Small Arms · 7:33am Dec 29th, 2013
Get the T-Rex jokes out of your system now.
The Far Side. Always relevant.
"Small arms" are generally defined as anything an individual person can carry that shoots bullets. Looser definitions may include anything one person can carry, like an RPG (rocket propelled grenade). Small arms do not include weapons that require more than one person to carry and use, like a heavy machine gun.
In a line I copied from Wikipedia (which is cited from a book written by some dude from Cambridge), It is estimated that there are in total 875 million small arms distributed amongst civilians, law enforcement agencies, and armed forces, globally. 650 million of these firearms, or 75 per cent, are held by civilians worldwide. Half the worldwide civilian guns are inside the US.
875 million. That's 87.5% of a billion guns. Daaaang.
First image result: Joe Dirt. Reasonable for a blog about guns, I guess.
So let's get into individual guns. The number-one, all-purpose, handy-dandy fighting weapon is the rifle. Rifles come in many shapes and sizes.
"This is my rifle, this is my gun."
Let's talk about the world's two most recognizable assault rifles. (And the two that ignite the most controversy on gun forums.)
100 million of the world's 875 million guns are, or are similar to, AK-47's.
AK-47
The AK-47 was designed by a Soviet guy named Mikhail Kalashnikov. "AK-47" stands for Avtomat Kalashnikova, designed in 1947. It's able to fire fully automatic, uses a 30-round magazine of 7.62×39mm ammuntion, and is generally regarded as being about as reliable as a baseball bat. The AK has stereotypically become the weapon of bad guys. After all, it's the number one choice of both Communists and terrorists. Versions of the AK that you'll hear about a lot include the AKM (improved version) and the AK-74 (newer model that fires 5.45x39mm). If it starts with AKS it has a folding stock, and if it ends with U it has a short barrel.
In direct competition to the AK, we have America's favorite: the M16.
M16A4
Probably more than 10 million M16's have been made, plus a whole lot of civilian versions.
The M16 was designed by Eugene Stoner. It was developed from the Armalite Company's AR-15 in 1957 and sold to Colt before being adopted by the US military. There have been many versions. Most of them fire 5.56x45mm ammunition. (Most NATO countries also use this caliber.) Reliability with the new guns in the jungles of Vietnam was not good. These days, it's pretty reliable but not as good at the AK-47. The M16 is more accurate, however. Most versions of the M16 are 1-2 pounds lighter than the AK.
Speaking of versions of the M16:
M16: Original. Fully automatic. Jammed a lot.
M16A1: Adopted in 1967. Added a forward assist and a few things to improve reliabilty, and a few safety features.
M16A2: 1982. Replaced full auto with three round burst. Added a thicker barrel, better sights, cylindrical ribbed handguards, and lots of small stuff.
M16A3: Just like the A2 but full auto. Used by the Navy.
M16A4: Adopted early 2000's. Like the A2 but with Picatinny rails to attach stuff.
M4: Adopted in 1994. It's kind of like the M16, but has an adjustable length buttstock and a barrel that is six inches shorter.
Size comparison M4 vs. M16 Both are shown with attached grenade launchers. Sometimes shorter rifles like the M4 are called "carbines."
Size comparison M16A2 vs. AK-47
World distribution AK vs. M16
There are, of course, lots of other rifles out there. These two are by far the most common.
So that covers the basic assault rifles. Rifles often have attachments like optics or grenade launchers, but the topic of tactical accessories is more advanced than this lesson was aiming for. On to other things you might find soldiers carrying.
Battle rifles are becoming a thing of the past. These were typically chambered in heavier calibers, like 7.62x51mm. Examples include the American M14, German G3, and Belgian FAL. Of these, the FAL was most popular. These were replaced in the '60s-'80s timeframe with assault rifles. A few still live on in the designated marksman role. Somewhere between sniper rifles and assault rifles is the designated marksman rifle. The DMR is used for long-reaching shots or cover fire and is more flexible than a sniper rifle.
Pistols take some explaining. The classic Soviet handgun is the Makarov. It fires an odd 9x18mm cartridge. Modern Russia uses the 9x19mm MP-443 Grach. The classic American pistol is of course the .45ACP M1911. Today we use the Beretta M9. In the mid 1900's around the world, especially the Commonwealth countries, a very common sidearm was the Browning Hi-Power. Recently, Glocks and SIG Sauers are becoming more popular.
Submachine guns are weapons smaller than rifles but larger than pistols. They fire pistol ammunition. The Israeli Uzi is the most common, with 10 million made, followed by the German Heckler & Koch MP5.
Sniper rifles are a whole other blog. They are often bolt action, but many are shifting towards semiauto. They are generally much more precise than regular rifles. This makes them more delicate and generally not as easy to carry around.
