Posted : April 2014
Author : Fozia Malik
The use of firearms has become controversial as of late. One
common type of firearm is the handgun. It is a type of firearm with a short
stock and designed to be fired by one hand. The earliest use of the term was in
1388 when it was referred to as handgunnes. It also appeared in Archaeologia
XXII in 1448. Lovers of firearms are fascinated with it because of the thought
of having power in a single hand. It can be used both as a fighting arm and as
a sport instrument.
Over 8 million
Originally developed by Armalite in 1956 as the AR-10 with
the new revolutionary selective fire (semi-automatic and automatic firing
modes) they failed to impress the US military enough to become the
standard infantry full-auto rifle. However Armalite decided to produce 100
prototype models for arms dealer Samuel Cummings to display to foreign forces
to secure international sales. Cummings almost sold 7500 AR-10s to Nicaragua but when Nicaragua’s chief military
commander, General Anastasia Somoza, personally conducted an endurance trial
the bolt sheared off and skimmed passed his head. The entire order was canceled
after this and Armalite was in dire straits. In order to keep the company on its feet Armalite’s chief
engineer Eugene Stoner turned his attention to fully automatic weapons and the
AR-15 was born. The rights to it were immediately sold to Colt who were
successful in making the US
military adopt it as the M16 rifle. This was the iconic rifle of the US forces in Vietnam and has evolved into the M4
carbine of today.
4 - RPG-7
9,000,000+
Ruchnoy Protivotankovyy Granatomyot is the most widely used
anti-tank weapon in the world. Believed by many to have the title
“Rocket-Propelled Grenade,” although descriptive, this is a backronym formed by
the acronym for the official Russian title. Over 9,000,000 licensed RPG-7s have
been made under the designs originating from the Soviet
Union shortly after WW2. Still being produced today this iconic weapon
is often seen next to its Soviet comrades the PKM and AK-47 as the low cost
choice for effective warfare. Even the USA
is now using it to train the Afghan National Police due to their abundance in
the hills of Afghanistan.
3 - UZI
10,000,000+
A gun that was given its most iconic look in the hands of
Tony Montana shooting up gangsters in pastel suits along the shores of Miami. One of Israel’s most
famous exports, the UZI was first manufactured in 1951 and the more recognized
variations – Mini, Micro – were developed in 1982 and ’83. They found favor
with more than 90 countries’ armed forces and even more in special operations
and security units. The main rival to the MP5, the UZI has managed to fill the
holes in the market the MP5 leaves, concealable, lightweight with a high rate
of fire. Because of this they have produced over ten million worldwide.
2 - Remington Model
10,000,000+
The only shotgun on this list and outstrips all other
shotguns in terms of popularity. At least 10 million of these 1951 pump-action
models have been officially rolled out the gates of Remington-licensed
factories due to their ability to fire up to a 28 gauge cartridge and cheapness
to produce. They are equally popular with civilians and the military and so are
present in probably every single US government department requiring
firearms. They are represented in half of the nations comprising the G20
(although China’s
usage is unlicensed) and has appeared in almost 80 films. What is interesting
is how prolific this gun is without being present in any major conflicts that
haven’t had some sort of sanction from the UN (e.g. no rebellions and
militias).
1 - AK-47
100 million
Another product of Mikhail Kalashnikov, Avtomat Kalashnikova
model of 1947 is the most famous weapon on this list, if not of all time.
Designed by Kalashnikov after he witnessed through his own eyes the power of
the German submachine guns and assault rifles such as the MP40 and STG44 and
how woefully unequipped the Red Army was to match them. Thus the Soviets
launched a competition to design the assault rifle for the military of the USSR.
~Blog Admin~
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