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Types of Firearm
READ THIS
This is an overview of various types of common firearm.
For information about ammunition, go here.
READ THIS
This is an overview of various types of common firearm.
For information about ammunition, go here.
Handguns
Smaller than a rifle, lighter than a rifle, and sometimes easier to use than a rifle, handguns may at first appear to be the quintessential zombie protection device. However, several things need to be considered when choosing a handgun, including but not limited to the standard ammunition weight and availability, ease of use and familiarity, and what it will be used for.
When it comes to handgun ammunition weight, obviously the smaller the round the less it will weigh. However, it is important to consider that while a handgun cartridge is overall shorter than a rifle cartridge, they are often denser, meaning that while fifty rounds of nine by nineteen millimeter may take up the same amount of space as twenty rounds of .223 Remington, they are going to weight almost fifty percent more.
Availability of ammunition is much the same as with hunting rounds for rifles - there are going to be more of the common calibers. However, buyer beware, in the epic commercial struggle to find the perfect handgun cartridge and sell it, a single "Caliber" may have multiple different rounds associated with it. For example, the ".38" caliber has no less than six different cartridges associated with it, which would not be interchangeable. It is also a good idea to note that .44 Special and .44 Magnum are not the same cartridge, and are full all intents and purposes of safety, interchangeable.
The common, and most easily attainable handgun cartridges are as follows:
.22LR
.32 ACP (not to be confused with .32 S&W)
.380 ACP (Or the 9mm Short, Browning, Kurz, Corto, or 9x17 - They're all the same)
9x19mm Parabellum (Also called '9mm Luger')
.38 Special / .357 Magnum
.40 S&W
.357 Sig
.44 Special / .44 Remington Magnum
.45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol)
Ease of use/familiarity comes, of course, from practicing with the weapon.
The ups and downs of each type of pistol will be gone into later. The use of the handgun, in the case of zombies, would be self-defense.
Now to review the different types of handguns!
Main types of Handguns:
Revolvers
Semi-automatic
Revolvers
Semi-automatic
Revolvers
Revolvers are the the oldest form of multiple shot handgun, exotic multiple-barreled short muskets aside. A handgun is easily identified as a revolver due to the cylinder, a rotating part that holds the cartridges and functions as the chamber. They are favored for being easier to use than automatic models, ideal for new shooters.A single-action revolver, which is your typical "cowboy gun" requires that the user cocks the hammer before every shot (Meaning they need to use their thumb to pull it back). This advances the cylinder one chamber and readies the hammer. Single action requires more discipline when shooting, and coupled with a very light trigger pull, single actions tend to be more accurate then their double action counterparts in usage
.Nearly all single action revolvers have a fixed cylinder. A fixed cylinder model does not expose the cylinder upon reloading, which is instead done via a loading gate on the frame. The user must eject and load each round individually with the ejector rod, making this the slowest of all revolver designs. Hypothetically, one could remove the entire cylinder and load rounds directly into it, and there have been examples of this in combat - such as the Remington black powder revolvers in the civil war. Another facet of an exchangeable cylinder is potentially changing calibers, the Ruger Blackhawk models in .357 Magnum having 9mm cylinders, for example.
Some single action revolvers may be top-break, where the revolver splits in half at the back of the cylinder and the hammer, staying attached only by a screw or joint. This exposes the back of the cylinder for reloading, simultaneously ejecting all of the empty casings. In practice, it is similar to a break-open shotgun. Compared to fixed-cylinder models, top break revolvers are much faster, though quite a bit less robust. The selection of top-breaks is quite limited, as well, due to the design being created a short time before the concept of Iver Johnson's double-action revolver.
A double-action revolver originally meant that the trigger was pulled once to c*ck the hammer and rotate the cylinder, then pulled a second time to fire. Modern double actions do both with a single trigger pull. However, if the firer can choose to manually c*ck the hammer for a lighter trigger pull, which helps for accurate shooting. Remember, single actions can only be used one way, double actions can be used both ways
.This is an excellent picture of a double action revolver, in case, a Ruger Super Alaskan, a popular hunting revolver. Note that it has a swing-out cylinder. This type of revolver is the most common today, and probably the most practical. They come in any number of sizes, from snub-noses with two-inch barrels, to medium sized duty or competition pieces, and even massive "handcannons" firing rounds big enough to kill bears.
