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The Perfect Rural Combat Rifle?

gunpaqgunpaq Member Posts: 4,607 ✭✭
edited February 2004 in General Discussion
This is in response to Beltfed's "The Perfect Urban Combat Rifle?" post.

What would be the perfect rural combat rifle to be used here in the good ole USA? This would have to be a general use rifle to be used in wilderness, rural agricultural, and rural/residential areas (outside or suburban areas), and to be used in all weather conditions.

There is probably not just one rifle that could do the job so list what you feel would be the top best three choices. Make the three choices of rifles to be what the average "Joe" can afford and easily learn to use effectively.

Pack slow, fall stable, pull high, hit dead center.

Don't fly the river!
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Comments

  • rldowns3rldowns3 Member Posts: 6,096
    edited November -1
    M1 Garand [:D]

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  • pack rat633pack rat633 Member Posts: 1,052 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    M1 GARAND; M1A; RUGER MODEL 77 308/OR 30/06. tHE GARAND because its the least costly effective battle rifle, and just plain good. The M1A because it's simple, robust and accurate in a powerful full power battle cartidge. The RUGER model 77 in those calibers, cause the RUGER is ruggad and simple, those calibers cause they will do the job, and you can find the ammo most anywhere that has ammo!!

    SEMPER FI MAC, SEMPER FI
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  • offerorofferor Member Posts: 8,625 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    G3
    AK-47
    AR10

    T. Jefferson: "[When doing Constitutional interpretation], let us [go] back to the time when [it] was adopted. [Rather than] invent a meaning [let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."

    NRAwethepeople.jpgNRA Life Member fortbutton2.gif
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  • gap1916gap1916 Member Posts: 4,977
    edited November -1
    7.62X39 hi cap rifle
    7.62/.308 in a scout configuration
    7.63/.308 in a battle rifle configuration.
    Vepr make a nice system in .223, 7.62X39 and 7.62/.308
    my 2 cents [8D]

    Greg
    Former
    USMC
    ANGLICO
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  • sharkman69sharkman69 Member Posts: 858 ✭
    edited November -1
    An H&K G3, an AK47, or an FN FAL would be my choices. They all have high capacity mags, unlike the Garand. They all have proven battlefield experience. They shoot .30 caliber bullets that will do more damage at greater distances than a .223. They're easy to carry and maneuver quickly. They don't jam easily, requiring a forward assist on their receivers. They don't have an excessive amount of moving parts to break or malfunction at critical times. Any one of those three will work great in rural settings.
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  • kingjoeykingjoey Member Posts: 8,636
    edited November -1
    For rural use I was thinking anything in 30-30 or maybe a double-barrel shotgun.[;)] I can almost hear "Dueling Banjos" in the background[:D]

    orst-title-1.gif

    SUPPORT THE I.N.S. , THE COUNTRY THEY SAVE COULD BE YOUR OWN
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  • meunkemeunke Member Posts: 1,407 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Wooded land and close, rough terrain: SAR-1 ($300). Sorry guys, you can keep your 600lb. G3 and your 6 foot long FAL.

    Clearer land: Nagant carbine ($100).

    My problem with the G3/HK-91:
    Couldn't stand the way you cocked it, felt unnatural.
    Safty was not in a easy place to reach.
    H-E-A-V-Y. (Yeah, ok macho men. I'm pretty built myself, but I'd rather spend the weight on extra ammo, etc.)
    No mag release/remove magazine with one hand.
    Requires selling you childred into slavery/donation of kidney and spleen to buy.

    Happiness is giving a paintball double-tap to your opponent's center of mass before he even realizes you're there.
    Ahhhh... the glory of a successful ambush!
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  • droptopdroptop Member Posts: 8,363 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    My decision would lean towards
    > .308 high accuracy rifle, scoped.
    > 50 caliber rifle, scoped
    > 12 gauge pump, SBR license.

    Some people I know have "switched" from full auto to Sniper firearms. More fun and cheaper to shoot,, I guess,, [:D]
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  • Tailgunner1954Tailgunner1954 Member Posts: 7,734 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    My answer will be similar to several of the others.
    Scoped bolt action hunting rifle chambered in a 30-06 class cartridge.
    M1 Garand chambered in the same cartridge as the bolt gun.
    Last choice would be a Milsurp bolt in either 7.92x57 or 7.62x54R

    As far as hi-caps and rapid fire go, see signature line.

    Whittemore
    Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.
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  • meunkemeunke Member Posts: 1,407 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Tailgunner, I can see your point, however...

    My idea of a rural combat setting involves everything from pasture to close woodland and forest. I just don't see using a large rifle with a scope in close, wooded alomst CQB like fighting.

