hmmm
would have to say my 1918 Lee Enfield no1 Mk3
also well done on the video mate
Glad to see somebody else's favorite is an old battle rifle!
Even tho I've always thought of sporting rifles(& later AR's) as my favorite rifles, lately these Mil-Surp's have caught my fancy. I've been trying to put together a collection of WWII general infantry battle rifles(US-Garand, M1Carbine;GB-Enfield;USSR-Nagant;Jap-Arisaka;Ger-K98;...). Just been trading around to find the best example of each. I realize this is a extremely modest collection when compared to Mike "Duke" Venturino's. Since BAR's, Browning M2's, & Thompson sub-guns are way out of my budget, I have decided to stick with the rifle's that the General Infantry soldiers of each country(Allies & Axis) would carry. Once it is complete i have plans drawn up for a display on a large wall in my Recreation(MAN) Room. It is my small way of paying tribute to my grandfather, an Army Vet stationed in Pearl Harbor Dec 7th, 1941. He had been stationed there shortly after going thru Basic, and was slated for leave(furrlow i think he called it)and was going home(1st time since he left for Basic) for X-mas. The Japanese changed those plans. He was sent to the Pacific Theater, and his older brother to Europe. His brother was captured sometime in 1943 and was held in a German POW camp until the end of the war. He came down with Pneumonia and his feet were frost-bitten & his toes were amputated while in the camp. He died shortly after coming home from infection caused by the amputation. My grandfather spent the war going from island to island fighting the Japanese. He never went into many details about firefights, but he did tell me about there weapons. Stories about being issued a 1903 Springfield in Basic, and how a couple guys from Chicago, Ill left the range with bloody noses from the recoil. Talked about liking the M1 Garand but said there were alot more people singing their praises now than there were in '42. Said most bitched about the weight. He drove an Ammo truck for a time. Driving at night w/o lights through narrow trails cut thru jungles and mountains. Hauling ammo to the front lines, unloading it under fire, then loading & hauling dead bodies back. Talked about being given an M1 Carbine to keep in the truck, then later "picking up" a Thompson, and swapping the M1 Carbine for a M1897 shotgun. He never told me about any kills he might have had, but that he found the 12ga "more useful" when the trucks were ambushed. He never gave any details about the fighting, but he was a tough old Moonshiner, & if he said it was "horrible" then i dont think i want anymore details. He served until the war ended, and finally made it back home 4 months after WW2 ended.
Anyway, he was my first hero and his stories & pictures are what sparked my interest in firearms, military in particular. The first couple mil-surp rifles i bought were an SKS($60w/bayonet) & a Mosin Nagant($45). While they both went bang everytime i pulled the trigger, i would cringe thinking about having to go into battle with either one. The SKS's I've owned while functional, were horribly inaccurate and the Mosin Nagant has the heaviest trigger ive ever seen. The trigger will not break with a 16lbs gauge, so i know its close to 20lb. In a recent comparison of Mosin-Nagant vs Mauser K98(Guns&Ammo Mag i think), found the Mosin to be more accurate than the famous Mauser. I would love to find out how accurate mine is, but the trigger makes hitting a 1-gallon milk-jug at 25yds a challenge, much less trying to shoot 100yd groups.
Not long ago, i bought an Enfield that has been an absolute pleasure to shoot! The sights were dead on though i believe them to be from a later model Enfield. The accuracy most of these WWI-WWII battle rifles have displayed has been kinda sketchy, until i upgraded to a higher quality sample of each rifle . However, the very first Enfield I bought, while not NRA-mint by any means, works very well and is suprisingly accurate. The last trip to the range(it goes almost everytime i do) i shot 2, 5-shot 100yd groups that measured 1.75" & 1.53" and a 10-group average of 2.45" shooting prone w/ tight sling. While this is not jaw-dropping accuracy by any means, I am quite pleased considering its design coming up on 100yrs old and my lack of proper training in this type of shooting. Ive even thought about taking it deer hunting. Your rifle looks great and i wish my wood & finish looked that good(looks like 50+ coats of cheap black-looking stain)
MBTV
Forum Index
Help
Calendar
Contact Info
Register as a member
