[cottontop]

I love to watch the Military Channel. Last night they were comparing some early WWI and WWII bolt actions used by the various countries. In my opinion, there was too much bias toward the Springfield and the .30-06 round and their comparisons were unfairly judged. The 1903 Springfield was a good rifle, but it was not as good as the M98 Mauser, IMO. The Springfield was more expensive to manufacture, was not as strong, and was a little more complicated; i.e., the firing pin. Many many more custom sporters have been made from the M98 than the 1903 Springfield; there must be a good reason.
To say that the .30-06 is a better cartridge than the 8x57 is a gross error. At the same time, the 8x57 is not better than the .30-06. They are practically equal. The '06 might have an edge w/ lighter bullets, but 8x57 will surpass the '06 with heavier bullets. It is a shame that the 8x57 does not have much of a following in this country. It is a great cartridge. None of this was brought up in the show. Still, it was very entertaining.
cottontop

 

[c3shooter]

Best TARGET Rifle 1903 Springfield

Best HUNTING rifle Mauser K98

Best BATTLE rifle- No.4 Mk1 Enfield

 

[cottontop]

I could go along with that c3.
cottontop

 

[Axxe55]

i see it this way, most of those shows are subjective and even sometimes biased. when the make a ten best list of rifles, or pistols or machine guns or whatever, those may or may not be our choices and not always in the same order they put them in.

personally i feel the Springfield 1903 is an awesome rifle and very accurate, but the Mauser K98 is a much cleaner example and just as accurate a rifle and just as reliable. now i am very familiar with the 30-06 round, but have had very little experiance with the 8x57 round and i will have to take your word for the comparison in ballistics. but i have never ever heard anything bad about the 8x57 round, and have heard many good reviews of it's performance, so it must be a good round.

 

[locutus]

Best TARGET Rifle 1903 Springfield

Best HUNTING rifle Mauser K98

Best BATTLE rifle- No.4 Mk1 Enfield

Exactly!

 

[Garadex]

I was watching a show, forgot which one, and it was talking about the M14 while displaying different pictures of an FAL.

 

[TLuker]

Best TARGET Rifle 1903 Springfield

Best HUNTING rifle Mauser K98

Best BATTLE rifle- No.4 Mk1 Enfield

That sounds about right to me as well!!!!

As axxe55 pointed out it's all subjective. Assuming c3shooter is correct the Mauser K98 would be the best rifle to a hunter, the 1903 Springfield to a target shooter, and the Enfield to a soldier. We all value different things for different reasons and that would determine what we thought of as the best whatever and why.

 

[jjfuller1]

i like watching history and military channels when the oportunity oresents itself. however recently i was watching a show and many times through out the show they used information that i know to be wrong. and i could back that up with facts. so im kinda annoyed by them at the moment.

 

[locutus]

I really enjoy these channels, but much of the informtion is personal opinion, not provable fact.

I really enjoy it when they have military historians like Dr. Atwater on, who can back up everyhing they say with ten references.

 

[mdauben]

Best TARGET Rifle 1903 Springfield

Best HUNTING rifle Mauser K98

Best BATTLE rifle- No.4 Mk1 Enfield

<Nods head in agreement>