Originally Posted by
RC20
Actually its not, changing a magzine slows you down. In the case of a bolt action tht is sort of, hmm, but it does slow you down.
The Brits were into rapid fire and a well trained Infantryman prior to WWII could shoot a SMLE in the low end area of an M1 (realistically no - factually as your well trained Infantryman was taken out of action and replaced by a conscription that ability went by the wayside)
Still, the SMLE put out an amazing amount of fire for a bolt action. Slickest bolt of any gun I ever handled.
But it correct that there is a balance. Lots of stores out of Nam about being out gunned. But that 30 round mag on an AK-47 also meant you had to be raised up higher to shoot (along with the rim issue making it longer still).
The Bren was a good answer to the keep it low issue. The BAR would have benefited with that setup greatly and with a larger magazine.
A conscript army gets round envy. WWII infantry would have laughed (they went up against MG-42 with M1, but everyone had an M1, fire was spread out, a German squad with rifles was there to support the MG-42 gunner carrying extra ammo in belts for it and side support to avoid a flanking).
Now, the troops are trained to fire semi auto unless there is a reason for full auto, save ammo. The Mk-27 is an example of a change in though process back to a heavier barrel with sustained longer range accuracy and spread the fire around a squad better.