The crane is the arm upon which the cylinder swings. The crane latch, also called the cylinder latch is activated to release the assembly. Depending on the make, it will be activated in different ways. Smith and Wesson revolvers are pushed forward, Colts are pulled to the rear, where a Ruger, like the picture above, is pushed inwards.
Swinging out the cylinder allows the chambers to be examined. Also visible is the extract face, which hooks onto the rims of the cartridges. The extractor rod protruding from the front of the cylinder is connected to the face. Much like the extractor rod of a single action revolver, the extractor is used to eject fired brass, which tends to expand and become lodged in the cylinder.Moon clips, speed loaders and speed strips are all accessories designed specifically for swing out revolvers, though some can be used in top-break revolvers as well. For more information on these, check out the accessories page.
Some double action revolvers come with a shrouded or shortened hammer. This prevents snagging on clothing, but often makes it difficult or impossible to use single action. It is often a good trade off, though, as their compact designs are intended to only ever be used at close range.
Revolvers are known for being reliable and powerful in popular culture. They are reliable and immune to the jams a pistol can suffer, but they aren't infallible. Fouling can cause cartridges to stick in the cylinder, undue wear can cause them to lose timing. They must be maintained and taken care of as much as anything else.
They do have a few downsides, mainly in regard to firepower: reloading takes longer than with a semi-automatic, even with speedloaders, and capacity is limited and non-expandable. However, they are deadly in the right hands, just like any other weapon, and they are not significantly inferior to an autoloader pistol. Their simplicity makes them perfect for novices or even as a backup gun, and they do not require magazines or magazine springs.
The following for revolvers is significant, and they retain a big fanbase in the defensive and competitive realm of shooting.
Annete Aysen, winning her third USPSA revolver championship in 2009.
Two things to notice here. One, guns don't discriminate gender. Two, revolvers can kick ass in the right hands.
Semi-Automatics
Semi-automatics are much more recent than revolvers, and are lauded for their ability to fire much faster, with much faster reload times. They are the stereotypical handgun of the media. A handgun is a semi-automatic when the energy from one shot is used to load the next cartridge - I.E. the recoil from the shot pushes the slide back, which ejects the empty casing and loads the new one upon sliding back forwards. To the left is a diagram of a 1911-pattern pistol, one of the most common designs.There are three basic parts of a pistol. The frame, which consists the bottom half of the gun and everything attached to it. It is considered the heart of the pistol itself. Riding on top of it is the slide, which moves back and forth on each shot. It also contains the barrel, the recoil spring assembly, and the firing pin assembly. The final component is the magazine, a box that contains the cartridges under spring pressure, to be fed into the gun.
The muzzle is simply the end of the barrel, which is simply a hollow cylinder with rifling in it to stabilize the bullet. The opposite end, which sits directly in front of the magazine, is the chamber. The sights are used to line up the shot, and they may be anything from a simple bump molded into the slide, or a separate piece with a radioactive capsule so it can be seen at night. The magazine release is depressed to remove the magazine, which resides in the magazine well, generally in the frame. Some pistols have removable panels on their frame, called grips, or stocks. The front and rear parts of the grip are called the frontstrap and backstrap, respectively.
Depending on the gun, the pistol may or may not have a safety of some sort, which locks the trigger and firing mechanism. Some, like the above 1911, can only be applied when the hammer is cocked. Others have what is called a decocker, which safely lowers the hammer without having to pull the trigger. Some also come with a grip safety, a portion of the frame that must be squeezed to fire. The above 1911 has one directly beneath it's hammer.
Firing
The trigger is squeezed, allowing the cocked* hammer to fall upon the firing pin, which flies forward and slams into the primer in the base of the cartridge. The primer detonates, igniting the main powder charge, and the expanding gases take the easiest way out, by pushing the bullet out of the case and down the barrel.