Light machine guns generally fire the same ammuntion as the rifles, but can sustain firing for a much longer period of time. They're usually about twice the weight of a rifle. Examples include the M249 (known worldwide as the Minimi) and RPK (modified AK).
Uh, Minimi?
You don't often see shotguns on the battlefield, especially not on the front lines, but they're very popular among civilians.
For more gun goodness, check out my other blogs, Guns, part 1 and Guns, part 2
hmmm you learn something new everyday. (I didn't know what rpg stood for) I was too lazy
Don't mean to cramp your style, but thats an M16 A1.
At least, that's when comparing to the A designations of the C7... I honestly have no idea if America has had a different progression system as us, but whatever.
Things that set it as an A1, rather than an A3/4:
Solid stock, the C7A3 replaced the solid stock with the collapsable one shown on the M4 (C8).
No left hand fire selector. If you look at the picture, the fire selector doesn't have a toggle thingy, on the side shown, meaning it can only be used effectively by a right handed shooter. C7A2 Fixed this problem by making the weapon left hand friendly (left handed mag release (peice of shit), and left hand fire toggle.)
I'm not 100% sure if you can remove the carrying handle on the weapon in the picture, but I do see a rail mount there... C7A2 and A3 no longer even have those, as we replaced it with the Elcan C79 optical sight.
Also no Tri-Rail mount... Don't know if america uses those or not, though.
Fun fact: The C7A3 with a fully extended butt stock, is exactly one meter.
Once again, I am comparing this to the
exact same weapon systemC7 used by Canada. If I am some how wrong, I will be amazed, confused, then annoyed. But don't let that stop you from calling me an idiot.1659900 The C7 and M16 have completely different A mods.
M16A4 is typically seen with foregrip rails. I don't know if those come from the factory or are added later.
1659903 Of course they do...
I'm gonna go get some sleep, cause it's 0300, and let you get some proper work done without me falsely criticizing it...
If you ever want to know anything about machine guns and rockets, I can help you out though. Shouldn't be too much of a difference between a C9 and an M249... But really, it would probably save you a lot of research.
Aww, I was hoping you would go into some older rifles! Especially the bolt-action and lever-action rifles. I wanted to show off my new Mosin 91/30!
New for me, anyways~
1659927 Ha, yeah. I used to have one built in 1937.
1659931
Sweet~
Mine is a 1932 Tula model with a hex receiver. For 140 bucks, it was a major steal. I did the (apparently) tabboo thing of refinishing the stock, though. You can still see all the markings, but now it's a beautiful jacobean finish sealed in shellac. Gonna take it to the range once I can afford ammo. Also gonna try and talk my dad into buying a couple spam cans.
1659937 Yeah, the sealed ammo. Practically a requirement for Mosin ownership.
Well, technically the G3 is a battle rifle, but many nations treat it as an assault rifle in their arsenal. Countries that use it in that way are often countries like Iran, and even still limited use in Germany.
BTW, what are your thoughts on the AK-74? I heard mixed feelings on it, when I looked up AKs a few months back. Something about the ammo it's chambered in not being favorable.
And what exactly qualifies a gun as being an "assault weapon"?
1659947 "Assault weapon" is mostly terminology. According to the assault weapons ban, it was cosmetic features - how the gun looked, not how it worked.
Assault rifles are generally any select-fire weapon with a barrel at least 16" long.
1659947 The AK-74 was made for the same reason the M16 was made:
smaller bullets mean that you can carry more of them
Fun fact, RPG meaning rocket propelled grenade is a backronym; makes sense, when you remember that they were first developed by the Soviets and of course wouldn't stand for English words.
Regarding sniper rifles, I'm under the impression (though I don't know how accurate this is, really) that some of these things are moving away from what you'd call a small arms weapon, with the fact that they require a small crew to use to full potential.
Shotguns really shine in police work; the whole thing about being able to load so many different types of ammo for different situations is something pretty unique.
I wouldn't take your distribution map at face value I'm afraid. The UK military forces don't use the M16 or any of its family, neither does the police. I'm also pretty sure you could never legally buy one as a civilian, gun control is very tight in the UK.
Otherwise informative and interesting as always. RPGs count as small arms? Who would have thought.
How can you talk about the AK-47 and firearm distribution numbers without Lord of War clips?
On the AK-47
On the numbers (skip after the music starts unless you want to get political)
1659950
And accuracy, I guess.
I still can't shoot straight with a M16 (locally made M16A1 designated M16S1) though but I do fare much better with the SAR-21. I don't do well with iron sights (I barely passed my M16 qualifications).
And death is a preferable alternative to Communism.
1659950
Also, apparently, to avoid killing people.
As nice as that sounds, it's not a mercy thing. 7.62 rounds are generally gonna kill you, but 5.56 has a larger chance of wounding you. You'll still be totally out of the fight, but a corpse is a lot easier to deal with than a wounded guy. Now you've become a much bigger problem to your side. You'll need cover, extraction, and medical care. You'll take up time, space, and resources.
