Weapons

Top 10 Most American Guns of All Time

Let’s look at what firearms we’ve come up with as a nation.

Image source: Wide Open Spaces

Ever since the Second Amendment was ratified on December 15, 1791, firearms and weaponry have helped forge our nation’s culture and identity. And while the Amendment needs some change, there is no doubt that the Amendment must stay. As such, let's have a look at what can only be described as the most American firearms to ever exist. This list isn't organized by when these guns were invented, but by how American they are, according to different sources.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to cause gun violence. It is only intended to teach the history of the weapons that have, in one way or another, defended, defined, or created our nation.

Kentucky Long Rifle

Kicking off this list is a firearm that helped us win independence from the tyrannical King George III. During the American War of Independence, this rifle gave the Americans an advantage of a rifled bore and a longer barrel to improve range beyond 200 yards. Though it is true to say that the American rebels were more accustomed to the (ironically) British Brown Bess musket, which was far more common than the Kentucky Long Rifle. The Kentucky Long Rifle's origins date back to the Seven Years' War, where it was likely a modified German Jäger rifle that was made by Swiss and German settlers in the region. Many colonists of the time used smoothbore muskets, but this rifle proved to be a force to be reckoned with. And it wasn't just used in combat. Frontier life saw this rifle being used for hunting, too.

Springfield 1903

While it served the US Army in World War I, it was used as a sniper rifle into the 1970s. Officially in service from 1903 to 1936, this rifle was designed in response to the Spanish M1893 Mauser in the Spanish-American War. Taking parts from other rifles, like the cocking piece from the Norwegian-designed Springfield 1892-99 Krag-Jørgensen (which the 1903 replaced) and the Mauser G98, the Springfield 1903 was born. Originally chambered in the short-lived .30-03, it would later be chambered in the legendary .30-06 Springfield. Even today, it's used in parades in Washington, DC and thereabout. It also still serves as the standard drill rifle for many drill teams across the US.

Winchester 1873

If you’re into the Wild West and the like, you’ve definitely come across this firearm (or other lever-action rifles like it) at least once. Designer Oliver Winchester took control of several rifle designs when Volcanic Repeating Arms went bankrupt. Two such designs were the Volition and Volcanic rifles, which the lever-action rifle is, essentially, an improved version of. Nevertheless, the Winchester 1873 wasn't the first Winchester lever-action rifle (that title belongs to the 1866), the 1873, arguably, wins the contest of rifles that defined the Old West.

Gatling Gun

Richard Gatling was a firearms designer who noticed a problem during the American Civil War: many soldiers lost their lives to diseases as opposed to bullet wounds. In response, he designed a gun that worked like none other had done before. This weapon featured six rotating barrels, powered by a manual cranking lever, and a magazine that used gravity to feed bullets into the chambers. It served the Union Army well during the American Civil War, but it wasn't until 1866 that the US government began purchasing Gatling guns. The gun would make its presence known in many more conflicts and was exported to other countries like Great Britain, who used the gun to great effect in the Anglo-Zulu War. But it couldn't last. The gun was declared obsolete in 1911 and was phased out of service.

M2 Browning

If any gun could be described as the most ahead of its time, it’s likely this one. You may not believe that a gun which began service in the early 1930s will still see service today, but thanks to the M2 Browning’s large cartridge of .50 BMG (Browning Machine Gun), reliability, and ease to adapt, it will likely see service well into the 2030s, when it will turn 100 years old. Nicknamed "Ma Deuce," this gun was designed at the end of 1918 and didn't see production until 1933, after John Moses Browning passed away. But that doesn't mean the design died with him. This gun has been used in every US-involved war starting with World War II. Its versatility is, arguably, the key to its long service life, whether it was used as an anti-aircraft gun or a secondary weapon on service vehicles.