The operating system keeps the pistol locked until the bullet has left the gun and the pressure drops. At this point, the firing force starts to push the slide back. An ejection port cut into the side of the slide exposes the chamber, where extractor grabs the rim of the case, flinging it out of the pistol. The slide completely reaches the end of it's travel, cocking the hammer for the next shot.The recoil spring, compressed by the recoiling slide, now pushes it forward, stripping a fresh cartridge from the magazine and feeding it into the chamber. The slide returns to fully battery (a term used for the gun cycling) and is ready to fire once more.
When the gun is emptied, the magazine follower, which pushes the cartridges into place, will now press on the slide release, which in turn locks into a notch in the slide. To release the slide, the empty magazine is removed, and possibly replaced with a fresh one, then the slide release depressed. On most designs, the shooter can simply rack the slide to release the catch. In fact, many pocket pistols lack visible slide releases altogether.
In the same way, some designs also a lack an external hammer. These are called striker-fired pistols.
An important part of this cycle is how the gun keeps the chamber closed until the bullet leaves the barrel.
Weaker calibers can use a blowback mechanism. Basically, the only thing keeping the gun closed is a very tough recoil spring. The advantage of a blowback mechanism is that it allows a weapon to be smaller and simpler, therefore handier and reliable. However, if the shooter fires with a limp wrist, the gun can jam, which might keep a blowback from being a good beginner's pistol. This doesn't mean that a blowback is the only type of pistol that can be limp wristed - indeed, it's possible with any semi automatic, only that they are more susceptible to it.
Any caliber equal or greater in power then a 9mm Parabellum will require a locking breech to hold the action closed when the round is fired, but still cycle afterward. Some utilize complex delayed blowback mechanisms working off of the friction of the bullet, like the FN Five-seveN, others use gas systems similar to those used in full size rifles, like the infamous Desert Eagle.
More often then not however, you'll find that they use a dropping barrel or tilting-barrel system developed by John Moses Browning near a century ago, which utilizes lugs cut into the slide and barrel. Some of the newer designs do away with this altogether and use the actual chamber of the barrel to lock into the ejection port.
On top of this variation in operating system, there are many trigger types.
Single action (SA) means, the weapon will not fire unless the hammer is cocked, subsequent shots recocking the hammer by the slide recoiling. Most single action pistols are carried "locked and cocked" - chamber loaded, hammer ba
ck and safety on. Almost all long arms, such as rifles or shotguns, are single action. This trigger type tends to be somewhat hard to master, and is hypothetically the least safe.Double action (DA), is where the pistol can be carried hammer down, and the trigger both cocks and drops the hammer. Subsequent shots are single action, the slide cocking the hammer again. Most double action pistols have a decocker to take advantage of this feature. On some models, the decocker stays down and functions as a safety, where other models, it will spring back into position.
Double action only (DAO), is where the pistol is double action on every shot, the hammer following the slide forward. A majority of these have no other safeties. An interesting aspect of double action only pistols, is that some cannot be dry fired twice. Thatis, if the pistol misfires, the slide must be manually cycled before the trigger can be pulled again. This is mainly something unique to striker-fired pistols.
In addition to simply needing a supply of magazines, you need quality magazines. Poor magazines are the cause of most malfunctions. It is debated whether magazines weaken more from repetitively being loaded and unloaded, or from being loaded from long periods of time. Regularly replacing your magazine springs and cleaning the bodies will help your firearm function correctly and solve 90% of problems encountered with a pistol.
"A handgun is for fighting your way to your rifle which you shouldn't have put down in the first place." - Clint Smith
This doesn't mean handguns are useless. Quite the opposite. A handgun can be there when a shotgun or rifle would just be too much. But the latter have the edge in a fight, and given the choice, you should take the long arm. So know how to use everything, and use the best weapon on hand.
Long Guns
Long guns are what many people think of when they think of a "Gun". They are everything from hunting rifles to the hefty Squad Automatic Weapons in the world's militaries, and are much like people. They're big, they're small, they're short, they're long, and so on and so forth.
