Twentieth century US military rifles:

Krag-Jorgensen. Fires US .30-40 Krag, 5 round magazine.

M1903 Springfield. Initially developed for the .30-03 Springfield, it was quickly adapted for the now famous .30-06, 5 round magazine.

Before and after cleaning pictures of a Remington 1903a3 from the CMP

M1917 Enfield. .30-06, 5 round magazine.

M1 Garand. Awesome demonstration of the inner workings of an M1 Garand: Garandflash.com. .30-06, 8 round magazine.


M1 Carbine. .30 Carbine, 15 or 30 round detachable magazine.


M14. .308, detachable magazine.

M16. .223, detachable magazine.

This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I master my life. My rifle, without me, is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than any enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will....

My rifle and myself know that what counts in this war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, nor the smoke we make. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit...

My rifle is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weakness, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel. I will keep my rifle clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will...

Before God I swear this creed. My rifle and myself are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life. So be it, until victory is America's and there is no enemy, but Peace.

Ok, to be honest, outside of a military / war setting the above sounds kinda crazy, but it does give you an idea of the total commitment necessary to fight.