Rank your WW2 Bolt actions :)

[smle-man]

Fortunatly,the US didn't have to rely on a bolt action in WW2.That being said...the Enfield was the best because of the 10 rd fire power and fast recock/Mauser #2 because of accuracy.#3 Jap Arisaka( most underrated of the group)..Mosin only rates because of the number of farmers carring them. They were far from the best

The first two years of the war for the U.S. were fought primarily with the 03. Two Army formations in the Philipines had M1 rifles (the 26th cavalry and the 31st infantry) but the rest were armed with 03s and 1917s. The Marines carried 03s until the tail end of Guadalcanal in 1943. Army troops went ashore in North Africa with M1s for the infantry and 03s for everyone else. The M1 was not in general issue until early 43 and until the end of the war many combat service and service support units were armed with a mix of 03A3s and M1 carbines. Basic training was done with 03s and 03A3s. My father who was in the USAAF drew a Thompson or M1 carbine when moving the Norden bombsight from the vault to the flight line and back. He stood guard with an 03 but he didn't see an M1 rifle for the whole war. They were always in tight supply. We relied very heavily on bolt action rifles in WW2.

[SmokingSam]

German Mauser, Turkish Mauser, Portuguese Mauser, Swedish Mausers and then any Mauser after that: most know how wonderful they are

1917 and 1903/A3, just fantastic rifles and accurate with tons of power

Enfield and Carbine Enfield are great to shoot.

K31; just a quality rifle that can not be denied!

Steyres too, why not, I love them too!

[bruceflinch]

The 1917 was used pretty widely in WW2, but I always picture the 1917 having a bigger impact on WW1...I don't know why

Maybe because we were fighting WWI during 1917?

Nice History lesson there SMLE-Man!

[edgerly779]

You mean ww1 not 2. I have an 03a3 and a model 98 and model 94 swede and the 03a3 is my favorite. Stll accurate 90 years later.

[paratroop]

96/11 ; slick straight pull bolt, detachable mag, sprinkled with magic, long and heavy

k98 ; no frills mauser, I actually love the sights, laminated stock,

03/a3 ; smooth, accurate, sexy

1917; just got it working right, might beat out the 03a3, i like the sights more.

91/30; cheap, powerful, cheap to shoot,

m44; same as above, but mine has issues, havent got to shoo it much.

These are my bolt actions so far. The list is bound to change many times over. I know my #1 is a little old for wwII, but I threw her in there anyways

[Pete1979]

H&R M1, Smith Corona 03A3, Winchester M1917

I personally have never shot a #4 Enfield but we do have an Ishapore that is amazingly accurate. Although it is a great shooter with great sights, technically it was obsolete prior to WWI.

As much as I love the 03 and the M1917, they are basically modified copies of the Mauser action.

#1 should probably be a Mauser variant of some kind...

[John-Melb]

Rank WW2 Bolt actions that I own?

No.1 .303 SMLE No 1 Mk 3* made at Lithgow.

No. 2 The Rest, and in no particular order.

I should point out that the first strategic defeats handed to both German and Japanese forces in WW2 were handed out by men carrying rifles made at Lithgow.

[Paulie Lugnuts]

El Alamein for the Germans? Japanese?

[bruceflinch]

You mean ww1 not 2. I have an 03a3 and a model 98 and model 94 swede and the 03a3 is my favorite. Stll accurate 90 years later.

The 1903's were WWI
The 1903A3 were WWII IIRC.

[Cowboy T]

For me, the Russian Mosin-Nagant M91/30 in good condition goes to the top simply because of its price. How do you beat getting .30-06 power and sub-MOA precision (one of mine does just that) for $90? And milsurp ammo for $80-and-change per 440-round spam can? Seriously...how do you beat that?

Nothing against the other rifles, we've got or had 'em all in the store. They all shoot well. They all will drop Bambi and will thus feed a family. They all have proved their mettle in actual battle. And they *all* deserve respect.

I've seen Turkish 8mm Mausers on sale for $110 in reasonably decent condition. The wood was a little beaten-up, and the metal had lost a little bluing over the years, but the rifling looked good 'n' sharp. The actions looked and felt pretty good. Had milsurp 8mm Mauser ammo been more available at 7.62x54R-style prices, I probably would've snapped up one or more of those rifles.

[7.62x63mmUS]

The 1903's were WWI
The 1903A3 were WWII IIRC.

The standard '03 still saw plenty of front line use in WWII. Especially in the Pacific in the early days as M1's were still not plentiful enough and priority was the European war. The 03A3 was a simplified way of may of manufacturing the rifle. You look through enough photos of the era and you'll lot of 03's and 03A3's especially in non-frontline action.

Last but not least the sniper variations of the above.

[rojocorsa]

Rank WW2 Bolt actions that I own?

No.1 .303 SMLE No 1 Mk 3* made at Lithgow.

No. 2 The Rest, and in no particular order.

I should point out that the first strategic defeats handed to both German and Japanese forces in WW2 were handed out by men carrying rifles made at Lithgow.

Please elaborate?


I'm certainly a fan, don't get me wrong.

[Springfield45]

1. Enfield No.1 Mk2
2. Mauser K98
3. Springfield 1903 & 1903A3
4. Japanese Type 99 arisaka
5. Swiss K31
6. French Mas-36
7. Itialion M1891 & M38 carcono
8. Russian M91/30