Long arm is indicative of any number of weapons. A rifled bore is one with grooves to rotationally stabilize the projectile. Weapons with such bores used to be called "rifles", but as rifling became the norm, the name eventually referred to full size, shoulder fired weapons. The term "carbine" typically refers to a shortened rifle, but can often indicate the use of a pistol caliber, rather than a full size rifle round. A shotgun is essentially a rifle with a smooth bore that fires a number of pellets (shot).
Common Rifle Calibers:
.17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire
.22 Long Rifle
.22 Hornet
.22-250 Remington
.223 Remington/5.56mm NATO
.243 Winchester
.270 Winchester
7.62x39mm
7.62x54mmR
.30-06 Springfield
.30-30 Winchester
.308 Winchester/7.62x51mm NATO
.45-70
.50 BMG
Common Shotgun Calibers:
.410 shotgun shell
28 Gauge shotgun shell
20 Gauge shotgun shell
16 Gauge shotgun shell
12 Gauge shotgun shell
Aside from an even larger variety of calibers and overall physical size, long guns differ from pistols in one big way: The variety of actions. There are different actions in the world of long guns, and I've got a handy list of the most common ones right here:
Manual Action Types (You have to do stuff to chamber every round):
Bolt-Action
Pump-Action
Lever-Action
Break-Open
Muzzle-Loading
Automatic Action Types (A force created by the previous round is used to chamber the following):
Recoil Operated
Gas Operated
Bolt-Action
Most bolt-action rifles are sturdy, and they are very easily recognizable by the bolt that sticks out to the right hand side. They are most commonly rifles, although there are a few bolt-action shotguns in existence. On the right is an diagram of a bolt action rifle with the parts labeled.Some models merely require the bolt to be pulled back and pushed forward, but most require the bolt to be turned upwards before drawing back, like a door bolt. On the common Mauser bolt, this engages locking lugs with the chamber and the bolt, sealing the action. There are variations of this basic design in the Steyr, Lee Enfield, Mosin Nagant bolts, but the usage and often the cleaning is identical.
Most have a bolt handle tilted downward to keep from obscuring your line of sight when the action is worked, the Mosin Nagant rifles being an exception.
Most older rifles utilize an internal magazine. The magazine is only removable for cleaning, and stays inside the weapon. To load, you feed ammo directly into the weapon, either by individual rounds, or a pre-loaded stripper clip, which is a metal strip holding a number of cartridges. To use one, you open the bolt, place the stripper clip into the receiver opening, and press down on the cartridges, pushing all of them into the weapon and removing the empty clip.Some modern rifles have a removable magazine, but a majority of surplus and hunting rifles use internal magazines. In fact, certain manufacturers build tactical rifles with fixed magazines for a more rigid receiver, which tends to assist in accuracy.
To the average user however, the difference in function is negligible, so it is really up to preference.Due to its simplicity, the bolt action mechanism is one of the most durable and rugged operating systems used in firearms. Countless large caliber weapons operate off of this simple, efficient system.
Pump-Action
Pump-action guns are most commonly shotguns, though some are rifles. They are operated by, well, pumping the fore end back, and then forwards, which ejects the previous round and loads a new one. Here is a picture of a Mossberg shotgun:Note the magazine tube. Most pump-action weapons have a Magazine Tube, which is exactly what it sounds like - a tube that holds the rounds. It is loaded one round at a time, through the loading port on the underside of the receiver.
Although tube magazines hold a fairly limited number of rounds, they have the advantage of being loaded at any time, which is handy for topping off during a lull in a battle, or just loading a different kind of ammo.
They're also not very particular on the length of round fired, working with most any ammunition that will fit the chamber.
A reason that shotguns are more commonly pump action then rifles is that tube magazines cannot use conventional pointed bullets without significant risk of detonating the primer.
Recently, some manufacturers have designed bullets with flexible plastic tips, not hard enough to detonate primers, but retaining the ballistic advantages of a "spitzer" tip. However, this has had more of an effect on lever-action weapons, as noted below.
