History's Ten Greatest Guns

10

MG-42

“Hitler’s Buzzsaw,” invented in 1942, is infamous around the world as the weapon used at Omaha Beach to mow Americans down, but it was used in Russia to much more brutal effect. It fired 1,200 rounds of 8mm rifle ammunition per minute, which is sufficient to cut a man in half. It was air-cooled, and could melt its barrel if fired non-stop for 5 minutes.
That’s why the Germans had several barrel at hand, and could change to a new one in only 60 seconds.

9

Glock Handgun

The Glock is the ultimate in modern reliability. You can pour sand down the barrel and it will shoot. It will shoot underwater. It is commonly used in 9mm, but is chambered for .40 Sig and .45 ACP among others. It is the standard law enforcement sidearm today and will continue to be for a long time. It almost never jams, is waterproof, mostly plastic.

8

.303 Lee-Enfield

The British equivalent of the German Mauser has one trump on it, a 10 round magazine, compared to 8. The British adopted it into the army in 1895 and used it exclusively until 1957. Soldiers were drilled until they could perform “the mad minute,” firing 30 rounds in 60 seconds and hitting 30 targets. This required reloading twice, and working the bolt back and forth in less than half a second.
The rifle is accurate to 1,000 yards with open sights, and served in India (notoriously used against unarmed civilians), the Boer War, both World Wars, and many others.

7

.50 M2HB “Ma Deuce” BMG

The Browning Machine Gun is chambered for the most awe-inspiring shoulder-fired cartridge to date. It is designed with one thing in mind: power tends to corrupt; absolute power is kinda sweet. The 800 grain powder load has 14,895 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle, which is enough to put a full metal jacketed round through three approaching vehicles. It has shot down helicopters with one round.
Now imagine a belt-fed machine gun spewing a curtain of these rounds at you at 1,200 rounds per minute. Special Sabot rounds can go clean through tanks.

6

Smith and Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum Revolver

Made famous by Dirty Harry in 1971, it was invented in 1955, and is still thought of as one of the most powerful handguns in the world, though it has been eclipsed by the .500 magnum, the Desert Eagle .50 AE, the .454 Casull and a few others.
But what those other hand cannons lack is controlability and comparatively low cost. The .44 Magnum will still run you at least $800 new, which is a lot for a revolver, but very cheap compared to other magnums. You will not break your wrist shooting it, and yet it can drop Cape Buffaloes and Polar Bears. If I may be afforded one bad joke, it will make your day. Provided that you feel lucky. Punk.

5

The Mauser Model 1893 Bolt Action Rifle

The bolt action had been kicking around since at least 1824, when Paul Mauser and Co. patented the 1893 version in 7mm. It has become the benchmark, on which all bolt action rifles are based, and against which all are compared. There are three primary bolt action systems: the Lee-Enfield, the Mauser, and the Mosin-Nagant.
Of the three, the Mauser system is by far the most widespread, the most reliable, and the most battle-proven rifle mechanism the world has ever seen. The 1893 Mauser was the first, and original models still operate perfectly.

4

Colt Single Action Army Revolver

The icon of the Old West, the Colt .45 revolver was invented in 1873 and immediately caught on as extraordinarily accurate at close range, compared to the ball and cap conversions popular at the time. Its caliber was sufficient to flip a charging man backward off his feet. It can be used today to hunt deer and black bears. The larger powder loads can take down grizzly bears.
It’s as famous as the gun of Wyatt Earp, among other Old West celebrities.

3

Henry Repeating Rifle

The granddaddy of all lever-action firearms. Benjamin Tyler Henry invented it in 1860, but neither the Union nor Confederacy wanted much to do with it, as they were afraid their soldiers would fire too quickly and waste ammunition. If I may use a cliched joke, “military intelligence.” Thank you.
It fired a revolutionary, self-contained cartridge in .44 caliber, with 568 foot-pounds of stopping power, more than enough to put a man down. It held 16 rounds in a tube magazine, and a good man could fire 28 rounds per minute, so much better than 3 per minute with a muzzle-loading percussion cap musket, that if either side had adopted the rifle as standard for infantry, that side would certainly have won.

