There are literally millions of facts floating around about firearms, from reload times to rates of fire, from muzzle velocities to types of ammunition. Anyone can find these, just look up a wiki. This Top 5 feature, however, looks behind the traditional ‘interesting’ gun facts (and by ‘firearms’ we mean handguns, rifles and machine guns, not artillery pieces) to give you a list of 5 facts that you don’t already know about guns!). We’ve dusted off dad’s old military history magazines and searched countless pages of weaponry fan-boy webzines for your leisure and now we’re cocked, locked and ready to rock.
1. The Oldest Firearms
The world’s oldest firearms were designed and built in China in the mid 12th century AD. In the early 1970s in Pan-la-ch’eng-tzu village, Manchuria, an important find included a barreled powder-operated projectile weapon dating to circa 1290AD. As a result of the fact that the weapons of ancient and mediaeval China were usually designed to strike fear into the hearts of the enemy, the functionality of these old weapons has been questioned. Some scholars simply feel that the idea of the working weapon was enough to deter an enemy assault.
2. The Most Popular Weapons
The two most popular weapons in use today are the American-made M16 and the Russian-made AK-47 assault rifles. Both weapons offer variable firing modes, blistering rates of fire, moderate-high power, reliability, medium-long range and high levels of accuracy.
3. Accurate Firearms
The longest hit on record was recently confirmed in Afghanistan.An American marksman who was using the unmistakeable Barett .50 Cal Sniper Rifle shot and killed an enemy from an astonishing distance of over two miles away. The sniper is said to have missed with his first shot, corrected and fired again, killing his target before the sound of either shot alerted the insurgent to the presence of an enemy sniper.
4. Heckler and Koch- Revolutionizing the SMG
This important small arms manufacturer revolutionized the design of the contemporary submachine gun with the MP5 when it was based in West Germany in the 1960s. It’s no surprise, Since the weapon is so user-friendly, that it is the standard weapon of choice for close-quarters spec ops teams all over the world including the SAS and many state SWAT teams.
5. The Sniper - Always a Specialist Soldier
From the earliest use of the word ‘sniper’, the term has denoted someone with a knack for a particular skill. That skill is marksmanship overlong distances, most likely from a hidden position. The expression began among Imperial British soldiers in Commonwealth India in the late 18th century. You had to shoot down a snipe, a tiny and very quick type of bird before you were considered a sniper. As a result of the skill involved in being a sniper meant (and still means) that he acts as a single unit, selecting and taking out foes at will. This makes him the most valued asset among your allies and perhaps the most feared and loathed member of the opposing force.
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