What's the next big thing for firearms?
- Thread starter FrosSsT
- Start date
Interesting question.
That's all I got.
C
- An increase in laser range finding capability and magnification for rifle scopes so equipped.
- A substantial reduction in price for laser range finding rifle scopes.
- Small, low profile, ultra-durable holo sights replacing iron sights on production semi-auto handguns.
- Rifles with gyroscopic stability systems... which include recoil stability.
- Sub $500 rifles capable of 1/2 MOA.
- A move from brass, steel and aluminum to a non-metallic cartridge case.
- Imbedded chip identification of firearms.
That's all I got.
C
What I see that is already happening is an increase appreciation for suppressors. Every year we see better designs and new innovations. Even with the current 6 month wait for a form 4 the suppressor industry is booming. We also see more and more manufacturers factory threading their guns with suppressor grade threading. Actually there is a larger interest in NFA all around than even five years ago.
Most defiantly.
Yup.
Not exactly sure how this would be accomplished without adding measurable bulk vs iron sights.
The power and weight penalty is going to be significant and you probably won't see it outside bench competitions.
Probably.
Been tried many times, it either doesn't work or isn't cost effective. Unless some sort of Wonderfulonium gets invented, steel and brass are what is going to be used. Any other materials simply have deficiencies that make them non-starters and steel cases are so stupid cheap that it would be little more than a niche market anyway.
No point and serious liability. Chips are less durable than a stamped serial number and easier to permanently destroy. Liability wise, if you're thinking RFID chips, what better way to find out who is carrying concealed than by just sitting in a van with a directional RFID reader, which are becoming cheaper by the day.
Glenn E. Meyer
New member
Guided projectiles for the larger caliber rounds. Already in development for 50 BMG. Have laser dot on the target and the round goes to it.
I'm thinking that the same (or similar) technology that would make caseless ammo feasible would also make non-metallic cases feasible. I'm betting it would be lighter too.
That could be a technology response to one of the arguments for the military carrying a smaller cartridge.
That could be a technology response to one of the arguments for the military carrying a smaller cartridge.
jason41987
New member
look up an electrolaser.. you take a relatively low powered laser, focused through a lense that radiates the air so heavily it opens a plasma channel from point A to point B which is infinately conductive... along this plasma channel you can pump electricity through the laser beam... have zero deflection from wind, no drop, few miles range, with the ability to knock out cold, or kill (for military use)
Prop planes to Jet planes...
I always use the analogy of Airplanes to question what will be next.
Airplanes started off as gas engine, propeller driven machines. The technology was leap frogged by the jet engine planes (in the 1940s)
So what will leap frog " modern guns" ???
Guns are a mature technology, the only real change since WW2 was the introduction of plastics.
Your best bet for guessing is to look to science fiction novels/movies - Honest!!
My guess would be a laser gun with a portable energy source.
Range ??? Have to be better than 1000 YDS
Seeing how guns have not changed in 60 years, I"m sure that the
change is coming soon. <20 years
JD
I always use the analogy of Airplanes to question what will be next.
Airplanes started off as gas engine, propeller driven machines. The technology was leap frogged by the jet engine planes (in the 1940s)
So what will leap frog " modern guns" ???
Guns are a mature technology, the only real change since WW2 was the introduction of plastics.
Your best bet for guessing is to look to science fiction novels/movies - Honest!!
My guess would be a laser gun with a portable energy source.
Range ??? Have to be better than 1000 YDS
Seeing how guns have not changed in 60 years, I"m sure that the
change is coming soon. <20 years
JD
I also feel that the next big jump in firearms technology will be with the ammunition and not the firearms themselves. The metallic cartridge has been in use for over 150 years now and is the main limiting factor in modern weapons design. I believe the military is already spending money on research and development to replaced brass cased ammunition with either polymer cased ammunition or a switch to firearms that used caseless ammunition. Either case would result in a weight savings for your typical soldier, which is likely to be offset by carrying more of the new lighter ammo.
I believe that lasers and rail guns are still a good ways off, and won't become common place until some major advancements are made in power generation and storage. The military has working prototypes of rail guns, but their major drawback is the massive amounts of electricity they require to operate. The results of the tests are extremely promising though, since the guns can fire projectiles faster and farther than any current gun in the Navy's arsenal. We very well could see a return to vessels that resemble and fight like battleships.
I believe that lasers and rail guns are still a good ways off, and won't become common place until some major advancements are made in power generation and storage. The military has working prototypes of rail guns, but their major drawback is the massive amounts of electricity they require to operate. The results of the tests are extremely promising though, since the guns can fire projectiles faster and farther than any current gun in the Navy's arsenal. We very well could see a return to vessels that resemble and fight like battleships.
freebird72
New member
I hate to tell you people this, but the governments already have laser guns, plasma guns, bullets that go where you want and can make sharp turns on a dime(much like a remote controlled car), lightsaber type weapons, and much much more. 
Now, how will the civilian market change? I would assume a big increase in laser type technology. Lighter, but stronger materials. Guns that only shoot when the "real" owner has control if it in hand. ID tagged guns.
I see a big increase in ways of keeping guns away form the normal civilian. I also see a increase in ways of keeping track of people who have guns. Make no mistake, they are coming for our guns; from the little .22, to the 50BMG.
Be prepared my friends, hard and strange times are coming for us.
Now, how will the civilian market change? I would assume a big increase in laser type technology. Lighter, but stronger materials. Guns that only shoot when the "real" owner has control if it in hand. ID tagged guns.
I see a big increase in ways of keeping guns away form the normal civilian. I also see a increase in ways of keeping track of people who have guns. Make no mistake, they are coming for our guns; from the little .22, to the 50BMG.
Be prepared my friends, hard and strange times are coming for us.
We probably don't know what hard times are.
What was the last big thing for firearms? Not so easy to say. But chances are, it won't be revolutionary. It will be evolutionary. You probably won't even realize it.
Here's one example. Optics.
There's nothing revolutionary about optical sights. They've been around since before my grandfather was born, which was 1876, I think. But look at photos of soldiers. American, British, Australian. They all have rifles these days with optical sights. That is, the infantry does. That would have been considered something else when I was going through basic. And judging from on-line catalogs of hunting rifles, hunters are expected to use them, too. It isn't revolutionary but it isn't L.L. Bean going to the woods with his .25 Remington autoloader anymore.
I also don't see non-metallic cartridges going away very soon either. In fact, one could say that maybe metallic cartridges may have been the last big thing in small arms, just before smokeless powder, high velocity cartridges, and automatic principles, to mention just a few. I doubt metal prices even enter into the picture and anyway, steel cases have been successfully used for a long time. However, tank ammunition is mostly combustable, so possibilities abound.
What was the last big thing for firearms? Not so easy to say. But chances are, it won't be revolutionary. It will be evolutionary. You probably won't even realize it.
Here's one example. Optics.
There's nothing revolutionary about optical sights. They've been around since before my grandfather was born, which was 1876, I think. But look at photos of soldiers. American, British, Australian. They all have rifles these days with optical sights. That is, the infantry does. That would have been considered something else when I was going through basic. And judging from on-line catalogs of hunting rifles, hunters are expected to use them, too. It isn't revolutionary but it isn't L.L. Bean going to the woods with his .25 Remington autoloader anymore.
I also don't see non-metallic cartridges going away very soon either. In fact, one could say that maybe metallic cartridges may have been the last big thing in small arms, just before smokeless powder, high velocity cartridges, and automatic principles, to mention just a few. I doubt metal prices even enter into the picture and anyway, steel cases have been successfully used for a long time. However, tank ammunition is mostly combustable, so possibilities abound.