2

AK-47

Accurate enough to do the job out to about 400 yards, which is all anyone usually needs in a battle, the AK-47 is the ultimate pinnacle in rugged reliability. It will not break down under fire unless something catastrophic happens to it. You can drive a tank over it, throw it against a wall, submerge it in sand, water, mud, and every time it will go right on firing when you pull the trigger.
I know a Vietnam veteran who was walking through triple canopy jungle one day in 1966, came across an abandoned AK-47, and couldn’t get the bolt to slide back. It was too corroded from the rain and weather. The wood was rotting off. But he put it butt first on the ground, stomped the action open, and it chambered a round, which he fired accurately at a tree 50 yards away. He stomped the action open again, and it chambered another round, which he fired accurately.

1

Colt 1911 .45 ACP

Every bit as rugged and reliable as the AK-47, this handgun was invented by John Browning for the Colt Company, in 1911, as a sidearm for American soldiers. It immediately proved itself a world beater in WWI, again in WWII, and has been a cornerstone of the American military ever since.
But its most impressive feat has been the ease with which even untrained civilians can fire it accurately, keep it in working order, and defend themselves ably with it. 7 + 1 rounds of fat, man-stopping power perfect for close-range self-defense. Soldiers have dragged it through swamps in the Pacific Theater of WWII, with their fingers on the trigger, then whipped it out of the muck and fired all 8 rounds accurately.
The only way to improve on it would be to make it cheaper. You’ll spend $1,000 on one.

Measuring Bullets in Caliber

You’ve heard it on your favorite cop show, “looks like the killer used a twenty-two,” or, “he was killed with a nine millimeter.” But, if you’re curious like I was, you’re asking yourself, “what the heck is a twenty-two and what does it mean anyway?”
Well, common sense would suggest that the numbers have something to do with size and that is exactly correct. When you hear various numbers being mentioned related to bullets, the number being referred to is what’s called the bullet’s “caliber”. Caliber is a unit of measurement related to a bullet’s size. Specifically, what’s being described is the bullet’s diameter.

To be even more specific, the caliber of a bullet is the measurement of the diameter of the slug (or projectile) part of the bullet cartridge. This is important because in some situations, the bullet casing can be wider than the slug itself. But the caliber is specifically describing the width of the slug portion. Caliber does not refer to the length or power of the bullet, but simply the diameter of the bullet.

The Bottom Line: The Width of a Bullet Determine’s Its Caliber

I know, you’re thinking, “but what’s a twenty-two compared to a nine millimeter?” Well, as with all measurements, there’s the American way and the Metric way of measuring. The metric is simple, a nine millimeter (9mm) is exactly 9mm in diameter. The American measurement is a little different. A twenty-two (or 0.22) is exactly twenty-two one hundredths (22/100′s) of an inch in diameter – or a little less than a quarter of an inch. Similarly, a 0.38 is 38/100′s of an inch, a .50 caliber is a half inch, and so on.

Metal Storm: Fastest Firing Weapon

July 2005, Port Wakefield, Australia. A wide angle lens gives a dramatic perspective at the business end of four 40mm Metal Storm barrels being prepared for live fire testing of the Area Denial Weapon System by the Australian military’s Defense Science and Technology Organization. (Courtesy of Metal Storm)

“Combine stacked rounds with electronic firing, and you get game-changing technology that will provide a significant enhancement of small arms effectiveness in current and future operations.  Metal Storm is at the core of what I believe will be an inevitable shift from mechanical to electronic individual combat weapons.”  - Peter A. Faulkner, General Manager, Metal Storm Inc.
Metal Storm is a radically different concept for weapons and ammunition, the brainchild of a self-educated Australian inventor with brilliant intuition for practical applications in engineering, physics and electronics.  Following its genesis in the early 1990s, this novel electronic ballistics technology has suffered from what might charitably be termed unrealistic expectations.
Early claims of a rate of fire capability at 1 million rounds per minute inspired some fanciful applications ranging from covert wrist guns to missile defense.  Metal Storm has been a darling of the media, frequently seen on the Discovery Channel and others in highly sensationalized depictions of supergun abilities.  In one particularly memorable TV episode of CSI Miami, Metal Storm-like guns were seen literally vaporizing anyone who was on the muzzle end of this terrifying weapon.

