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Okay, I strongly encourage those with specific knowledge and well gleaned opinions (of the non-emotional kind) to add to this as we go.
First of all the definition of the acronym "MBR."
MBR = Main Battle Rifle or Modern Battle Rifle (It really depends upon who it is you are speaking with. Historians lean towards "modern" whereas purists lean towards "main.")
1. A rifle commonly accepted as one in which battles are, or have been, employed by major military organizations, or the armies of countries, around the world.
2. A rifle which is either magazine or clip fed and chambers one of the accepted past, current or future cartridges developed by either Allied, NATO or former WARSAW Pact countries who participated in one or both World Wars, or the liberation of Israel from the Palestinians.
3. To a lesser extent, a rifle which is not considered "carbine" (a barrel between 14" - 20") in length/nature. (This is most often debated when discussing the current M4 carbine between historians and purists. The debate is whether or not the M4 may be classified as a MBR given that it is technically not a rifle. The old rule of "carbines only fire handgun cartridges" does not apply in modern terms under any circumstances.)
For the purpose of instant clarification, let's agree to disagree on two common areas of disagreement.
1) "Assault Rifle" is an acceptable term in military circles and therefore must be accepted here as a modern offensive rifle or carbine of modern caliber commonly agreed to be between 5.45mm and 7.62mm in diameter. Assault Rifles, for the purpose of this short primer and in lieu of an ensuing debate, are always select fire in nature, (meaning there are a minimum of two fire modes, semi-auto, auto-3 rd burst, and full auto, (the later meaning that if you hold the trigger down it'll keep shooting until all rounds in the magazine are expended.), and as already mentioned, Assault Rifles are magazine fed. An Assault Rifle is not only a short carbine which fires a mission built cartridge, but it may also be classified as a light machinegun and herein is where we separate Assault Rifles from MBRs.
2) We will not be considering the M4 as a MBR for two distinct and undebatable reasons. The M4 is, undeniably, a carbine and the M4 is, undeniably an Assault Weapon which categorizes it in loose modern terms as an Assault Rifle. Under this definition, neither are we going to consider the AK47/74 or Galil/Golani as a MBRs and for the same undeniable reasons. So, forget about the AKs, Galils and M4s as MBRs ... please.
With all of that out of the way shall we narrow MBRs down to the following most common breeds/variations?
Mosin-Nagant
Dragunov SVD
M1 Garand
M14
AR-10
Mauser K98
H&K G3/91
CETME
FN-FAL
Lee Enfield No 4 (Including SMLEs, Mk Is and IIs)
IMI 308 GALATZ
Schmidt-Rubin K31 (full length)
Please feel free to add to the list so-long as it does not include anything that might fall into the definition of assault/carbine.
That's pretty much it for those who have been asking what the term "MBR" refers to and what rifles might fall under the category of "MBR."
As far as which one is better and why "MBR" has become a politically correct misnomer in today's society - that is debatable.
For the purpose of the debate I offer the following opinion.
We are forced to exclude "Assault Weapons" from the discussion because of the "black evil rifle" label the MSM has placed on the term and therefore we must limit our choices in doing so.
Purists will argue that anything smaller than 6mm cannot be considered a MBR.
Purists will argue that anything with an effective range shorter than 300 meters cannot be considered a MBR.
I tend to agree.
Assault Rifles/Weapons (purely defined a type or variation and not as purpose built in nature) have garnered a category all their own and should be debated within its categorial limits. Why we allow the politically correct anti-gun nuts to define our tools is beyond me but you will see people among us run from the word "assault" almost as fast as they do the "n" word in an effort to appease the anti-gun zealots out there.
So, MBR it is and those most commonly seen are the ones I listed above.
My personal preference is the M1a/M14 and its variations. I also believe the G3 is a fine fine MBR and the AR 10 is highly underrated.
On the other hand, while the FN-FAL is the most widely used MBR in the world, including NATO - it also has its problems, particularly in sandy environments as noted repeatedly by Israeli forces in the fifties and sixties. Still yet, it is a fine fine MBR.
The only real debatable question, and one that may never be answered is, the SKS? It is technically classified as a carbine yet performs and is utilized as a MBR. Clip fed, 7.62 eating, range up to 300 meters ... yet it is short. Most purists will classify it as a carbine yet there are those that insist it is a MBR. Me personally, I classify it as a carbine. Samozaryadniy Karabin sistemi Simonova
First of all the definition of the acronym "MBR."
