This German rifle is a combination of one of the best rifles in the world — and a flop
Let’s face it, there are some cool rifles out there.
There’s the HK416, a derivative of the M16 that is best known as t…
Repeating rifles ‘saved 1,000 lives’ in their combat debut
The Spencer Repeating Rifle was originally considered a useless expense by the U.S. War Department who thought the rifles were too expensive and that they would encourage wasteful firing by soldiers on the lines.
But in the rifle’s comb…
4 of the deadliest sniper rifles in World War II
World War II sniper rifles were often updated World War I models made better with new telescopic sights and upgrades to make them more easily employed in combat.
These relatively minor improvements to the weapons made the snipers much mor…
How the legendary .50-cal. actually kills you
There’s a reason that the M2 .50-caliber machine gun design has endured since John Browning first created it 100 years ago, in 1918: The mechanical reliability of the weapon and ballistics of the round are still exactly what a soldier needs to kill…
These are the worst weapons an army could buy
People like to talk about the best tanks, rifles, and tactical gear. It’s a great discussion — there are many sophisticated pieces of tech in the military world, each with various strengths and weaknesses. That said, we rarely talk about the fl…
6 of the most notable pre-M16 military guns
Throughout history, the U.S. Military has used a wide variety of guns to win its battles. Prior to the M16, there were several weapons used across the service throughout some of the most devastating wars the world has ever seen.
Here are some…
This is why ‘silencers’ don’t really exist — firearm suppressors do
There’s a common idea among people who get their gun education from movies and video games that all you need to make a firearm completely silent (or at least barely as loud as someone whispering, ”
pew“) is to attach a silencer to the…
Comparing the Soviet SKS rifle to the American M1 carbine
Whenever you compare the merits of two firearms against one another, there will be a huge row. Just ask fans of the M1911, designed by John Moses Browning — which served in the American military as the primary sidearm for seven decades — what th…
5 rare survival rifles designed for Air Force crews that crash in the wilderness
On Dec. 21, 1943, Lt. Leon Crane was conducting a flyover of the Alaska interior when one of the engines of his B-24 Liberator malfunctioned and caused the aircraft to spiral…
The barely successful inventor who pioneered repeating rifles
Quick! Name the inventor who has had the most impact on the military. Are you thinking of John M. Browning who invented all sorts of weapons including the M2 .50-caliber machine gun? Maybe Oliver Winchester, Benjamin Tyler Henry, or Horace Smith, th…