1997, Australia. A video frame grab from the world-famous “Million Round a Minute” test firing shows the 36 barrel “Bertha” in full roar, launching 180 stacked 9mm projectiles in one-hundredth of a second. Video clips showing firing and effects on target have been widely broadcast by news organizations worldwide and continue to be a favorite on YouTube. (Courtesy of Metal Storm)

Million Rounds a Minute
James Michael O’Dwyer was 47 years old in 1991 when he sold his successful food wholesale business to devote his full energies to various inventions.  Two years later, he bet the remainder of his life savings and all the money he could borrow on development of a unique weapon system that, he strongly believed, would have revolutionary applications in military and law enforcement.
Years of work in O’Dwyer’s backyard garage/laboratory ultimately yielded what would become the internationally patented Metal Storm System.  A breakthrough came in 1996 when a formal study by US defense giant Lockheed Martin provided essential third-party validation for the radical concept.
Building on success of his single barrel prototype, constructed with the help of a local Australian engineer named Graham Bugden, O’Dwyer’s next breakthrough came in captivating media attention with a dramatic demonstration video.  News organizations worldwide picked up the demo clip showing an incomprehensibly fast burst of 9mm rounds from a box of 36 bullet-stacked barrels that O’Dwyer had whimsically named “Bertha.”  A lightning strike blast of 180 rounds stormed out in about one hundredth of a second.  Yes, that’s a rate of fire better than one million rounds a minute.
Bertha showed the way to a variety of devices utilizing O’Dwyer’s clever stacked munitions principle.  Prominent among these are a “smart” handgun, remotely fired munitions to replace traditional minefields, close-in protection for vehicles against ambushers and incoming rockets, plus gun pods for robotic vehicles.
But, thus far, none of these has achieved commercial success.
Game-Changing Technology
Finally, after many years of work, fueled by multimillions of dollars in developmental funding from private investors, industry partners and various military entities, the radically unconventional Metal Storm system seems on track for fielding in key roles in the Global War on Terror.
We recently talked to Metal Storm to separate the truth from the fiction and get an update on how the company has progressed from the patent office to the marketplace.
Peter Faulkner, General Manager of Metal Storm Incorporated, the U.S. licensee of Metal Storm Limited in Australia, told us, “The company has become intensely focused on product development over the past three years and the work is beginning to pay off.  We are close to offering the military and law enforcement communities real products rather than ideas.”
The real products Faulkner is referring to are the MAUL, 3GL and FireStorm.  Not nearly the million rounds per minute, battlefield clearing supergun once imagined by the Metal Storm inventor, but certainly more relevant to current tactical applications.

With a preloaded five-round ammo sleeve that extends from the tubular housing, Metal Storm’s 12 gauge (18mm) Multi-shot Accessory Underbarrel Launcher, fits neatly under a standard M4 Carbine. This simple, light and electrically fired shotgun is in an advanced state of development for Office of Naval Research on behalf of the US Marine Corps. It may be the first Metal Storm weapon to achieve actual military fielding and it has enormous potential for law enforcement sales. (Courtesy of Metal Storm)