MBR = Main Battle Rifle or Modern Battle Rifle (It really depends upon who it is you are speaking with. Historians lean towards "modern" whereas purists lean towards "main.")
1. A rifle commonly accepted as one in which battles are, or have been, employed by major military organizations, or the armies of countries, around the world.
2. A rifle which is either magazine or clip fed and chambers one of the accepted past, current or future cartridges developed by either Allied, NATO or former WARSAW Pact countries who participated in one or both World Wars, or the liberation of Israel from the Palestinians.
3. To a lesser extent, a rifle which is not considered "carbine" (a barrel between 14" - 20") in length/nature. (This is most often debated when discussing the current M4 carbine between historians and purists. The debate is whether or not the M4 may be classified as a MBR given that it is technically not a rifle. The old rule of "carbines only fire handgun cartridges" does not apply in modern terms under any circumstances.)
For the purpose of instant clarification, let's agree to disagree on two common areas of disagreement.
1) "Assault Rifle" is an acceptable term in military circles and therefore must be accepted here as a modern offensive rifle or carbine of modern caliber commonly agreed to be between 5.45mm and 7.62mm in diameter. Assault Rifles, for the purpose of this short primer and in lieu of an ensuing debate, are always select fire in nature, (meaning there are a minimum of two fire modes, semi-auto, auto-3 rd burst, and full auto, (the later meaning that if you hold the trigger down it'll keep shooting until all rounds in the magazine are expended.), and as already mentioned, Assault Rifles are magazine fed. An Assault Rifle is not only a short carbine which fires a mission built cartridge, but it may also be classified as a light machinegun and herein is where we separate Assault Rifles from MBRs.
2) We will not be considering the M4 as a MBR for two distinct and undebatable reasons. The M4 is, undeniably, a carbine and the M4 is, undeniably an Assault Weapon which categorizes it in loose modern terms as an Assault Rifle. Under this definition, neither are we going to consider the AK47/74 or Galil/Golani as a MBRs and for the same undeniable reasons. So, forget about the AKs, Galils and M4s as MBRs ... please.
With all of that out of the way shall we narrow MBRs down to the following most common breeds/variations?
Mosin-Nagant
Dragunov SVD
M1 Garand
M14
AR-10
Mauser K98
H&K G3/91
CETME
FN-FAL
Lee Enfield No 4 (Including SMLEs, Mk Is and IIs)
IMI 308 GALATZ
Schmidt-Rubin K31 (full length)
Please feel free to add to the list so-long as it does not include anything that might fall into the definition of assault/carbine.
That's pretty much it for those who have been asking what the term "MBR" refers to and what rifles might fall under the category of "MBR."
As far as which one is better and why "MBR" has become a politically correct misnomer in today's society - that is debatable.
For the purpose of the debate I offer the following opinion.
We are forced to exclude "Assault Weapons" from the discussion because of the "black evil rifle" label the MSM has placed on the term and therefore we must limit our choices in doing so.
Purists will argue that anything smaller than 6mm cannot be considered a MBR.
Purists will argue that anything with an effective range shorter than 300 meters cannot be considered a MBR.
I tend to agree.
Assault Rifles/Weapons (purely defined a type or variation and not as purpose built in nature) have garnered a category all their own and should be debated within its categorial limits. Why we allow the politically correct anti-gun nuts to define our tools is beyond me but you will see people among us run from the word "assault" almost as fast as they do the "n" word in an effort to appease the anti-gun zealots out there.
So, MBR it is and those most commonly seen are the ones I listed above.
My personal preference is the M1a/M14 and its variations. I also believe the G3 is a fine fine MBR and the AR 10 is highly underrated.
On the other hand, while the FN-FAL is the most widely used MBR in the world, including NATO - it also has its problems, particularly in sandy environments as noted repeatedly by Israeli forces in the fifties and sixties. Still yet, it is a fine fine MBR.
The only real debatable question, and one that may never be answered is, the SKS? It is technically classified as a carbine yet performs and is utilized as a MBR. Clip fed, 7.62 eating, range up to 300 meters ... yet it is short. Most purists will classify it as a carbine yet there are those that insist it is a MBR. Me personally, I classify it as a carbine. Samozaryadniy Karabin sistemi Simonova
