Stg44...hmm...
Never got to see one during my time, but heard about it from a few of my older pals who had it during their service time.
The official nickname was something like (freely translated) "rusty club". 
Yeah to give it its due the Stg44 is very historic assault rifle ........ in fact if i remember correctly it was the weapon that 1st denoted the whole concept of an 'assault rifle'.
just out of curiosity what countries are you guys from??
and how old are the stg44's you mention still being used??
if they are circa mid 40's ( i don't know if anyone continued manufacturing them after WW2 ) then i'd consider them a highly successful piece of engineering just for still being serviceable.
Nazis might not have had a clue how to fight on 3 continental fronts at once ........ but their engineers where the shits!!! ...... i have to confess that even though i clearly fail into the 'untermensch' category ..... (am black west india descent).
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@HeinzH
STG58 looks a lot like the previously mentioned Fabrique Nationale FAL or SLR as the version our boys in the UK used was called.