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  1. #1

    Default QUICK POLL...THE WORST INFANTRY WEAPONS OF THE SA BORDER WAR?

    So this is a quick poll...what (in your opinions) were the worst weapons of the Border War? (i.e. the most rubbish to use), I've heard a lot of criticism of the Uzi (and from the earlier chaps the Bren), this is a basic list (which doesn't include half the post WW2 NATO weapons that found their way over to this side of the world). Please feel free to add your thoughts, comments and/or experiences...

    https://www.militaryfactory.com/smal...n-bush-war.asp

  2. #2
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    Default Re: QUICK POLL...THE WORST INFANTRY WEAPONS OF THE SA BORDER WAR?

    Yip, the Uzi was pretty crap. Good for spray and pray, but not at all accurate (not the ones we used anyway)
    I also remember the Star 9mm pistols were rubbish.
    The ones we were issued were so well used that it was a bit of a One Shot Wonder - shoot one shot and wonder if you will get off another shot!
    On the other hand, the R5 was our main weapon and very reliable.

    Looking forward to some more reviews...

  3. #3
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    Default Re: QUICK POLL...THE WORST INFANTRY WEAPONS OF THE SA BORDER WAR?

    Quote Originally Posted by GlockForce View Post
    Yip, the Uzi was pretty crap. Good for spray and pray, but not at all accurate (not the ones we used anyway)
    I also remember the Star 9mm pistols were rubbish.
    The ones we were issued were so well used that it was a bit of a One Shot Wonder - shoot one shot and wonder if you will get off another shot!
    On the other hand, the R5 was our main weapon and very reliable.

    Looking forward to some more reviews...
    What year where you at the border? For context of the weapons you used.

  4. #4

    Default Re: QUICK POLL...THE WORST INFANTRY WEAPONS OF THE SA BORDER WAR?

    Were soldiers not issued R1's. Ive allways heard the Ex Border guys fanatically talk about the R1. And how they use to bring it home on breaks.

  5. #5

    Default Re: QUICK POLL...THE WORST INFANTRY WEAPONS OF THE SA BORDER WAR?

    @shooty, 100%, my father went through in '71 and was issued with the FN (which as I understand was Belgium manufactured as opposed to the R1 which was locally manufactured? I'm open to correction here!). When my father was doing national service they'd hitchhike home with their weapons but after a few incidents of rifles being stolen from homes that practice was cancelled so that by the time my father finished with camps you had to turn in your rifle.

  6. #6

    Default Re: QUICK POLL...THE WORST INFANTRY WEAPONS OF THE SA BORDER WAR?

    @Glockforce, I heard the R5 caliber (being smaller) caused the bullets to tumble (I'm speaking out of my wheelhouse here) and were therefore not as accurate?

  7. #7

    Default Re: QUICK POLL...THE WORST INFANTRY WEAPONS OF THE SA BORDER WAR?

    Quote Originally Posted by shooty View Post
    Were soldiers not issued R1's. Ive allways heard the Ex Border guys fanatically talk about the R1. And how they use to bring it home on breaks.
    During leadership course in my first year we had to swop out our R1 for the R5 after about
    6 months - 1981.
    I was issued with a dud. The bipod leg broke off, the hand guard cracked in half on
    the left side and the front sight came off.
    Our instructors were blamed for excessive "opvok parade" on the training grounds.
    Needless to say they happily continued. Quite a few of us finished our first year with
    an R 1 because our weapons were handed in to the base gunsmith / armoury for repairs.
    This was where the shit really hit the fan. A damaged / broken / lost firearm was the worst
    of all deadly sins.

  8. #8

    Default Re: QUICK POLL...THE WORST INFANTRY WEAPONS OF THE SA BORDER WAR?

    The recycled G3's that came from the Portuguese kit left behind. Still clouds my opinion of the model to this day, despite having shot many that are as good, accurate and reliable as any other battle rifle availaible these days.

  9. #9

    Default Re: QUICK POLL...THE WORST INFANTRY WEAPONS OF THE SA BORDER WAR?

    Quote Originally Posted by Luker View Post
    During leadership course in my first year we had to swop out our R1 for the R5 after about
    6 months - 1981.
    I was issued with a dud. The bipod leg broke off, the hand guard cracked in half on
    the left side and the front sight came off.
    Our instructors were blamed for excessive "opvok parade" on the training grounds.
    Needless to say they happily continued. Quite a few of us finished our first year with
    an R 1 because our weapons were handed in to the base gunsmith / armoury for repairs.
    This was where the shit really hit the fan. A damaged / broken / lost firearm was the worst
    of all deadly sins.
    I was one of those 1968-1974, that was issued with an original FN The barrel had a chrome barrel liner and was very accurate and reliable. Stock and front end was wood. Also carried the FN Mag for 3 months. If you shot 3 round bursts, you could concentrate the the shots very well.
    As for the %&** if your weapon was lost, you ended up with a bakkie load of reports/explanations. My FN was lost when the boat we were travelling in capsized when it hit a sand bank and all the equipment, rifles etc was lost. We were very lucky to struggle out of the river only because all the webbing were at our feet with just the rifles in our hands. A real miracle that no one drowned.

  10. #10
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Crosshairs View Post
    @Glockforce, I heard the R5 caliber (being smaller) caused the bullets to tumble (I'm speaking out of my wheelhouse here) and were therefore not as accurate?
    5.56mm (55gr in the SADF and SANDF) bullets, irrespective of which weapon they are fired from, will tumble when hitting the slightest obstruction. Even tall grass will cause them to keyhole on a target. On one memorable occasion I was part of a shooting exercise when it started raining. You know, those big drops before it properly starts raining. I witnessed a puff, like steam, between me and the target I was shooting at. On inspecting the target I found a nice keyhole shot on the target, off to the side from my point of aim. Obviously the further away from the target something is struck the more the accuracy is affected.

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