Battle rifle

Belgian FN FAL

U.S. M14

West German Heckler & Koch G3

A battle rifle is a selective-fire military service rifle that fires a full-power rifle cartridge, such as 7.62×51mm NATO or 7.62×54mmR. Compared to assault rifles and their intermediate cartridges, the higher-caliber rounds provide greater power and range, though they render magazine capacity low and produce strong recoil, making them less than ideal for fully automatic fire.

Description

The designation of battle rifle is usually given to post-World War II select fire infantry rifles such as the FN FAL, the M14 and the H&K G3. This term also describes older military full-powered semi-automatic rifles such as the M1 Garand, the MAS-49 and the FN-49.

The term 'battle rifle' is a neologism. It was created largely out of a need to better differentiate the somewhat lower-power assault rifles (such as the StG-44, AK-47 and M16) from the full-powered automatic rifles (FN FAL, M14 rifle and H&K G3) as both classes of firearms have similar appearances and share many of the same features. It was first used in the late 1990s by various firearms publications and by several notable firearms writers. It is not defined in, or frequently used in, military field manuals or government documents. Prior to the 1990s, the term was not well defined and was used as a general description for all types of military rifles.

See also

• Automatic rifle
• Assault rifle
• Marksman rifle
• Sniper rifle
• List of battle rifles
• List of firearms