Perhaps, but....

Quoted from "Veritable"

25 Hipfire Not Moving stances, 1m to 25m, 1m increments. 25 Hipfire Moving stances, 0.5m to 12.5m, 0.5m increments. 25 ADS Moving stances, 3m to 75m, 3m increments. 25 ADS Not Moving stances, 5m to 125m, 5m increments. Total stances 100. Average distance 32.5m.

...and...

Quoted from "Veritable"

Burst Length differs per stance, where the shooter shoots until Hitrate drops below 25%, then stops to recover Spread, before repeating.

...so they matter in this thread, as the methodology has not changed, since the first post.

I know you do your's in a different way, and that is perfectly fine. What I tried to find out here are, to take a couple of extreme examples....

- I'm a Medic or Support, I'm advancing on and objective, and I'm 100m away. I see a scope glint from the objective, and then the *crack* of a near-miss from a Scout Single-Action Rifle. Do I stop and engage? Or do I zig-zag and attempt to close the distance?
(What I got: If I have the BAR 1918 Telescopic , M1909 Benet-Mercie Telescopic , Autoloading 8 .35 Marksman , Huot Automatic Optical , Parabellum MG14 Low Weight (DLC2) , M1909 Benet-Mercie Optical , or Selbstlader M1916 Marksman ... listed in order of effectiveness... then I engage. He has the advantage but I have a decent chance. If I have anything else, I do not think about it.)

- I'm a Support with the BAR 1918 Telescopic , and I know that there is an Assault in that building. He killed a couple of my teammates already, so from the kill feed I can see what he is using. Do I rely on my Hipfire to go in after him? Or do I stand-off and Limpet / Crossbow Grenade the building?
(What I got: Pretty much only if he has the Hellriegel 1915 Defensive ... up to Model 10-A Slug if you think he will miss his first slug. Otherwise, heck no, I'm staying out here and taking the building down!)

Yes I realise that I am taking some of these weapons out of their comfort zones. In the chaos of Battlefield though, they do get used in all manner of engagements against a variety of opponents. So, I wanted to find out here, perhaps learn the strengths and weaknesses, before finding out for real in the game.

Also, since all guns get subjected to the same scenarios, with the average working out to be 32.5m, things should balance out. I know some disagree, but these pass my "smell test" of my own usage and what I observe from the engagement results in the BF1 rounds I play.

Quoted from "Skanic"

But stuff like 1903 exp being nr 1 sniper

Actually, the #1 "Sniper," doing the "sniper stuff" of ADS - Not Moving from 5m to 125m, is the Gewehr 98 Sniper . I said as much here: Ranking Everything in BF1 Redux

Quoted from "Skanic"

or hellriegel being the worst smg.

...you mean it is not the worst SMG? I thought that is fairly uncontroversial....

Hellriegel 1915 Factory vs C96 Trench | BF1 Weapon Comparison | Symthic
Hellriegel 1915 Factory achieves 1v2 ~4.36% faster, while C96 Trench (DLC3) is ~21.14% more easier to use.
My winner: C96 Trench (DLC3)

Hellriegel 1915 Factory vs MP 18 Experimental | BF1 Weapon Comparison | Symthic
MP 18 Experimental achieves 1v2 ~4.36% faster, and is also ~11.18% more easier to use.
My winner: MP 18 Experimental

Hellriegel 1915 Factory vs Automatico M1918 Trench | BF1 Weapon Comparison | Symthic
Automatico M1918 Trench achieves 1v2 ~13.10% faster, and is also ~2.14% more easier to use.
My winner: Automatico M1918 Trench

Hellriegel 1915 Factory vs MP 18 Trench | BF1 Weapon Comparison | Symthic
MP 18 Trench achieves 1v2 ~6.05% faster, and is also ~8.09% more easier to use.
My winner: MP 18 Trench

Hellriegel 1915 Factory vs MP 18 Optical | BF1 Weapon Comparison | Symthic
MP 18 Optical achieves 1v2 ~4.06% faster, and is also ~9.02% more easier to use.
My winner: MP 18 Optical

Hellriegel 1915 Factory vs Automatico M1918 Factory | BF1 Weapon Comparison | Symthic
Automatico M1918 Factory achieves 1v2 ~8.90% faster, and is also ~3.79% more easier to use.
My winner: Automatico M1918 Factory

Hellriegel 1915 Factory vs SMG 08-18 Factory | BF1 Weapon Comparison | Symthic (I already updated my sheet with the latter as 770RPM)
SMG 08-18 Factory (DLC2) achieves 1v2 ~9.32% faster, and is also ~0.29% more easier to use.
My winner: SMG 08-18 Factory (DLC2)

Hellriegel 1915 Factory vs SMG 08-18 Optical | BF1 Weapon Comparison | Symthic (Again, 770RPM and corresponding Recoil already included)
SMG 08-18 Optical (DLC2) achieves 1v2 ~9.98% faster, while Hellriegel 1915 Factory is ~1.85% more easier to use.
My winner: SMG 08-18 Optical (DLC2)

Hellriegel 1915 Factory vs Ribeyrolles 1918 Factory | BF1 Weapon Comparison | Symthic
Hellriegel 1915 Factory achieves 1v2 ~0.16% faster, while Ribeyrolles 1918 Factory (DLC1) is ~8.06% more easier to use.
My winner: Ribeyrolles 1918 Factory (DLC1)

