most powerful military rifle

raymond_d_37148 · 12-10-2007, 12:05 PM

any one know what was most powerful rifle issued to regular troops? in modern military....

nick112207 · 12-10-2007, 01:26 PM

does regular troops count as snipers too? if so the .50 cal sniper. M82 i believe? if not snipers then idk if they issue the m14 to regular troops? also us or other countries?

nathangdad · 12-10-2007, 01:47 PM

After the British introduced tanks to the battlefield, German engineers undertook a crash program to
stop the threat.

The tanks had a rather sad time on the battlefield
giving German engineers an opportunity to examine the metal exterior.

One result was the tank rifle. I do not have my history book immediately available with the specifics, but it was a massive rifle both in physical size and power. From photographs of German
soldiers with the gun I would pretty much say it was about all one man could handle in combat
and I must say I feel the recoil would be about
all one human could endure.

You might find more information on WW1 history websites. If I find my book I will forward more details.

nick112207 · 12-10-2007, 01:54 PM

ok if we are gonna do anti tank rifles from the World Wars then try this one.
Type 97 20 mm AT Rifle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

BattleRifleG3 · 12-10-2007, 04:39 PM

Define powerful.

nick112207 · 12-10-2007, 04:41 PM

Yeah thats my question. and he didnt specify a time period. the most powerful weapon now being used by the general soldier could be more/less powerful than the one used in previous conflicts.

JSnover · 12-10-2007, 04:46 PM

The 20mm anti-tank rifles were probably the most powerful. Germany, Russia and Switzerland each fielded their own. I'm sure some other countries did. My personal favorite was the .55 Boys rifle. Maybe not the most powerful but it's a blast to shoot (pun intended) and the muzzle brake looks like it belongs on a tank barrel.

BattleRifleG3 · 12-10-2007, 04:47 PM

And then there's rate of fire. Power is technically energy per unit time.

nick112207 · 12-10-2007, 04:54 PM

yeah but i'm fairly sure he just meant what gun has the most powerful bullet in one shot.

jmp8927 · 12-10-2007, 07:59 PM

Well so long as you don't go really modern...PTRS-41!

Cyrano · 12-13-2007, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSnover

The 20mm anti-tank rifles were probably the most powerful. Germany, Russia and Switzerland each fielded their own. I'm sure some other countries did. My personal favorite was the .55 Boys rifle. Maybe not the most powerful but it's a blast to shoot (pun intended) and the muzzle brake looks like it belongs on a tank barrel.

Didn't the South Africans develop a 20mm sniper weapon in the early 1990s (pre-end of apartheid) intended for anti-vehicle use? The one I'm thinking of incorporated what amounts to an automobile shock absorber in the buttstock to reduce the recoil to something a human could withstand without getting a broken shoulder. I only saw one short article on it, in Soldier of Fortune I think. As the thing could shoot a wide variety of projectiles including high explosive rounds, that would have to qualify as pretty freakin' powerful.

JSnover · 12-13-2007, 05:01 PM

Jeez.......... I think I remember reading a little about that. The South Africans had some pretty wild ideas. Used against buildings or light vehicles the 20 mike is a pretty awesome cartridge. "Conventional" anti-tank rifles are pretty much a thing of the past, though. It didn't take long for the engineers to design tanks that could withstand just about any shoulder-fired, cartridge-based weapon foot soldier could handle. Now it's all about LAWs and RPGs.

rfc357 · 12-16-2007, 12:46 PM

Leaving aside the anti-tank rifles and other exotics, The Swedes probably win. They bought a bunch of M1919 Browning LMGs made to fire a cartridge that was essentially a .30-06 necked up to 8mm. To simplify the ammunition supply problem, they issued MG troops a bolt-action rifle that fired the same cartridge. It was loaded to typical European high pressures. This is covered in Ludwig Olson's Mauser book.

JSnover · 12-16-2007, 08:16 PM

So it was basically an 8mm-06. Wow. I'd feel naked going up against an armored vehicle with anything like that. Did Olson happen to say how effective it was?

Cyrano · 12-16-2007, 11:38 PM

The South Africans did field a weapon called the Denal NTW-20. It fires a 20mm round, is conisdered accurate out to 1,800 meters, and is meant for EOD work, anti-vehicle and anti-materiel work; although the South Africans did develop an anti-personnel round too. It weighs 26 kilograms (57 pounds!) and is as tall as a man.

The Croatians came out with a home-grown 20mm weapon called the RT-20. It uses the same 20mm round fired by the World War II-vintage Hispano-Suiza aerial cannon and is strictly an anti-materiel/anti-armor weapon. It weighs about 43 pounds and it's an odd-looking beast. It looks like what you'd get if a bazooka screwed a 37mm antitank gun, but the Croats can produce them locally and within its limitations it is a deadly sniper weapon.

But the biggest critter of them all is a new toy the US Army is playing with. It's the Barrett 25mm Payload Rifle, essentially an upgunned version of the Barrett M82A1 .50 BMG sniper rifle. If I'm reading the specs correctly, it shoots the same round as the Bushmaster cannon mounted in the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. It has about the same range as the M82A1,call it 1,500 meters; but delivers a 25mm explosive shell instead of a .50 caliber slug to the target, which is a big difference. And it does this from a rifle that weighs "only" 30 pounds, which in theory at least makes it man-portable.

If there is a bigger, badder rifle out there than the Barrett Payload Rifle, I haven't heard of it. I think there is finally a rifle out there that even Mr. Grizz won't be able to ignore. Just don't ask ME to carry it!

