Why did the Japanese and the Germans use bolt-action rifles in WWII when they knew it was outdated and useless against the the allied weapons like the M1 Garand? Or maybe they didn't know, but why?" There's a saying in the firearms community: "You can't miss fast enough to win." A bolt action is slower firing than a semiautomatic, that's true, but rate of fire isn't everything in a fight, hits are unless you're intent is suppressing fire in which the fear of being hit is. Even then, while a semiauto is more impressive, fire that hits close to you is also effective, and automatic fire even more effective.