The pump action mechanism, although still requiring manual cocking on each shot, has it's own advantages over other action types. Out of the various manual actions, pump is likely the fastest due to it's simple forward-back motion, and it does not shift your point of aim like a bolt or break open weapon.
The noise of the racking itself, often highlighted by movies, is an effective deterrent in itself for the defense role.
Lever-Action
Lever-action rifles are the stereotypical "Western" rifles. They are identifiable by the lever just behind the trigger where the other three fingers are kept. The shooter pulls the lever forward and back in a rowing motion. The forward motion pulls back the action, ejecting the round and cocking an external hammer, the forward motion closes the action and chambers the round.Lever guns typically have the ejection port in the top, or the top-right.
Lever action can be found in either shotguns or rifles, and utilize a tube magazine. However, the mechanism means that a loading port on the bottom of the receiver is not feasible. Shotguns, like the Winchester 1887, may load into a magazine tube above the barrel, where rifles, using smaller cartridges, typically load from a loading gate into a conventional under barrel magazine tube.
As mentioned earlier, the tube magazines typically used by such weapons are not compatible with conventional pointed rounds.
This had much more of an effect on lever guns, as they were more often rifles then shotguns.
Recently, manufacturers have started to produce "ballistic tip" rounds, essentially a hollow point bullet with a soft polymer insert shaped in a semi-point. It retains the superior aerodynamic performance of a pointed round, and the stopping power of a hollow point. Previously, lever guns had to use blunt nose rounds, often handgun caliber, which cut the effective range.Similar ammo is used in handguns and rifles for reliable function, as "ball" ammo tends to feed the best. Lever action is slower then pump, but quite a bit faster then bolt. Like a pump action, it does not take the weapon very far off target.
A great deal of modern lever guns are produced for Western action shooters, and as such, many are chambered in .357 magnum, .44 magnum, and other revolver calibers. Sharing ammunition between a lever action and a revolver can cut down on cost and reloading components, in addition to simplifying ammo selection.
Break-Open
Break-open rifles and shotguns are what you might imagine the stereotypical rich Englishman as having for his safari trip or skeet shooting. They generally have two barrels, either over-under or side-by-side. They work by using the release to 'break' it open, exposing the chambers of both barrels, and manually inserting the rounds. Most eject the empties when you break the action. Break-open rifles are more often than not made for high power rounds, such as would be used to literally take down an elephant or rhino, or for shotgun rounds such as the 12-gauge or .410.Break open is really as simple as you can go with a long arm. There's not much to break, and not much to get confused over. Obviously, shell length does not matter for break open designs, unlike auto loaders, where length is critical for proper feeding. Some models go so far as having a one barrel fire rifle rounds, and the other shotgun shells.
If you are very proficient with your break-open weapon, then it can easily hold its own in a zombie encounter. You can keep shooting and loading constantly, as long as you have ammo - so keep it handy!
Muzzle-Loading
Muzzle-Loading rifles are far from ideal as primary weapons, but they have some unique traits that make them worth owning. The way a muzzle-loading rifle works is you take a powder charge, stick that in the barrel, and then put a bullet in after it, and then jam the whole thing down with the ram rod, generally stored under the barrel. This leads to a fairly slow loading time. Even with percussion caps, it'll still take you over ten seconds, shot to shot, to load the weapon in any realistic conditions.
However, muzzle loaders neatly slip past many firearms laws, and sometimes they may be the only legal option. The ammunition, too, is easier to acquire or even make, as they can use unrefined black powder and cast lead bullets just as well as modern propellants and jacketed bullets. This means that hypothetically, a black powder arm will stay functional for much longer than standard cartridge feeding firearms. In recent years, there have been a number of substitute propellants with less fouling than black powder, such as pyrodex, which is available in pellets rather than loose grains. However, keep in mind that smokeless powder and other high powered propellants can cause a blackpowder-only weapon to catastrophically fail.
