Accuracy vs firepower

[samuel]

The debate between the two can only be carried on by lack of personal experience or lack of information.If accuracy would defeat firepower the English with their hundreds of rifles against the Zulu with their thousands of spears would never been overrun by the Zulu.Custer,who was armed with single shot rifles and slow loading but accurate Colt revolvers instead of Winchester repeaters and fast loading S&W revolvers would have defeated the Indians.The Germans would have massicured the Englesh with their 10shot fast action enfields and the Americans with their M1,s,and the american forces in Nam never would have stood a chance.If you believe you can go against 2to5 assailants armed with high capacity handguns or rapid fire rifles with a single action revolver,a hunting-target rifle,or even a slow followup pump shotgun,I wish you luck.Some battles may be won by accuracy and I believe you should practice marksmanship,but in the real world the highest majority of battles will be won by the side that can and does get the most bullets in the air the fastest.The real stratigy is to make the other side quit attacking you.Making him keep his head down is highly important.That is why my choice for hd is high cap pistols and rifles instead of 1911,s,pump shotguns,and target anythings.Also I will go for lighter recoil over knockdown so I can control the rapid fire.A rapid fire,high cap weapon firing 10m over someones head,no matter how powerful it is will not be as effective as a rapidfire smallbore weapon firing at body level.And taking one enemy out cleanly will not work as well as keeping all of them ducking instead of firing at you.

[meatloaf]

Every tool has its job.

[Midas]

When accuracy and power can be combined, it makes a deadly combo.

[lefty o]

as a force of 1, i'll shy towards accuracy and stealth over high volume fire. just my opinion.

[Pred]

I think one of the ultimate setups would be a 18" stainless steel barreled AR. That barrel with a decent scope would allow you to hit targets out to 400-500 yards, yet also be compact enough(with a collapsible stock) to be used in CQC. It would also give you a great advantage over say an AK, allowing you to keep your enemy out of range, yet still be able to put them down(a .223 to the chest/stomach would be a heck of a wound). I've got some plans in the works to greatly increase what I've got. I'd like to built two more AR's, a early M16 clone and a longer range setup like I just talked about. Then I want to buy a WASR-10 and a WASR-3?(whatever the 5.45x39 version is), refinish the wood, put G2 triggers in both, and some decent optics.

[ezearln]

Firepower without reasonable battle accuracy is a waste of effort, by the same token tack driving accuracy in a single shot or poorly designed rifle is nearly as useless, Marksmanship is paramount under all conditions for without it the rest of the argument is moot. I will take a battle proven M1911A1 over any Hi cap pistol you care to name, I would also take an M14 over any and all of the wunderkind assault type rifles out there including any of the Ak's/AR's/FALS/etc. I KNOW my skill levels with each of these I know their flaws and their attributes I will also take an M870 shotgun with an extended magazine over any other zippy-dee-doo da semi you care to pit it against again because I know from personal experience what the weapon in MY hands is capable of. Lastly I'll make this point marksmanship is the final element, in WWI the average rate of KIA to rounds fired was 1-40, in WWII it was approximately 1-200, Korea 1-400, in Vietnam 1-4000. All the firepower on earth makes NO difference if your markmanship is so poor you can't hit yerself in the arse with a broomhandle, let alone a "Bad Guy" on the otherside of the battlefield.
IMHO

[Big Dog]

It's simply a matter of choosing the right compromise for the job at hand.

[samuel]

I accept Ezearln and Lefty,s confidence in themselves and would be tickled pink to have either or both of you backing me in a firefight.But you dont always get quality fighters and so if I cant have quality I hope I have quantity with lots of ammo,hope they remember to shoot and cma while I cover theirs.A man never knows what he will do until it is over.As to light recoil,In my situation I know how capable I am and know I can take out more targets with an easy to control weapon of high capacity than a weapon that is a little more difficult to handle and less capacity.When it comes to shotguns if you can get it done with them use them or anything else that works, but for me,I choose a light recoil rifle you can fire 30 rds and change mags in 2 seconds and have 30 more rds.If accuracy is available I say great,it will count.But what I have seen,it was fairly good on the range but in a firefight usually just something you dream of. It is a matter of what you trained with and have experience with.In Nam the military had gone to 9mm pistols and 5.56mm rifles. sam.

[A-10]

There's no substitute for accuracy. Case in point, the American revolution. The Patriots were outgunned and outnumbered, but they had something that the Brits did not, accurate rifles and skilled marksmen displaying amazing feets of riflemanship by dropping enemy officers from their horses out to 300 yards with their kentucky long rifles.

Another prime example is the fact that skilled snipers rank above machine guns and arillery barrages among things hated by soldiers.

However, the statistics of combat would support the opposite side of the spectrum.
That is that for every combat kill there are 10,000 rounds fired by either side of a battle. This study was done during the transition from the 7.62mm M-14 to the 5.56 mm M-16 in the Vietnam conflict.

Overall, accuracy rules, not just that of the weapons, but that of the marksmen.

[bigandrich44]

Firepower IMHO, is worthless. If I can hit you with 1 shot, while you TRY to hit me with 10, who wins? Accuracy will always win, just look at snipers. One shot, one kill. If I can hit that .50 gunner 1000 yards out, with one shot, who's gonna win?

[JoeLee]

Originally Posted by meatloaf

Every tool has its job.

I'm with meatloaf on this topic!Every tool has it's job for the situation presented.From experience I say keeping heads down is good.But making enemy heads explode,and spraying on our foes is and was demoralizing.SAME SAME with us.

[Beer Forever]

Laser guided missile, accuracy and firepower.

[toolman]

Accuracy alone cannot overcome sheer numbers. On the other hand, I'd rather face ten guys shooting wildly and burning up all of their ammo, than one skilled, disciplined sniper. It all depends on the situation and the person behind the trigger.

[rfc357]

You can't miss fast enough to win.

[Cyrille]

I vote for accuracy! 1 person not being able to handle a weapon against you is good.
Even if you are against X number of assailents. There's an old saying goes something like this. Don't kill your enemy; wound him, and that'll take three soliders out of action!
Two to tend the wounded assailent and assist getting him to the aid station.
Of course that may not be true in all situations; particularly if you're up against thugs, then shoot to kill. and that demands accuracy! Just keeping their heads down until help arrives (if it does) or they quit means you had better have an inexaustable supply of ammo at hand.

[Bravo]

Like many people said, I think you need a bit of both, but I'd lean a little more toward accuracy. Maybe 65% Accuracy, 35% Firepower.

[A-10]

A ballance sounds good.

[troy2000]

I'd say asking whether accuracy or firepower is more important is like asking me what my favorite color is; it's a non-question without some specifics ("my favorite color of what?").

And it isn't an either/or question anyway; you want as much of each as you can reasonably carry and use, and the balance depends on the situation and circumstances.

[billy]

a man sized target at the limit of the average mans vision?

[troy2000]

At the limit of vision, I'll take accuracy over capacity any day. If he's close though, I'd like enough firepower to survive missing a time or two, because I'll probably be in a hurry.