    If you can set yourself up on the edge of a clearing and manage to catch your enemy in fairly open terrain, I would agree that a scoped rifle is the best. However, I THINK from what I read, most encounters happen within a few hundred yards.

    Happiness is giving a paintball double-tap to your opponent's center of mass before he even realizes you're there.
    Ahhhh... the glory of a successful ambush!
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  • select-fireselect-fire Member Posts: 69,446 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Remington PSS 308 Scoped
    Ak-47 select fire
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  • PATBUZZARDPATBUZZARD Member Posts: 3,556 ✭
    edited November -1
    Give me a Garand any day.

    May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't.
    - General George Patton Jr
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  • mateomasfeomateomasfeo Member Posts: 27,143
    edited November -1
    HK G3



    oswald.jpg

    Mateomasfeo

    "I am what I am!" - Popeye
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  • bolthandlebolthandle Member Posts: 1,213 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Kingjoey: lookout for those broadheads.[:D]

    As for rifle a scoped Remington 700 .308 in stainless(all weather)for distance work.

    Then a AR15 shorty for closer work.

    Last but not the least, Rem. 870 12 ga. pump.

    Bolt

    PEACE THROUGH SUPERIOR FIREPOWER
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  • BullzeyeBullzeye Member Posts: 3,560
    edited November -1
    Rural to me means considerable open space. That calls for a battle rifle (G3, FAL, M1A), probably scoped.

    If you have to take those into a building to do MOUT, though, that changes the whole story. I sure as hell wouldn't want to clear a room with a 43-inch rifle.

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  • gunpaqgunpaq Member Posts: 4,607 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    My choice selections come from what I have on hand with the rounds and support accessories to go with at a moments call.

    1. M1 Garand
    2. Enfield .303 #4 syn-stock, sites/scope
    3. SKS

    Why these? Other than they are some of the ones I own here are my reasons:
    1. Garand: The best battle implement ever devised, 30-06 & 308
    cartidge, bayonet, dependable, accurate, proven.
    Makes a darn nice club when the ammo is gone.
    2. Enfield .303: has been a standard battle rifle for almost
    100 proven years and still be used today in combat.
    Reliable, fairly accurate bolt action that can be
    abused, bayonet, and I have more tha a 1,000 rds
    on hand.
    3. SKS: Cheap, rugged, simplistic, fair accuracy 100yds,
    bayonet, and I have cans of ammo.

    Pack slow, fall stable, pull high, hit dead center.

    Don't fly the river!
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  • DancesWithSheepDancesWithSheep Member Posts: 12,938 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The chair is against the wall. The chair is against the wall.
    John has a long moustache. John has a long moustache.
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  • gunpaqgunpaq Member Posts: 4,607 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Mrs. Smith's dog is barking. Mrs. Smith's dog is barking.
    Guests are coming for tea. Guests are coming for tea.

    Pack slow, fall stable, pull high, hit dead center.

    Don't fly the river!
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  • NighthawkNighthawk Member Posts: 12,022 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I say a .308 ,but prefer a 12 GA Shotgun.Just my 2 cents!

    Rugster


    "Toujours Pret"
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  • fishermanbenfishermanben Member Posts: 15,370
    edited November -1
    I need to throw out a little love for my Ruger Mini-30 Ranch Rifle. I've never had a jam, and it's a great off-hand shooter. It's my favorite gun to shoot in the lot.
    Ben
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  • DancesWithSheepDancesWithSheep Member Posts: 12,938 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Mrs. Smith's dog is barking. Mrs. Smith's dog is barking.
    Rafter-S is coming to tea. Rafter-S is coming to tea.
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  • p3skykingp3skyking Member Posts: 23,916 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    You need range. You need a round not easily deflected, and you need something low maintenence.

    FAL

    K98k

    Enfield (303)

    One think nice about rural area's is the distance you can keep between you and your target. That's the reason why to me, bolt actions are an acceptable option.
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  • Red223Red223 Member Posts: 7,946
    edited November -1
    M-1 Garand. Reach out and touch someone.

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  • BullzeyeBullzeye Member Posts: 3,560
    edited November -1
    I'd like to change my vote to one of these.

    quadm2IV.jpg

    Nothing says lovin' like a self-powered quad-Ma Deuce turret.

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  • Tailgunner1954Tailgunner1954 Member Posts: 7,734 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Bullzeye
    Ma duce is nice, but note the qualifiers in the origional question "This would have to be a general use rifle to be used in wilderness, rural agricultural, and rural/residential areas"..."Make the three choices of rifles to be what the average "Joe" can afford and easily learn to use effectively."