ArmaLite AR-15

Don't debate in the comments whether or not this one belongs in civilian hands. Anyway, on the Fourth of July 1960, General Curtiss LeMay was at a picnic, where he was invited to shoot watermelons with a new rifle designed and made by Colt a year earlier. The design itself was very different from previous American rifles, aside from the previously designed AR-10. ArmaLite. Using plastic, aluminum, and a smaller caliber seemed to go against expectations, considering it would take the M14's place as the American standard issue arm. Designer Eugene Stoner not only designed a lighter rifle, but also made it more accurate, because the AR-15's barrel was, basically, more free-floating. In addition, the chambering of 5.56x45mm allowed more rounds in each magazine, as well as more ammunition on one person. Also, contrary to popular belief, the "AR" in the name doesn't stand for "automatic rifle" or "assault rifle." It actually stands for "ArmaLite Rifle."

Browning M1918 BAR

Designed near the end of the First World War and made famous during its service life in the Second World War, the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) was patented by John Moses Browning in 1917 and adopted in May of 1918 after a demonstration in Washinton, DC earlier that year. The first regiments to use this weapon, like the 79th Infantry Division, received it in France in July of 1918. After World War I, the M1918A2 was adopted in 1940. The M1918A2 differed from the original M1918 in the sense that the A2 had two modes of fully automatic fire, one being 300-450 rounds per minute and the other being 500-650 rounds per minute. The A2 also had a bipod and butt plate, two things the original didn't have. The original was also used in the Interwar Period, too. The notorious crime pair Bonnie & Clyde used stolen BARs during their robberies in the 1930s, as did the lawmen who ended the pair's crime spree on May 23, 1934.

Thompson Submachine Gun

A staple with gangsters of the 1930s and soldiers of World War II alike (just like the M1918), this submachine gun could take 50-100 round drum or 20-30 round stick magazines (barring the M1A1, which was stick magazine-only). This weapon, nicknamed the Tommy Gun and the Chicago Typewriter (due to its sound and the fact that it was used in prohibition-era Chicago), was originally developed for close quarters combat in the trenches of World War I, but since the war ended before the gun could be issued, the submachine gun was left without a purpose, or so it was assumed. The British and American armies began using the Thompson in 1928 and would continue to use them until the end of World War II.

M1 Garand

Adopted by the US military on January 9, 1936, as the U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, the weapon that was the right arm of the American GI during the Second World War is none other than the unmistakable M1 Garand (pronounced "Guh-rand"). Dubbed "the greatest implement ever devised" by General George S. Patton, the M1 Garand was, arguably, one of the most effective rifles of World War II. Most other armies of the time, like Great Britain, Germany, and the Soviet Union, had been issued bolt-action rifles with only 5 to 10-round magazines. The M1 Garand was semi-automatic and carried 8-round clips. Nonetheless, this rifle is one main reason we should be thankful to not live in a world run by the Nazis.

Honorable mention: M1 Carbine

This one didn't serve on the front lines in World War II (that was the M1 Garand's job), but that doesn't mean this rifle didn't deserve a spot on this list. There are lots of intermediate, smaller-caliber carbines today, but during World War II, that wasn't the case. The .30 Carbine cartridge that the M1 Carbine was chambered in was like a predecessor of intermediate cartridges before the 7.92x33mm Kurz was introduced. The M1 Carbine (and eventual select-fire M2 Carbine) came with 15 or 30-round detachable box magazines and served as the American small arm for years. The M1 Carbine didn't earn the respect that the M1 Garand did, but the M1 Carbine is equally historically important and likely the more advanced design when it was introduced.

Colt 1911

Image source: Sportsman's Outdoor Superstore

And the number one most American firearm ever? Arguably, this one. Designed by John Moses Browning, still holds up after over a century, and fires a powerful cartridge? Sounds pretty American to many. The .45 ACP cartridge that the 1911 is famous for using is a staple in many Americans' arsenals, whether for self-defense, competition, to Special Force units. During the Philippine-American War, the standard issue M1892 revolver's cartridge of .38 Long Colt couldn't cut it anymore. At this time, when revolvers were becoming obsolete in warfare, the 1911 was the go-to solution. Having served in the US Armed Forces since 1911, it is still used as the preferred sidearm of many American tier one units around the world today.