30ot6

Just turned this up: "There was, as part of the training regime for the British Soldier, the Lord Roberts’ Match, also known as the ‘mad minute’. The aim of this was to train the soldiers to fire as many aimed shots as possible in a minute, concentrating not just on accuracy, but on rate of fire. This activity was suggested by the Minister of War, Lord Roberts, during the Boer War, to improve the standard of British Marksmanship. The target of a 24 inch circle would be hoisted for 60 seconds at 300 yards. The record was apparently set in 1914 at the British School of Musketry by Sgt Instructor Snoxall. 38 hits were scored inside the ring at 300 yards within the minute. Scores of 34 to 35 were "not uncommon". Such phenomenal rates of fire were made possible by the combination of the Lee Enfield bolt action, and consistent training in the knowledge that most engagements will be conducted at under 500 yards."

The Lee-Enfield is widely considered the fastest rotating bolt action ever. I'm not exactly sure why, but on the gun boards and websites I frequent I've often seen it mentioned that shooters feel that it is faster than other rifles(often specifically in comparison to k98s, the owners of both rifles love to rag on owners of the other type). Part of this is probably the loading mechanism; many rifles if you try to cycle them too quickly don't load properly. Anyway, the speed of the action combined with the larger magazine capacity seem to be reasonable explanations for the extra firepower ratings. On the other hand, the k98 is ever so much cooler looking...