In the past, there have been what is called a "pepperpot" musket, essentially six or seven barrels linked to a single lock, but in modern times, the most you'll find is a double barrel muzzle loader. In addition, some rifles and shotguns have blackpowder conversions, notably the Thompson / Center line of pistols, and even a few of the Mossberg 500 shotguns.
Blackpowder revolvers can give the shooter six shots before the lengthy reload process, making a decent backup, but they require even more cleaning than their larger counterparts. Most have a loading gate on the frame, just like a modern single action revolver, but this is only for sticking percussion caps onto the rear of the cylinder. Powder and ball is actually packed through the front, as with a rifle.
Automatic Weapons
(A quick note here: "Automatic Weapons" does not mean military grade, full-automatic rifles that can blaze away at seven bajillion rounds a minute. It means rifles that, with one pull of the trigger, fire one round. They are very generally perfectly legal in several countries, if not all of them. If they're not legal in yours, too bad. It's not the end of the world, as a lever-action rifle can be just as good in a pinch, if you know how to use it well enough. So, now that I've said this, no whining about how "Well, it's not a civilian weapon because it looks like it should be in the military" or "because I can't get one." Stop, people. Just stop.)Action types:
Well, I did say I was going to talk about the action types, even though the more important part of automatic weapons is the combat classification... So, here goes.First, we have the recoil operated weapons. These work by sheer force of the firing reaction, in which the bolt is pushed backwards, ejecting the round, and loading a new one on the way back. Some mechanism must be used to hold the bolt closed long enough for proper function, however. There are a number of actions that simply use links or lugs milled into the interior, which are generally named after their designer. Some other actions:
- Blowback. The springs of the weapon alone keep the action closed long enough. This can only be used with lower power cartridges. Used in the Ruger 10/22 series.
- Roller-delayed blowback. A system used on H&K rifles, rollers in the mechanism lock into place via firing force, only falling out of their recesses when the firing pressure drops, allowing the weapon to cycle.
Finally, we have gas-operated weapons, in which gases from the weapon's firing are redirected back to operate the bolt. Some notable designs:
- Direct impingement. Used on the M16, gas from a port in the barrel flows down the gas tube, acting directly on the bolt.
- Gas-piston. As above, but the gas affects a piston attached to the bolt, to cut down on fouling. Used on the AK-47, FN SCAR and a number of other rifles.
Machine Guns:
The first machine guns were made before battle rifles, assault rifles, and many of the other weapons seen today. Their design and usage affected warfare on a huge level, creating trench warfare, tanks, and destroying the use of mounted cavalry. Their primary intent was simple - put more bullets in the direction of the enemy than any number of rifles could feasibly. We have several classifications of machine guns.
Light Machine Guns (LMG) that are carried by an individual infantryman for squad-level support, firing assault rifle calibers and often having the capability to accept magazines from them. They often use large magazines or prepackages belts of ammunition, instead of loose belts, as other machine guns may often have. Some common examples are the FN Minimi and RPK, both extrememly common on todays battlegrounds. A LMG, often called a Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), can also be found mounted in vehicles.
Medium Machine Guns (MMG), also called General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG), fire full power rifle cartridges and may be equally found in the hands of infantry, in stationary tripod mounts, or mounted on vehicles. By nature, they're meant to be deployed in any number of situations and are quite powerful assets. They are nearly always belt fed and may be of similar weight to a LMG. Older designs may not carried by infantry, but their caliber and overall size still classifies them as MMGs.
Heavy Machine Guns (HMG) are meant solely to be used in the stationary role, either mounted via a infantry tripod, or affixed to a vehicle. They fire large rounds, capable of doing serious damage to light vehicles and cover. Anything larger than a heavy machine gun is simply called a cannon.
Any machine gun offers awesome firepower at the cost of ammunition and maintenance. To use one effectively, you need not only ammo, but material to link it into belts, spare barrels, heat resistant clothes for handling as well as perfect maintenance. It is a logistical nightmare to keep a machine gun working without a supply column.