MAUL Underbarrel Shotgun
Breaching shotguns of various types are in widespread use by American forces; all relatively heavy and mechanically actuated in form and function essentially unchanged for more than a century.
The Office of Naval Research, acting on behalf of the US Marine Corps, turned to MS for a better solution.  Of particular interest was the need to more efficiently launch the devilishly effective FRAG-12 fin-stabilized high explosive 12 gauge projectiles.
This was a Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory project to see if these specialized breaching rounds could be stacked.  MS delivered a bench test gun that proved successful as seen in live fire video linked on the MS website.  This has led to an ONR contract to actually build a weapon for the M4 carbine, the weapon of choice for MOUT scenarios, along with lethal and non lethal rounds.
It’s now known as MAUL, a particularly appropriate acronym derived from its formal name of Multishot Accessory Underbarrel Launcher.  Backed by funding of nearly a million dollars from ONR, this slim, light, electrically-fired semiauto clamp-on quickly loads with slip-in tubes pre-packed with up to five rounds of various types.  MAUL is fast tracked for delivery to the Navy by June 2009 for more detailed operational evaluations.
Caliber:  18mm (12 gauge)
Ammunition:  Lethal and less-lethal
Capacity:  Up to 5 rounds in preloaded sleeves
Operation:  Manually reloaded, electrically fired, semiautomatic
Weight Unloaded (underbarrel):  2 pounds
3GL Three Shot Grenade Launcher
The 40mm grenade launchers currently in US and allied military service that are suitable for mounting to a primary weapon such as the M4/M16 family are single shot devices.  Critical seconds are lost in reloading during intense firefights.
MS offers an alternative in the light and fast-firing 3GL, a semiautomatic grenade launcher with a trio of beefy 40mm rounds stacked in a single barrel.
While externally similar to recent modular grenade launchers with a pistol grip and rail mount points, the 3GL can be manually loaded by the soldier with three rounds in any combination of ammunition types, potentially from irritant cloud to high explosive.
Battery-powered electronic ignition cuts weight and complexity, allowing ultra-fast firing and improved reliability.  The grenadier can immediately engage up to three targets, “walk” his rounds to a precise impact point, or put multiple rounds into a single target for maximum effect.
Caliber:  40mm
Ammunition:  All common less lethal to lethal payloads
Capacity:  3 rounds
Operation:  Manually loaded, electrically fired, semiautomatic
Weight Unloaded (underbarrel):  5.1 pounds
Configuration:  Stand alone or attached to host weapon
The 3GL weapon and a new family of 40mm grenades that can be individually loaded by the grenadier are developing rapidly in close partnership with Singapore Technologies Kinetics (STK), known as one of the largest defense firms in Asia.
Dr. Lee Finniear, Metal Storm Limited’s CEO, confidently anticipates system safety certification so that sales demonstrations can begin soon.  “We can confirm that early in the New Year (2009) we expect to qualify the 3GL and ammunition for safe man-firing….”

.905 JDJ: Largest Caliber Rifle Round Ever Made

Shooting a .700 caliber packs a punch. Step it up to an almost unheard of .905 caliber, and you have a ballistic beast in your hands.

The Blaze brings you the  SSK industries .950 JDJ. It’s the biggest centerfire rifle ever made.

With a 2400 grain bullet, propelled by 240 grains of powder, the JDJ is comparable to a World War I-era tank round or a 20mm cannon in terms of kinetic energy.

Estimates are that one of these rounds would easily pass through several human targets– even if each were equipped with full body armor.

It was almost classified as a “destructive device” but a special “sportsman exception” was made for the JDJ.

The guys from Knight Rifles headed out to the range to give this monster a try. Very few people have ever shot the .950 JDJ as a rifle, as only 3 have been made.

This model was the first and the lightest coming in at a robust 50 lbs. The custom bullets cost about $40 each.

So what’s it like to shoot a bullet that nearly an inch wide and four inches tall? Well, it has been described as having “significant recoil” and in the video below, one of the shooters say “it’s like firing ten .30-06′s at once.”

Another shooter, after getting a taste of that vicious recoil, turned to his buddies and yelled “you lied to me. it kicks like a mule.”

The Greatest Sniper Shots Recorded

Snipers are the elite masters of the art of killing somebody from a distance before he or she has any idea what is going on. Of course, shooting from such a long range incurs a wide array of difficulties, leading to situations where making a successful shot is, by all logic and reason, impossible. It is in these situations where the best snipers sniff, wipe the sweat from their eyes and make the shot anyway.

#5. Matt Hughes Curves the Bullet

 
  Photos.com

Welsh Royal Marine sniper Matt Hughes was participating in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, looking for a perfect occasion to shoot some dudes from really far away. He found it in two Iraqi troops who were holding up the offensive. Hughes was ordered to take them out. And not out to dinner, unless they both ordered a lead steak. A tiny one, shaped like a bullet.

Photos.com
"Sir, I understand you didn't like it, but you've already eaten most of it. I'll have to get a manager."

