Quote:
Originally Posted by cirelaw
Simply Beautiful~ Why were the so heavy?
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And to answer your question Eric..........
I own four rifles in 7.92X57. M48, Spanish La Coruna, Egyptian Hakim, and Yugo M76. I also own "neutered" M53 that is classified by ATF as a "rifle", but it's a semi version of German MG42.
7.92 Mauser caliber is by far my favorite cartridge to shoot, and it has similar ballistics to 30-06. It's a hard hitting round, with substantial recoil. To tame the recoil, one can either increase the weight of the weapon, or tap some gas to work the action (which lowers muzzle velocity naturally). As you probably know,.....Yugo M76, and Egyptian Hakim, are semi-autos. Recoil is negligible, but the weight of the weapon is there nevertheless. Partially due to extra parts needed, and the increased magazine capacity (10 in semis, and 5 in bolt actions). With semis I go through a lot more rounds per session, and I carry more on me when I go out (more weight).
Since I shoot all three regularly, I can tell you that the two semi-autos weigh even more than La Coruna, or M48. I never put any of them on the scale (nor I bothered to research "published" weight), but they sure feel heavier in my hand, and my horse probably notices the difference too (I ride into the mountain on horseback when I go shooting).
And back then when M48 was fielded, men were still men, and didn't need any "plastic guns", computers, and diapers.