Past a straight headache to keep in order, a machine gun is a huge target. Firing one instantly makes you the big trophy of a turkey shoot. A machine gun works in a vehicle, or in coordination with infantry. By themselves, mobility as well as ammunition is limited.
They are powerful, but don't count on finding that many of them, and respect their fearsome firepower, and the effort it takes to operate them if you do.
A concept developed almost immediately after the machine gun in WW1, a submachine gun is essentially small machine gun firing pistol rounds. Smaller weapons, closer to actual pistols, are called machine pistols. The buzz gun, as they are sometimes called, reigned supreme for short range engagement for the first half of the twentieth century, going where rifles were too cumbersome to work in. They offered automatic fire, and stopping power in a reasonable package.
Civilian models are available, without the automatic fire, but the same ideas apply. A large magazine capacity, high rate of fire and good stopping power, at the cost of range. A sub machine gun, while it can be effective to several hundred meters, is only intended to fight in close range, and open terrain can put a big disadvantage on the sub gun user. In the survivor's case, sub guns make good sidearms, and excellent close rangers when backed up with rifles.
Similarly to military weapons, a number of carbines are available that are short rifles firing pistol rounds. They interchange ammo, and even magazines on some models with handguns, and are a good way to extend the power of your handgun ammo on a short budget.
The first machine guns were made before battle rifles, assault rifles, and many of the other weapons seen today. Their design and usage affected warfare on a huge level, creating trench warfare, tanks, and destroying the use of mounted cavalry. Their primary intent was simple - put more bullets in the direction of the enemy than any number of rifles could feasibly. We have several classifications of machine guns. Light Machine Guns (LMG) that are carried by an individual infantryman for squad-level support, firing assault rifle calibers and often having the capability to accept magazines from them. They often use large magazines or prepackages belts of ammunition, instead of loose belts, as other machine guns may often have. Some common examples are the FN Minimi and RPK, both extrememly common on todays battlegrounds. A LMG, often called a Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), can also be found mounted in vehicles.
Medium Machine Guns (MMG), also called General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG), fire full power rifle cartridges and may be equally found in the hands of infantry, in stationary tripod mounts, or mounted on vehicles. By nature, they're meant to be deployed in any number of situations and are quite powerful assets. They are nearly always belt fed and may be of similar weight to a LMG. Older designs may not carried by infantry, but their caliber and overall size still classifies them as MMGs.
Heavy Machine Guns (HMG) are meant solely to be used in the stationary role, either mounted via a infantry tripod, or affixed to a vehicle. They fire large rounds, capable of doing serious damage to light vehicles and cover. Anything larger than a heavy machine gun is simply called a cannon.
Any machine gun offers awesome firepower at the cost of ammunition and maintenance. To use one effectively, you need not only ammo, but material to link it into belts, spare barrels, heat resistant clothes for handling as well as perfect maintenance. It is a logistical nightmare to keep a machine gun working without a supply column.
Past a straight headache to keep in order, a machine gun is a huge target. Firing one instantly makes you the big trophy of a turkey shoot. A machine gun works in a vehicle, or in coordination with infantry. By themselves, mobility as well as ammunition is limited.
They are powerful, but don't count on finding that many of them, and respect their fearsome firepower, and the effort it takes to operate them if you do.
Sub-Machine Guns
A concept developed almost immediately after the machine gun in WW1, a submachine gun is essentially small machine gun firing pistol rounds. Smaller weapons, closer to actual pistols, are called machine pistols. The buzz gun, as they are sometimes called, reigned supreme for short range engagement for the first half of the twentieth century, going where rifles were too cumbersome to work in. They offered automatic fire, and stopping power in a reasonable package.Civilian models are available, without the automatic fire, but the same ideas apply. A large magazine capacity, high rate of fire and good stopping power, at the cost of range. A sub machine gun, while it can be effective to several hundred meters, is only intended to fight in close range, and open terrain can put a big disadvantage on the sub gun user. In the survivor's case, sub guns make good sidearms, and excellent close rangers when backed up with rifles.
Similarly to military weapons, a number of carbines are available that are short rifles firing pistol rounds. They interchange ammo, and even magazines on some models with handguns, and are a good way to extend the power of your handgun ammo on a short budget.