The Shot:
The problem was that the wind was blowing tremendously. See, this is something that doesn't come up in the movies -- when you're trying to shoot from far away with any kind of wind, you have almost no goddamned idea where the bullet will end up. Sniping isn't just holding the cross hairs steady on the tiny soldier in the scope; it's trying to predict gusts of wind that could push the bullet into some innocent tree trunk 50 feet away. And yes, that's how much of a difference wind can make. You can not only miss the guy, but miss the whole house he's standing in.

Photos.com
So that's what happened to all those road signs in the country!

Oh, and as if his fate were being written by the vengeful spirit of a vaudeville comedian, Hughes discovered that his targets were a little over a half mile away, which, powerful wind notwithstanding, was beyond the range of the rifle he was using. To make matters worse (and yes, there apparently was still room for them to get worse), the enemy soldier he was targeting was covered in a fortified position, with only a small portion of his head and torso exposed. Hughes would have only one chance, because if he took a shot and missed, the Iraqi would simply duck completely behind cover and never come back up. It'd be like if Luke Skywalker had been commanded to park his X-Wing at the beginning of the trench, and to lean out of the cockpit with a grenade wedged in his ass and try to power-shit it into the Death Star's exhaust port.
Cackling in the face of insurmountable odds, Hughes did his best to judge, based on the haze from the heat, how to aim the rifle to hit his target. His judgment led him to aim the shot 56 feet to the left and 38 feet high, which is another way of saying "Hughes pointed his gun in a totally unrelated goddamn direction."

Photos.com
"If I can take out the sun, we'll kill the whole Iraqi army."

Either way, Hughes presumably prayed to the sniper gods and let off his first and only possible shot, not even remotely pointed toward his target, and watched as the arc of the bullet formed the shape of a giant banana and struck the enemy soldier directly in the chest. Needless to say, the Iraqi was killed, though we're fairly certain his last words were the equivalent of "Oh, no fucking way."

#4. Steve Reichert Shoots Through a Wall

Now here is one that you're not even allowed to do in most video games.
It happened when Marine Corps sniper Steve Reichert was taking part in a routine mission in Iraq, providing cover for a squad of fellow Marines from atop an oil tank, when the squad fell under attack by insurgents. Steadying himself and taking careful aim at the enemy onslaught, Reichert noticed something: three enemy soldiers sneaking around the back of a nearby building in an attempt to ambush his comrades with a very large machine gun.

Photos.com
A rare shot of the actual event.

The Shot:
Not about to let this happen, Reichert aimed his rifle at them just as they disappeared behind one of the building's brick walls. Refusing to let this seemingly minor vision handicap stop him, Reichert made his best guess and shot the goddamned wall from his position on the oil tank a little over a mile away.

At that distance, you'd never hear the shot. One second you'd have a head, and the next, you wouldn't.

The single round took out all three of the insurgents.
One of them had been hit by the bullet and was killed outright, while the other two were struck down by brick and bullet fragments blasted out by Reichert's shot. He had neutralized three targets that were behind a wall with a single shot made a mile out. For his actions, he was awarded the Bronze Star and a full scholarship to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

We're pretty sure they did it out of pure fear.

#3. Carlos Hathcock Shoots a Dude Through His Scope

Carlos Hathcock was a U.S. Marine Corps sniper who had racked up a high enough kill count during his two tours in the Vietnam War to earn a bounty on his head for $30,000 from the North Vietnamese government. Inspired by the bounty, an unknown Vietnamese sniper set out to try and kill Hathcock, unaware that to do so would be like trying to sneak up on Batman and slap him in the penis.

Via Atruepatrio.tumblr
"I'm gonna take on this next assassin drunk and blindfolded. It just isn't sporting otherwise."

The Shot:
Hathcock was drawn out of camp when the enemy sniper shot several of his fellow Marines, despite knowing that the man was simply trying to bait him. So it was sort of like Enemy at the Gates, only with fewer fake German accents. To avoid a hasty debraining via high-velocity bullet, Hathcock would have to move slowly and stay out of sight, so he crawled the distance between himself and the other sniper on his stomach, making sure to keep the sun behind him.
He kept going like this until he thought he saw a glint of light, like when the sun is reflected off a piece of glass during a boss battle in Metal Gear Solid 3.