Hellriegel 1915 Factory vs Automatico M1918 Storm | BF1 Weapon Comparison | Symthic
Automatico M1918 Storm achieves 1v2 ~3.98% faster, and is also ~3.14% more easier to use.
My winner: Automatico M1918 Storm

Hellriegel 1915 Factory vs Maschinenpistole M1912 | BF1 Weapon Comparison | Symthic
Maschinenpistole M1912 (DLC3) achieves 1v2 ~9.52% faster, while Hellriegel 1915 Factory is ~2.78% more easier to use.
My winner: Maschinenpistole M1912 (DLC3)

*Updated 2018/02/27 as of DLC4 - Apocalypse*

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"Bestgun," considering all classes and all stances: Primary - Model 1900 Slug (DLC2) , Secondary - Taschenpistole M1914
Assault Class: Primary - Model 1900 Slug (DLC2) , Secondary - 1903 Hammerless
Medic Class: Primary - Autoloading 8 .35 Marksman, Secondary - Taschenpistole M1914
Scout Class: Primary - M1903 Experimental , Secondary - Frommer Stop
Support Class: Primary - BAR 1918 Trench, Secondary - Beretta M1915


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As InterimAegis pointed out, the Howell is currently hampered by having pre-TTK Patch values for Spread-related values.

When I plugged in the expected values, the Howell Automatic Factory (DLC4) improves from the current 55th to 44th overall, and 18th to 13th amongst Medic weapons. The Howell Automatic Sniper (DLC4) is unchanged.

So, my current take is that you should unlock the Howell Automatic Factory (DLC4), which is something you would just automatically do as a Medic anyways (requirement: 50 Medic kills and nothing else). However, once done, maybe still stay away until the hotfix drops. The only reason to use it now is to unlock the Howell Automatic Sniper (DLC4), and I just don't think that the Sniper is groundbreaking enough for you to bother.

Once the hotfix drops, though, the Howell Automatic Factory (DLC4) is one of the best Factory Medic, as the only one with Bipod (not simulated here but can be excellent if you make use of it... no downside anyways) and the (excellent) AA Sight.

Quoted from "vtboyarc"

Won’t lie, surprised to see the Parabellum LW rank ahead of the IMG 08/18 - curious for why?

Parabellum MG14 Low Weight vs IMG 08-18 Low Weight | BF1 Weapon Comparison | Symthic
They are pretty well balanced against each other... since they both use the same Projectile, the stats seemed to be calculated from RPM.

I have the Parabellum MG14 Low Weight (DLC2) achieve 1v2 2.57% faster than IMG 08-18 Low Weight (DLC4). The former shoots slightly faster, but the latter is slightly more accurate within the burst.

You'd think that the IMG 08-18 Low Weight (DLC4) can make that up with its Useability... and I thought so too... until Miffyli updated the BF1 Reload Mechanics. It's, um, about the worst in the game... it is only ahead of the gate-loading revolvers.

Firing Score differences: IMG 08-18 Low Weight (DLC4) | 211.3589063 vs. Parabellum MG14 Low Weight (DLC2) | 224.2095861 = -12.8506798

Useability differences without Reloads: IMG 08-18 Low Weight (DLC4) | 183.487414474 vs. Parabellum MG14 Low Weight (DLC2) | 169.888187171 = 13.599227303

Reload Score differences: IMG 08-18 Low Weight (DLC4) | 21.31507174 vs. Parabellum MG14 Low Weight (DLC2) | 29.95833333 = -8.64326159

Adding everything together: IMG 08-18 Low Weight (DLC4) | 416.1613925 vs. Parabellum MG14 Low Weight (DLC2) | 424.0561066 = -7.8947141

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I unlocked it last night, and although I went like 24-3 with it in a one-battalion steamroll of Empire's Edge Operation, with 1.3 KpM, I can confirm that its Reload is TER-RI-BLE.

I will keep on using it as my "main" belt-fed LMG, though, because it is easy to unlock (just 50 Support kills with ANYTHING, even gadgets and grenades). Unlike the Parabellum MG14 Low Weight (DLC2), which I don't have, because I never managed to get the killing-shot on that 2nd plane... so that Assignment is still incomplete for me

I do have the Parabellum MG14 Suppressive (DLC2), but the IMG 08-18 Low Weight (DLC4) is ranked ahead of that, so the latter is an easy pick. That also means the IMG 08-18 Suppressive (DLC4), which I will unlock in due course, will be a "don't bother" for me.

Quoted from "tankmayvin"

How is Automatico Trench the best of the SMGs? That whole family is mediocre/middling since the weapons re-balance.

Didn't they get a bit of a buff in Apocalypse?

Automatico M1918 Factory vs SMG 08-18 Factory | BF1 Weapon Comparison | Symthic

Also I look at Hipfire up to 25m, and up to that range I still have the Automatico M1918 Trench killing faster than any other Assault SMG. (Remember that the Maschinenpistole M1912 (DLC3) went down to 900RPM)

Finally, they've always have had ridiculously good Reloads since the very beginning.