    Meunke
    Scoped hunting rifles are used on deer at ranges from 35-500yd, dense woods to wide open fields, and are the most common rural rifle there is.
    Hi-cap semi's "spray-n-pray" shooting comes into play in urban house to house, not out in the open where aimed fire is most effective.


    Whittemore
    Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.
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  • Contender ManContender Man Member Posts: 2,110 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Over and under rifle/shotgun combination, so 20 ga and 270

    Can blast 'em close or pot 'em long and if it is really 'combat' then you can strip 'em of weapon(s) and ammo then go do it all over again with additional firepower to back you up.


    If you only have time to do two things so-so, or one thing well ... do the one thing!
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  • 4GodandCountry4GodandCountry Member Posts: 3,968
    edited November -1
    I'll take my el cheapo Remington 700 308 and my Bushmaster shorty and my Glock and my Kimber and my favorite two knives and 100 rnds of 308 three hundred 223's, 100 40s+w's and 100 45ACP's. I would take my Browning 7mm mag but it would be overkill.[:D]

    "Neca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoscet."
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  • Big Sky RedneckBig Sky Redneck Member Posts: 19,752 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    My .338 Rem Ultra mag, no need to get up close and personal[:D]

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  • BoomerangBoomerang Member Posts: 4,513
    edited November -1
    SR-25

    Boomer

    "Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as it is by the obstacles which one has overcome while trying to succeed"

    NRA Life Member
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  • mateomasfeomateomasfeo Member Posts: 27,143
    edited November -1
    quote:Mrs. Smith's dog is barking. Mrs. Smith's dog is barking.
    Rafter-S is coming to tea. Rafter-S is coming to tea.

    Mrs. Smith's dog better run. Mrs. Smith's dog better run. Rafter-S has got a gun. Rafter-S has got a gun.



    oswald.jpg

    Mateomasfeo

    "I am what I am!" - Popeye
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  • skipjackoneskipjackone Member Posts: 208 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'll pay dearly for this....
    Think I'll take the AR-15 as numero uno. It is light and the ammo is well, light too. Deadly accurate if properly tuned. Low maintenance and ammo is abundant. It's fast handling and easily configured to M4 or longer barrel for field work. M14 is # 2: a awsome weapon, but I'd hate to pack it everyday. # 3 is any decent flat shooting bolt rifle: .270 to .308. If all else fails, a SKS or AK are better than nothing.

    It ain't bragging, if you can do it. Will Rogers
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  • temblortemblor Member Posts: 2,153 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    M1A with open sights, a quality scope and quick detachable scope mounts.........[8D]
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  • sharkman69sharkman69 Member Posts: 858 ✭
    edited November -1
    Another factor you have to take into consideration is ease of getting more ammo when you start to run low. With that in mind, the optimum choices are either .30-06, .308, or 7.62x39. As much as I like my Weatherby Mark V in .300 Weatherby Magnum, in an actual rural combat situation, I'd hate to have to look everywhere for more ammo if I ran out. In rural combat, you need to assume that you're not a one man army, and there's more of you fighting a common enemy. It is therefore important to make sure most, if not all the people on your side have enough ammo they can all use.
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  • Gibbs505Gibbs505 Member Posts: 3,175
    edited November -1
    Just one, the Lee Enfield either in SMLE or #4 config. It will do all that is asked of it![:D]

    Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
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  • gunpaqgunpaq Member Posts: 4,607 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    The top three rural combat rifles so far:

    1. M1 Garand
    2. G3
    3. .308 Remington 700/bolt type


    The Garand and G3 were running almost neck to neck and the 12ga pump was fourth so far and then the AK's fifth.

    Pack slow, fall stable, pull high, hit dead center.

    Don't fly the river!
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  • plains scoutplains scout Member Posts: 4,563
    edited November -1
    Open land long range .308 bolt action synthetic stock mil dot scope

    woods to brush -- Bushmaster shorty .223 open sights

    shot gun -- pump 19" barrel synthetic stock probably a 20 ga.pump

    Why? Because in a rural setting you are going to carry everything you need including extra ammo on your back and you need to be light and move fast to gain the best position for defense or offensive action.

    Limit me to one and I will take the .308

    "A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I
    advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives
    boldness, enterprise, and independence to the mind. Games played with the
    ball and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no
    character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be the constant companion of
    your walks." Thomas Jefferson
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  • sitkablacktailsitkablacktail Member Posts: 20 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    FN-FAL or M-14 reach out and touch someone
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  • drobsdrobs Member Posts: 22,613 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Another bid for the FAL. At least till I could acquire[sp] an Abrams!


    Still haven't seen my shorty FAL yet. [:(]

    Regards,
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