We all know about the Greats of the past: John Moses Browning, Samuel Colt, Mikhail Kalashnikov, and the like. But are there any people now that have a chance at achieving that same level of greatness and fame? It seems all modern weapons just come from companies, not individuals. Are there any designers out there who can create truly amazing weapons by themselves? Or is that age over and replaced by teams of engineers and software?
Modern gun designers
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Third_Rail
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Thanks the the 1934NFA, truly individual designers aren't able to design freely; I fully believe that this has restricted US firearms development.
To be able to design weapons that need to meet the "not easily converted to full-auto" and other hogwash takes either a lot of work from an individual that could be ruined with an opinion from the BATFE, or a team of engineers, laywers, etc.
Add to this the cost of all the licenses, the bookkeeping, and the problems with "such and such state has a law against what's legal in this state", and things are really tough for someone who wants to design and build firearms.
I'm not saying it no longer happens, just that it's a heck of a lot rarer now than it used to be. If not for the 1934NFA and other bits of gun control, I'd have actually made a few designs by now, instead of just tinkering with existing ones. I'm just terrified of being whisked away in the middle of the night and being stuck in jail because a prototype of mine took the BATFE less than 8 hours to convert to full-auto....
To be able to design weapons that need to meet the "not easily converted to full-auto" and other hogwash takes either a lot of work from an individual that could be ruined with an opinion from the BATFE, or a team of engineers, laywers, etc.
Add to this the cost of all the licenses, the bookkeeping, and the problems with "such and such state has a law against what's legal in this state", and things are really tough for someone who wants to design and build firearms.
I'm not saying it no longer happens, just that it's a heck of a lot rarer now than it used to be. If not for the 1934NFA and other bits of gun control, I'd have actually made a few designs by now, instead of just tinkering with existing ones. I'm just terrified of being whisked away in the middle of the night and being stuck in jail because a prototype of mine took the BATFE less than 8 hours to convert to full-auto....
El Tejon
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Justin Moon, Gaston Glock, the brothers at Rock River, inter alia.
They are around, arguably not at the level of John Browning, but who is?
I would wholeheartedly concur that the NFA/SSA has destroyed most of the innovation in the field.
They are around, arguably not at the level of John Browning, but who is?
I would wholeheartedly concur that the NFA/SSA has destroyed most of the innovation in the field.
Third_Rail
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Oh good - some people tell me I'm absolutely off my rocker when I tell them that the 1934NFA has done that.
Did Glock do his inventing here or in another country?
Did Glock do his inventing here or in another country?
El Tejon
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EastEmpire.
pcosmar
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Calico, comes to mind. But I think they got shut down.
Other inovations have been outlawed. And I believe Glock had to change the design, and add metal.
Other inovations have been outlawed. And I believe Glock had to change the design, and add metal.
Guns today are designed my engineering committees. No one designer is responsible.
pcosmar the only metal Glock had to add was the little metal plate with the serial number. The barrel is the serial numbered item in most European countries not the frame. Glock had to add a sn to the frame to export it to the US.
pcosmar the only metal Glock had to add was the little metal plate with the serial number. The barrel is the serial numbered item in most European countries not the frame. Glock had to add a sn to the frame to export it to the US.
There are probably several designers today, but without the needed resources they can't bring nothing to the market. Most mainstream manufactors aren't willing to take risks on radical designs. Check the patent office and you may be surprised at what you find.
pcosmar
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It is posible that is was mistaken (that has happened before), I had heard that the original was all plastic, and that metal was added to make it detectable.
Car Knocker
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Since Mikhail Kalashnikov is alive and reasonably well in the Present, he probably shouldn't be included with Browning or Colt as one of the "Greats of the Past".
Sniper4Life
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What about parts of a firearm like the accu-trigger. I read an artical about the designers, They told the CEO that it couldnt be done he said do it. They were so frustrated that some of them thought about suicide and a mental hospital. But when you put a bunch of crazy designers together to make a trigger the result is a trigger better than a timney.
With all due respect, I would not exactly place Mike Kalashnikov in the same category with Mr. Browning.
The reason there are not many gun designers today is probably the same reason not many people are designing mechanical watch mechanisms. They already have the cheapest and best mechanisms. What is a new version going to add? More importantly, how can the guy get his money back from his design?
Modern gun design flowered between 1880 and 1930. There has not been much new, since. You can argue the Kalashnikov or the Stoner, but they are conglomerations of designs that already existed. Glock is probably the biggest innovation, the use of plastic on a large scale, imho. YMMV, etc.
The reason there are not many gun designers today is probably the same reason not many people are designing mechanical watch mechanisms. They already have the cheapest and best mechanisms. What is a new version going to add? More importantly, how can the guy get his money back from his design?
Modern gun design flowered between 1880 and 1930. There has not been much new, since. You can argue the Kalashnikov or the Stoner, but they are conglomerations of designs that already existed. Glock is probably the biggest innovation, the use of plastic on a large scale, imho. YMMV, etc.
It is not only the law, it is the situation today in many aspects.
For one thing, we have a lot of folks who think they have a great idea for a gun, yet do not want to spend time or energy to actually draw up plans or make a model. The same basic laziness keeps them from working (horrible word!) to learn basic physics or mathematics, let alone mechanical engineering.
Jim
For one thing, we have a lot of folks who think they have a great idea for a gun, yet do not want to spend time or energy to actually draw up plans or make a model. The same basic laziness keeps them from working (horrible word!) to learn basic physics or mathematics, let alone mechanical engineering.
Jim
I would say that was debatable.
Maybe the most frequently encountered firearm due to Russia's dumping them on the world market when they were making them under the planned economy. But never used in any World War. Are you saying Vietnam is more important than WWII or WWI? I would think there were plenty of firearms more INFLUENTIAL than a Kalashnikov. The Brown Bess, for one, put half the world under the British flag. Can't really say that about the Kalashnikov. The USA and Britain put half the world under Stalin's sphere of influence through poor judgement, not because he seized the area with AK47s.
tikka_fan
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What about the PKM? That is one of the best machineguns ever built. Ask Blackwater.
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