. They love them. We then had to get my Mauser out was do some holiday shooting.
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If we’re talking about Bolt actions,it would be the Springfield 1903,if we were talking about semi-automatics,it would be the M1 Grand.
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I think the bolt action rifle is the best looking type of rifle.
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I voted for “other”. 8-)
And if we are lucky Mr. Worsham will modify “other” to “Krag-Jorgensen”, which really deserves to be qualified for this poll, since the “Krag” is a superp smooth action rifle, and unlike the Springfield M1903 and the Lee-Enfield, is a completely different design from the Mauser k98.
The Krag-Jorgensen was developed as a military rifle by the Danish Army from 1886 and adopted 1889. At that time the Krag-Jorgensen was by far the best rifle in the world. When this was clearly demonstrated in USA in 1892 it send shockwaves through the US military and industry.
The US military needed a modern bolt-action rifle and a competition were held in 1892 with trials at Governors Island, New York, were rifle designs from Krag, Lee, Mannlicher, Mauser, Schmidt-Rubin, and about 40 other military and civilian designs were compared.
Protests from US arms manufacturers and even a law-suit from US weapon designers, could not prevent the inevitable. Krag won the contract, and the United States formally adopted the rifle in 1892 to replace the single shot Springfield. From 1894–1904 around 500,000 ‘Krags’ were produced at the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts (a high number in those days), and the Krag was the U.S. military’s standard rifle from 1894 to 1903 when it was replaced by the M1903 Springfield rifle.
The Krag was the main US rifle during the Philippine-American War, as documented in a song popular with U.S. troops featuring the verse:
Damn, damn, damn the Filipinos!
Cut throat khakiac ladrones!
Underneath the starry flag,
Civilize them with a Krag,
And return us to our beloved home.The Krag-Jorgensen continued to be developed and improved in the Danish and Norwegian armies and was still a main rifle during Operation Weserübung April 9, 1940. The Danish Krags were used in the decisive local Danish victory at the Battle of Amalienborg that very same morning (the Germans never made it through to the royal residence) and the Norwegian krags were in the following weeks used extensively by the Norwegians and many times to great effect.
Most notable is the battle of Hegra Fortress which went on from April 15 to May 5, 1940. Hegra Rifle Association has since 13 May 1962 held an annual shooting competition at the fortress. Commemorating the 1940 battle and of World War II in general, the competition is held on the Sunday closest to 8 May (VE Day).
Bring ya guns, ya’ll! :-)
The wandering prize is the casing of a shell fired at the fortress in 1940.
The Krag-Jorgensen was also used by the Germans during WWII. After the Norwegian capitulation, the Wehrmacht paid great attention to the Krag, and subsequently the German forces forced Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk to produce weapons for the German armed forces and placed large orders for 40 mm anti-aircraft guns, Kongsberg-Colt pistols and the Krag-Jorgensen, but due to sabotage and deliberately slow work by the employees, production was limited and out of the total of 13,450 rifles ordered by the Germans, only between 3,350 and 3,800 were actually delivered.
Post-war rebarreled and re-stocked Krag-Jørgensen rifles were the standard Norwegian target rifle together with the Kongsberg-Mauser M59 and M67. The Krag was preferred for shooting on covered ranges and in fair weather, and dominated on the speed-shooting exercises due to its smooth action.
Today the Krag-Jorgensen is very popular among rifle collectors and can fetch huge prices for rare sub-types. It is also highly valued by shooters for its smooth action, and by enthusiasts in home-production of ammunition.
Original Danish Krag-Jørgensen 1889:
Calibre: 8x58R (7.87 mm)
Muzzle velocity: 580 m/s (early rounds) / 823 m/s (late rounds)
Barrel length: 83.2 cmOriginal Norwegian Krag-Jørgensen M1894:
Calibre: 6.5x55 mm
Muzzle velocity: 700 m/s (early rounds) / 870 m/s (late rounds)
Barrel length: 76 cm -
@Col:
I voted for “other”. 8-)
And if we are lucky Mr. Worsham will modify “other” to “Krag-Jorgensen”, which really deserves to be qualified for this poll, since the “Krag” is a superp smooth action rifle, and unlike the Springfield M1903 and the Lee-Enfield, is a completely different design from the Mauser k98.
The Krag-Jorgensen was developed as a military rifle by the Danish Army from 1886 and adopted 1889. At that time the Krag-Jorgensen was by far the best rifle in the world. When this was clearly demonstrated in USA in 1892 it send shockwaves through the US military and industry.
The US military needed a modern bolt-action rifle and a competition were held in 1892 with trials at Governors Island, New York, were rifle designs from Krag, Lee, Mannlicher, Mauser, Schmidt-Rubin, and about 40 other military and civilian designs were compared.
Protests from US arms manufacturers and even a law-suit from US weapon designers, could not prevent the inevitable. Krag won the contract, and the United States formally adopted the rifle in 1892 to replace the single shot Springfield. From 1894–1904 around 500,000 ‘Krags’ were produced at the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts (a high number in those days), and the Krag was the U.S. military’s standard rifle from 1894 to 1903 when it was replaced by the M1903 Springfield rifle.
The Krag was the main US rifle during the Philippine-American War, as documented in a song popular with U.S. troops featuring the verse:
Damn, damn, damn the Filipinos!
Cut throat khakiac ladrones!
Underneath the starry flag,
Civilize them with a Krag,
And return us to our beloved home.The Krag-Jorgensen continued to be developed and improved in the Danish and Norwegian armies and was still a main rifle during Operation Weserübung April 9, 1940. The Danish Krags were used in the decisive local Danish victory at the Battle of Amalienborg that very same morning (the Germans never made it through to the royal residence) and the Norwegian krags were in the following weeks used extensively by the Norwegians and many times to great effect.
Most notable is the battle of Hegra Fortress which went on from April 15 to May 5, 1940. Hegra Rifle Association has since 13 May 1962 held an annual shooting competition at the fortress. Commemorating the 1940 battle and of World War II in general, the competition is held on the Sunday closest to 8 May (VE Day).
Bring ya guns, ya’ll! :-)
The wandering prize is the casing of a shell fired at the fortress in 1940.
The Krag-Jorgensen was also used by the Germans during WWII. After the Norwegian capitulation, the Wehrmacht paid great attention to the Krag, and subsequently the German forces forced Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk to produce weapons for the German armed forces and placed large orders for 40 mm anti-aircraft guns, Kongsberg-Colt pistols and the Krag-Jorgensen, but due to sabotage and deliberately slow work by the employees, production was limited and out of the total of 13,450 rifles ordered by the Germans, only between 3,350 and 3,800 were actually delivered.
Post-war rebarreled and re-stocked Krag-Jørgensen rifles were the standard Norwegian target rifle together with the Kongsberg-Mauser M59 and M67. The Krag was preferred for shooting on covered ranges and in fair weather, and dominated on the speed-shooting exercises due to its smooth action.
Today the Krag-Jorgensen is very popular among rifle collectors and can fetch huge prices for rare sub-types. It is also highly valued by shooters for its smooth action, and by enthusiasts in home-production of ammunition.
Original Danish Krag-Jørgensen 1889:
Calibre: 8x58R (7.87 mm)
Muzzle velocity: 580 m/s (early rounds) / 823 m/s (late rounds)
Barrel length: 83.2 cmOriginal Norwegian Krag-Jørgensen M1894:
Calibre: 6.5x55 mm
Muzzle velocity: 700 m/s (early rounds) / 870 m/s (late rounds)
Barrel length: 76 cmI enjoyed your post Col Cool. It’s very informitive.
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