What was the best Combat Bolt action?

[44 AMP]

Not the longest used, or the built in the most numbers, but the one that you feel is overall best of the classic military bolt actions for combat use?


My vote goes to the SMLE.

 

[Scorch]

My vote goes to the K98. Strong, idiot resistant, accurate. Darn near impossible to destroy, even in the hands of stupid, uneducated, backwards third-world nation soldiers.

While I have listened to the SMLE aficionados for years rave about how smooth the action is, I have never seen the beauty in the Empire's rifle.

 

[timothy75]

He's right the Mauser 98. If you dig deep enough into the design you'll realise it couldnt have been made by man. Way too advanced.

 

[Death from Afar]

What! Heretic!

SMLE all the way team. Much as I love my 1938 example, I would much rather have a ten round magazine, and be able to fire twice as fast ...

 

[ChrisTx]

i too have the '38 nazi marked mauser. i also have a no4 mk1, and a no1 mk3. when you're talking combat rifle, you're suggesting ease of use, firepower, accuracy, reliability, etc; not just design. while i think the mauser design is superior to the enfield, the enfield no4 mk1 makes a better combat rifle. the no4 has peep sights, a 10 shot clip for rapid shots, glass smooth action, and additional long range sights. the 8mm is a little more punishing to shoot than the .303. but i also think the 1903A3 is far better than the mauser, but the enfield is a better combat rifle.

apparently the US thought the mauser design was great because the '03 is a copy, but it didn't take them long to figure out it was dated, and thus enter the garand.

 

[Tamara]

I've got about a dozen Mausers of various origins, and love them more than any other military rifle, but if I had to drag a crank-cocker out of the closet to take to war, well, let's just say that a ten-round mag and aperture sights cover a multitude of sins: I'd grab my No.4Mk.II.

 

[Handy]

Aperture sights + 10 rounds.

The Mauser might be prettier, but I have a Swiss K31 for beauty contests. The SMLE is functionally more practical, and there really isn't anything the action does poorly compared to the K98.


On sights alone I'd follow the SMLE with the 1903A3 or the FR8.

 

[Leif]

I'll chime in with everybody else and say Enfield No. 4. Sights, magazine capacity, durability, speed of action, etc. Aside from that, what about the MAS-36? About the only thing it seems to lack is the magazine capacity. I know, I know ... it's French.

I wonder who will say Mosin first? But, it killed soooo many Germans! It's unstoppable! Sadly, I wonder sometimes if the Mosin wasn't more effective at killing unarmed Soviet citizens than armed Germans.

 

[Limeyfellow]

Lee Enfield all the way. Far faster and smoother and still holds the record for speed aimed bolt action shots. The aperture sight is really nice and though not as inheritantly strong as the Mauser, the bolt head design does allow for quicker, cheaper replacement of damage bolt faces and cures headspace problems in a matter of seconds. Add in your 10 rounds, being nigh indestructable and accurate enough for sniper fire in the 90s let alone ww2 you got clearly the best battle rifle of the war. Mausers make nice target rifles but its still not the battle rifle of the war, nor Mosins, Mannlicher designs or any other.

 

[308Enfield]

Do I need to post a response next to my name? I agree that the K98, M1903, and Mosins are all great rifles, but the Enfield still gets my vote based on the magazine and overall durability.

 

[281 Quad Cam]

All great rifles... the K98 being the best looking...

But the SMLE gets my vote too. It's hard to argue with its speed, durability, and twice as much firepower.

I've long heard some nonsense about...

During WW1,
The Germans had the best hunting rifle.
The Americans had the best target rifle.
and the British had the best combat rifle.

 

[Mannlicher]

while the 98 Mauser is the best looking, and the Russkie Mosin maybe is the most durable, I have always felt that the SMLE was the best overall.

 

[Striker1]

Actually used in combat -Enfield No4 MkI

Built - Swedish Mauser

 

[FirstFreedom]

I'm gonna go out on a limb (not) and say Enfield No. 4 as well. Gotta love that rate of fire. If the M1 Garand was the "greatest battle implement ever devised", the Enfield was the 2nd greatest, at least in individual small arms. Is the K31 even a "classic bolt action" as the OP prescribed? I dunno, but I assumed not, so didn't include it in the consideration. If it is in consideration, it comes in second place in my book.

 

[Mike Irwin]

Lee Enfield hands down.

Any rifle in the hands of a unit of trained riflemen that can make the Germans think that they're facing massed machine guns gets my vote.

 

[Superhornet]

Carcano ????

 

[Handy]

FF,

My understanding is that turn bolt, rocking bolt and straight-pull bolt are all "bolt actions".

If not, then I guess my pretty vote goes to a Swede.

 

[Leif]

Well, if we're doing pretty, I'd have to say I always thought the various variants of Vetterli (say that three times fast) looked pretty distinctive.

 

[maddog44]

SMLE has the fastest accurate rate of fire of any bolt gun. The rear locking lugs make it less suseptible to filth also. Soooo I would say SMLE gets the gold cup, and I see I have company in that assessmant.

 

[dfaugh]

Sorry, gotta go with Mauser. SMLE gets honorable mention though. Mosins and most others are off in the distance somewhere.