Battle Rifle:
A rifle simply means a shoulder arm with a rifled barrel. As weapons evolved, to distinguish between stand rifles that were bolt or lever action, and autoloading military rifles, the term "battle rifle" became more common. Here, a battle rifle is defined as a "semi-automatic rifle that fires full sized (thirty caliber or larger) rounds." Some rifles used as sniper weapons may actually be classed as battle rifles, such as the SVD "Dragunov," or the M14 due to the advantages over a dedicated sniper rifle. That is, cost, firepower and relative performance compared to an assault rifle. Or, they can be compact rifles, like the above G3, that are barely distinguishable to the casual observer from an assault rifle or sub machine gun. They are distinguished by an autoloading action, full power rifle ammunition, and often selective fire.
A battle rifle is perfect for the average group's sniper, as giving sufficient accuracy for most jobs, but with the high firepower to deal with close range encounters. They also pack the firepower to cut through light armor and get through interfering terrain. There are downsizes, however. Any compact battle rifle is going to be deafening and mean to shoot. An example of one, the MC-51 rifle used by the British Special Air Service, was a chopped down G3. It was liked due to it's firepower, but it was almost never used due to there rarely being a situation that made it necessary to sacrifice so much user comfort.
So the best option is most likely to pick a rifle large enough to be accurate and forgiving to the shooter. However, at this point, battle rifles are significantly heavier, and often larger than standard rifles or assault rifles. Their ammunition, as well, is much heavier than a comparable assault rifle. All in all, there are good reasons that battle rifles are no longer the primary weapons of military forces worldwide, but they are very effective weapons when used right. Just be prepared to put up with the burdens.Assault Rifles:
I suppose this is the section that everyone can't wait to get to, just because it's about assault rifles. Well, I can't blame you, kiddies. The things are just freakin' cool. But at the same time, it's good to realize that come Z-day they're worthless to you unless you really know how to use and maintain them. The assault rifle was truly realized in WW2 when the Germans analyzed battlefield information and realized that the full power rifle rounds were overkill for most engagements - usually within three hundred meters. They took the overall build of a sub machine gun, and used a downscaled 8mm Mauser round. The result was a well balanced weapon suited to automatic fire at a significantly longer range than a sub machine gun. It was a huge success, and while the design didn't win the war, it hurt the Russians enough for them to design the AK-47 several years later. The US instead went with their battle rifle the M14 until they came up with a roughly equivalent assault rifle, the M16. Since then, technological changes have not been so drastic in terms of function.
An assault rifle, by definition, fires an intermediate round between that of a pistol and a rifle. Their semi automatic counterparts are common enough in most places, and ammunition is plentiful. As you'd expect, they make great all-rounders, and it's reasonable for your group to be primarily armed with them - if you can afford them. An assault rifle is generally more expensive than any comprable hunting arm, and buying magazines and accessories does tend to add up.
In terms of usge, designs vary. While most were stated to be designed for either precise semi automatic or close range automatic fire, firearms do tend to be more suited to certain roles. The Stg44 was conceptually a built up MP40, and worked best in fully automatic. Pick what fits you.
Conclusion - Read It, It's Short. Really Short.
Now, there are a helluvalot of different guns out there. But, you see, it doesn't matter if you have the biggest, fanciest, "best" gun out there if you can't use it. Now, assault rifles, carbines, whatever, those are fine and dandy as long as you know how to use them. Plus, it's good to remember that a firearm you have is much better than one you don't. Especially if you have a lot of practice with the one you do have.You've got the baseline knowledge now. There are a number of pages you can still explore.
The Rules - What you should know before reading these pages and handling weapons.
Accessories - The add-ons that may just give you an edge in that gunfight.
Ammunition - An overview of types of ammo and reloading.
Weapons reviews - A user-created database of reviews for various zombie-slaying implements.
Handguns, Rifles, Shotguns, Heavy Weaponry - A user-created guide to using and maintaining firearms you are likely to come across.