Somehow, war manages to even make not killing people just as brutal.
1660040 Sniper teams usually have at least two people. They help the guy who pulls the trigger to spot and scout.
1660056 Not the whole UK military, no. Some special units like SAS.
1660159 An early version of this blog included the quote at the beginning of the movie. "The Soviets put the gun on a coin. Mozambique put it on their flag..."
As for numbers, he may have meant civilian hands. That comes closer. And anyway, it's an older movie. We've made a few million more since 2005.
1660468 You mean magazine
My favorite pistol is ye olde Luger, simply for its cool looking action.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Persian_Lange_Pistole_08_1699a.jpg/800px-Persian_Lange_Pistole_08_1699a.jpg
The only question is, where will you keep it?
1660531
Or you could say 'Mag'. That's what I say when I play BF4.
1660560
Erm... glad to be of service?
What are your thoughts on all the guns in the AK Family (besides the variants)?
AK-47
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/AK-47_type_II_Part_DM-ST-89-01131.jpg
AK-74
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Ak74l.jpg
AK-12
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/AK-12_Engineering_technologies_international_forum_-_2012_01.jpg
AK-101
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Ak-101.jpg
AK-102
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Ak102.JPG
AK-103
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/AK-103_Assault_Rifle.JPG
AK-104
world.guns.ru/userfiles/images/assault/as06/ak104.jpg
AK-105
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/AK-105_Avtomat_Kalashnikova.jpg
AK-107
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/AK-107_with_grenade_launcher.jpg
AKM
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/AKM_automatkarbin%2C_Ryssland_-_7%2C62x39mm_-_Arm%C3%A9museum.jpg
RPK
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Machine_Gun_RPK.jpg
AEK-971 (Okay, this one ain't actually part of the family but it's based on previous AKs and one of my favourite assault rifles in BF4.)
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/AEK-97110-copy.jpg
1660600 As I said in the blog, the AKM and RPK are variants of the standard -47. As for the rest, it's easy to tell what caliber they are based on by looking at the magazine. The 5.45 rifles tend to have straighter, smoother mags.
Three things.
First:
Second, What is the difference between a light machine gun and a heavy machine gun?
Would an M249 SAW count as a small arm?
I didn't see any mention of them, so I guess I'll ask:
Is there any difference between the AR family (specifically the AR15) and the M16?
These informational blogs are always quite interesting to read (at least, for someone like me who is interested in this stuff. Someone like my mother, for example, would not be very interested but that's beside the point.) I really like the fact that you not only cited your source (somewhat) but you cited your source's source because it was Wikipedia.
1661098 LMG is typically something one person carries around and uses the same ammo as rifles. In US service, it's the M249 chambered in 5.56. A medium machine gun uses larger caliber, like 7.62 - the M240 or M60. A heavy machine gun is .50 and requires someone to help carry the ammo, etc.
And yes, because the M249 is carried by one guy it's technically a small arm.
1661252 "AR-15" is Armalite's original designation for the rifle. Over the years it became an overarching term for the entire family. The M16 is the military's select-fire version of the AR-15.
No one is going to believe me when I say that MLP:FIM indirectly turned me into a weapons/military expert.
1662632
The AA-12 is a fearsome weapon. I don't know why it is not more popular on the front lines.
1674252 Shotgun shells are heavy and don't have the same range and accuracy as a rifle
I feel guilty about my love of the M16. I used the M16A1 when I was in ROTC, and it jammed all the time, even if you cleaned it every day, even if you didn't drag it through the mud. And it probably costs 5-10 times as much to make as an AK. The serial numbers on them were 1 or 2 million, so they were pretty old, but still... I know the AK47 is more reliable, but... just look at it. It looks like something stamped out of tin in a 1940s toy factory and then left in a warehouse to tarnish for thirty years. And knocking down targets at 400 meters with the M16 is pretty satisfying.
One thing people never mention is the waterproof cargo space in the M16's butt. It's supposed to be mostly empty, so the rifle will float, but, damn is it useful to have a place to store keys and not lose them, and matches and paper where they won't get wet.
I point to these rifles whenever someone says that technology is advancing rapidly nowadays. Small arms technology is arguably the most important technology in the world, and it hasn't changed in 50 years. Heck, we haven't even got plastic magazines or casingless ammunition yet. The best new thing in small arms is starlight scopes, and I think those are from the 1970s.
1698699 Building my own AR-15 was one of the more enjoyable things I've ever done. I think what is most impressive about small arms technology is that now almost literally anyone can assemble them.
And then my all time favorite sniper rifle.
saturnsoft.hu/portfolio/HighPoly/Gepard_M_1.jpg
Also coming in 14.5mm flavor, it has a lower MOA than the Barret platform loved BY CoDfags.