RMTactical · 12-17-2007, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmp8927

Well so long as you don't go really modern...PTRS-41!

Looks like an oversized mutant SKS...

12-10-2007, 12:05 PM	#1
raymond_d_37148 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Tennessee Posts: 4	most powerful military rifle any one know what was most powerful rifle issued to regular troops? in modern military....

12-10-2007, 01:47 PM	#3
nathangdad Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 2,438	One Good Candidate from World War One After the British introduced tanks to the battlefield, German engineers undertook a crash program to stop the threat. The tanks had a rather sad time on the battlefield giving German engineers an opportunity to examine the metal exterior. One result was the tank rifle. I do not have my history book immediately available with the specifics, but it was a massive rifle both in physical size and power. From photographs of German soldiers with the gun I would pretty much say it was about all one man could handle in combat and I must say I feel the recoil would be about all one human could endure. You might find more information on WW1 history websites. If I find my book I will forward more details.

12-10-2007, 04:39 PM	#5
BattleRifleG3 Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Western PA Posts: 11,401 Images: 13	Define powerful. __________________ Trust is earned, not... GIVEN away. - Worf

12-10-2007, 04:47 PM	#8
BattleRifleG3 Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Western PA Posts: 11,401 Images: 13	And then there's rate of fire. Power is technically energy per unit time. __________________ Trust is earned, not... GIVEN away. - Worf

12-10-2007, 07:59 PM	#10
jmp8927 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Walterboro, SC Posts: 1,136 Images: 15	Well so long as you don't go really modern...PTRS-41! __________________ Doing the unexpected makes the unexpected the expected and thus the expected becomes the unexpected.

12-10-2007, 01:26 PM	#2
nick112207 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 337	does regular troops count as snipers too? if so the .50 cal sniper. M82 i believe? if not snipers then idk if they issue the m14 to regular troops? also us or other countries?

12-10-2007, 01:54 PM	#4
nick112207 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 337	ok if we are gonna do anti tank rifles from the World Wars then try this one. Type 97 20 mm AT Rifle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

12-10-2007, 04:41 PM	#6
nick112207 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 337	Yeah thats my question. and he didnt specify a time period. the most powerful weapon now being used by the general soldier could be more/less powerful than the one used in previous conflicts.

12-10-2007, 04:46 PM	#7
JSnover Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 186	The 20mm anti-tank rifles were probably the most powerful. Germany, Russia and Switzerland each fielded their own. I'm sure some other countries did. My personal favorite was the .55 Boys rifle. Maybe not the most powerful but it's a blast to shoot (pun intended) and the muzzle brake looks like it belongs on a tank barrel.

12-10-2007, 04:54 PM	#9
nick112207 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 337	yeah but i'm fairly sure he just meant what gun has the most powerful bullet in one shot.

12-13-2007, 05:01 PM	#12
JSnover Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 186	Jeez.......... I think I remember reading a little about that. The South Africans had some pretty wild ideas. Used against buildings or light vehicles the 20 mike is a pretty awesome cartridge. "Conventional" anti-tank rifles are pretty much a thing of the past, though. It didn't take long for the engineers to design tanks that could withstand just about any shoulder-fired, cartridge-based weapon foot soldier could handle. Now it's all about LAWs and RPGs.

12-16-2007, 12:46 PM	#13
rfc357 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 741	Leaving aside the anti-tank rifles and other exotics, The Swedes probably win. They bought a bunch of M1919 Browning LMGs made to fire a cartridge that was essentially a .30-06 necked up to 8mm. To simplify the ammunition supply problem, they issued MG troops a bolt-action rifle that fired the same cartridge. It was loaded to typical European high pressures. This is covered in Ludwig Olson's Mauser book.

12-16-2007, 08:16 PM	#14
JSnover Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 186	So it was basically an 8mm-06. Wow. I'd feel naked going up against an armored vehicle with anything like that. Did Olson happen to say how effective it was?

12-16-2007, 11:38 PM	#15
Cyrano Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: New York Posts: 2,296	There's something even more powerful than the 20mm out there The South Africans did field a weapon called the Denal NTW-20. It fires a 20mm round, is conisdered accurate out to 1,800 meters, and is meant for EOD work, anti-vehicle and anti-materiel work; although the South Africans did develop an anti-personnel round too. It weighs 26 kilograms (57 pounds!) and is as tall as a man. The Croatians came out with a home-grown 20mm weapon called the RT-20. It uses the same 20mm round fired by the World War II-vintage Hispano-Suiza aerial cannon and is strictly an anti-materiel/anti-armor weapon. It weighs about 43 pounds and it's an odd-looking beast. It looks like what you'd get if a bazooka screwed a 37mm antitank gun, but the Croats can produce them locally and within its limitations it is a deadly sniper weapon. But the biggest critter of them all is a new toy the US Army is playing with. It's the Barrett 25mm Payload Rifle, essentially an upgunned version of the Barrett M82A1 .50 BMG sniper rifle. If I'm reading the specs correctly, it shoots the same round as the Bushmaster cannon mounted in the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. It has about the same range as the M82A1,call it 1,500 meters; but delivers a 25mm explosive shell instead of a .50 caliber slug to the target, which is a big difference. And it does this from a rifle that weighs "only" 30 pounds, which in theory at least makes it man-portable. If there is a bigger, badder rifle out there than the Barrett Payload Rifle, I haven't heard of it. I think there is finally a rifle out there that even Mr. Grizz won't be able to ignore. Just don't ask ME to carry it!