Top 10 Combat Rifles
// March 21st, 2009 // 1 Comment » // General
10. M-14
The rifle served adequately during its brief tour of duty in Vietnam. Though it was unwieldy in the thick brush due to its length and weight, the power of the 7.62 mm NATO cartridge allowed it to penetrate cover quite well and reach out to extended range, developing 2,470 ft.lbf (3,350 J) of muzzle energy. However, there were several drawbacks to the M14. The traditional wood stock of the rifle had a tendency to swell and expand in the heavy moisture of the jungle, adversely affecting accuracy. Fiberglass stocks were produced to resolve this problem. However, the rifle was discontinued before very many could be distributed for field use. Also, because of the M14’s powerful 7.62×51 mm cartridge, the weapon was virtually uncontrollable in fully automatic mode. The M14 was developed as a means of taking the place of four different weapons systems - the M1 Garand, the M1 Carbine, the M3 “Grease Gun” and the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR). It was thought that in this manner the M14 could simplify the logistical requirements of the troops if it took the place of four weapons. Although it proved to be an impossible task to replace all four, the weapon excelled as a replacement for the M1 rifle, fixing many of the previous rifle’s shortcomings.
The cartridge was too powerful for the sub machine gun role and the weapon was simply too light to provide as a light machine gun replacement for the BAR. The M60 machine gun better served this task.
9. STG 44
The StG 44 (Sturmgewehr 44 or “assault rifle model 1944″) was an assault rifle developed in Nazi Germany during World War II and was the first of its kind to see major deployment. It is also known under the designations MP 43 and MP 44 (Maschinenpistole 43, Maschinenpistole 44 respectively), which denotes earlier development versions of the same weapon.
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