Photos.com
"Ha! Found you!"

The experienced Hathcock fired at the glimmer, knowing it to be either his foe or a tiny mirror placed out in the jungle for no conceivable reason. As it turns out, it was the former, and Hathcock's bullet passed clean through the enemy sniper's scope from 500 yards away, threading the needle at close to one-third of a mile.
Bear in mind that the typical rifle scope is only a couple of inches wide at the very most, so Hathcock had to place his shot perfectly for the bullet to pass through it and not hit the sides of the device. Also, the enemy sniper had to have been facing him, with his gun more or less leveled directly toward Hathcock's position. So, in the span of the half-second he had to spare before his foe spotted him and erased him from time, Hathcock fired a round through a 2-inch circle he wasn't even positive was there, draped in dense jungle about three city blocks away.

Getty
"My unexploded face sense is tingling!"

#2. Mike Plumb Saves His Victim's Life

Photos.com

SWAT sniper Michael Plumb arrived on the scene with the rest of his unit to find a suicidal man named Douglas Conley sitting on a lawn chair in the middle of the street, ranting and holding a revolver to his head. Conley refused to let any police officers come near him, becoming more and more agitated each time they tried to approach and raising the gun to his chin. Conley's volatile state, coupled with the fact that he was ignoring all the police's demands, led Plumb's commander to finally give him the go-ahead to fire.
Wait, what? That's how we handle a guy who's threatening suicide -- we call in a sniper to shoot his ass and get it over with?

Photos.com
And people say the government isn't efficient!

Not exactly. Plumb's task was to shoot Conley in a way that would prevent him from shooting himself. Good luck!
The Shot:
Instead of trying to hit the man, Plumb was to attempt to assassinate the tiny .38 snub-nosed revolver Conley was holding in his hand, from 60 yards away. You've seen this gun in countless movies -- this is a weapon that is barely larger than a person's hand:

Via Wikimedia Commons
It's the one they let Joe Pesci use so he looks normal sized by comparison.

So, with Conley's crazy ass fingers wrapped around it, there was maybe about an inch or two of non-person for Plumb to target. It was the first time that group of SWAT snipers had ever been cleared to fire their rifles during a call, and it was arguably the craziest shot ever attempted by police.
So, Mike Plumb lined up over half a football field away and shot a single round that smashed into Conley's gun and blew it to pieces.
Here is a video of Plumb's sorcery:

A stunned Conley struggled to maintain his composure, as if he had ordered the gun to explode with his thoughts, and was promptly tackled by the police.

#1. Navy SEALs

Via Kpbs.org

The Maersk Alabama was a cargo ship that was captured by pirates while floating off of the coast of Somalia. In exchange for the lives of his crew, the captain of the Maersk, Richard Phillips, offered to be taken captive. The pirates agreed.
Following the hijacking, the pirates set off in a lifeboat with their captive and demanded a ransom of several million dollars, because evidently Phillips had told them he was Bruce Wayne or something. The United States government responded by sending the Navy's USS Bainbridge to follow the lifeboat, which, to be fair, is what several million dollars would look like if you spent it on a guided missile destroyer.

Via Wikipedia
"You can even have the missiles, too. Catch!"

As the USS Bainbridge followed the boat, it picked up a team of Navy SEALs who had parachuted into the sea nearby, because being a SEAL means you are required to make your entrance like William Shatner on a game show.
The Shot:
The SEALs had orders from the president not to act unless the life of the captain was in immediate danger, so they took up positions around the Bainbridge and waited. They managed to get their chance when two pirates poked their heads out of the lifeboat, and they were able to see the last pirate through the boat's window, pointing an AK-47 at Phillips' back. After deciding that an assault rifle aimed at the captain sufficiently constituted an immediate danger, three of the SEALs fired.

Photos.com
"Aim for their good eye."

And three pirates fell dead.
By using what we assume was telepathic communication, the moment the SEALs saw the pirates, they fired, each at a different target and in unison so that no pirate had any time to react before his head turned into memories. Phillips was rescued, and the SEALs presumably rose from the ocean on jet packs to rendezvous with a space helicopter that flew them back to their base in a hollow mountain.

Photos.com
On the fucking moon.