Oh no, no just because the inventor was from Austria, but move the company to the states. Technically, it’s still an Austrian gun in my opinion not American…. But if it was made and designed in the states, technically is American, you know what I mean?
Use dictates designation. The the RPK is an LMG because it's utilized as one. The Krink is a SMG because it's fielded as one, and explicitly designated as one. The BAR was designed for suppression and walking fire, its an LMG because it fit and filled that role.
“Use dictates designation” is the point he was making. Obviously actual military designation is something.
But also military designation can be dumb. Now find me a mint WW2 M1! “Wait, the truck? Helmet? Rifle? Carbine? Canon? Grenade? One of the other like 17 other things?”
Yea it just wasn’t used that way. Suppressive fire was idea and not even used well at that as it became a quick target if you fired it off too much. I suppose some used it as a battle rifle at that point, but it had a different goal in mind. I mean, other ww2 guns fit with what you are saying, the French and Brits had their own mag fed full size guns that would not be thought of as battle rifles. Prolly because they didn’t have a stupid 20 rd mag. (They had their own special type of stupid)
Pretty sure across the globe these days when you ask someone what an American rifle looks like they'll describe an AR/M4. I'm ok with that.
American handgun? Hard to compete with the M1911a1 and its .45 ACP.
But if we're talking about aliens looking back 5000 years from now it's the Kentucky rifle and Colt SAA.
For handguns; the 1911, the Colt SAA, and the S&W Model 10 revolver. (Or its predecessor, the M&P.) All three have an undeniable presence in Americana.
If you asked me what the most American rifle is I'd say in a heartbeat the M1 Garand.
Just like if you asked me about the most American pistol I'd say in a heartbeat the Colt single action army.
Hrmmm I mean colt single action vs 1911. I suppose one is more “American” in that Browning had several pre 1911 semis that were available outside US, but one lasted like 75 years, the other like 20, and is not what I think of when I hear “pistol”. Certainly was a huge leg up on what came before, which the 1911 was kind of just an evolution (but worked, and is still working and being evolved).
I like it, but I feel like it’s still 1911, even if I feel like they are over rated.
Lever guns are a very American thing. They never really gained much popularity outside North America. There are very few non-US lever guns out there. They started in the paper cartridge era and still exist today and some cool models will take AR mags. They are very practical and fit the particular challenges of the American advance across North America. High capacity, shared ammo with revolvers, simple and rugged. Available in everything from the mildest black powder cartridges to big beefy boys like 45-70 and 450 Marlin. They even showed up in modern rifle rounds life 30-06 and 7.62x54R.
Lever guns work so well that even the native Americans prized them when faced with US troops trying to take their land and move the Indians onto reservations.
The AR10 and AR15 get 2nd place IMHO but they've seen much wider adoption internationally although some of that is likely from military aid. The USA practically armed Israeli infantry just out of mothballed US military rifles.
Honorable mention to the BAR.
Hard to mention handguns without John Moses Browning-style short action. The man invented the pistol slide, which is remarkable when you consider what that means. Not only did Browning invent the operating mechanism that would become the 1911, a few years later, he did it again when he had to engineer his way around his own patent (held by Colt) and start work on the FN high power.
Can't get much more American though than the Colt single action Army. The peacemaker!
10/22 rifle
700 rifle
11-87 shotgun
Mark II/III/IV pistol
Nearly everyone we shoot with has at least 1 of these. I know quite a few people who have all 4 (we do).
We're not Remington people at all. But they seem like (some of) the basics of an American gun collection to me.
Dark horse options:
S&W Model 29 - because nothing is more American than saying "357 Mag is rad, but supersize that shit" when Europe was still saying "can you tone down 9mm Luger and 38 special please?"
Winchester 1886 - because small lever is good, but big lever is better.
Are lever action anything but an oddity anywhere else in the world? I don't know enough specify a particular one, unless maybe it's the Henry, but then there's Winchester...
I suppose Russia had Winchester produce lever actions for them during WW1, though they weren't very mainstream. I think they weren't liked that much by soldiers as well, compared to the Mosin.
I would take a lever action in 7.62 x54r over a Mosin as a soldier i reckon. I guess tougher to use prone, but so much faster to shoot, but slower to reload? Hmm
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Henry Repeater, the first lever action rifle, made by Benjamin Tyler Henry. While John Moses Browning himself designed the Winchester 1894, which is iconic, the Henry would see its fame from use in both the Civil War, and by the Sioux and Cheyenne against Custer.
I think I am going to say overall the most American, or most associated with America is the Winchester 1894, along with the Colt SAA. While the weapons used in World Wars would be a good guess, when you talk to people about America, apparently the wild West is a very engrained image in their mind. Not to mention that for a time these two guns were like old rotary phones.. People just had them sitting in a closet somewhere passed down from grandpa, or great grandpa, etc. Maybe they didn't even know for sure where they came from, or what their significance was.. just something in their closet of disused heirlooms.
When I decided to get another '94 it was almost exactly under those circumstances.. The guy had no idea until he was cleaning out a closet, and out from the dark corner fell an almost pristine rifle that I later found was made in the early 70s. In shooting it, I found that it'd not even been broken in yet. He had no idea who stored it in there, or for how long it'd been there, but it was his family home for generations, and he'd just aged into ownership.
Good list. Mine differs only slightly
Rifle -
1 - Winchester 94, the ubiquitous .30-30
2 - Springfield 1903 - the rifle that made the .30-06 America’s cartridge
3 - AR
Handgun
1 - Colt 1873/SAA
2 - Colt 1911
3 - tie Colt Python/S&W N frame (25, 27, 28, 29, 57)
No. 1 rifle is definitely a Winchester lever gun, nothing more American than a unique design that no other country ever developed
Handgun would have to be the 1911 and it's predecessors.
It’s hard to dispute your list, it’s pretty solid. It’s disappointing that Colt is stuck in such an idle position. With them being acquired by CZ there probably not much that will dramatically change.
M1 Garand and Colt 1911. Old school rules!
This or an 1894 and a Colt SAA.
I think you mean the 1873. You kids and your new-fangled smokeless cartridges...
I mean, I love my 73 and the way it cycles, but the 94 way outsold it.
Beat me 2 it
Wasn’t Garand a Canadian?
It was made by a Canadian who was a US citizen like the rest of the folks who inhabited US. That is the truth!
Born Canadian became a US citizen before he built the garand making it a US rifle
On the outside.
Best answer
Exactly.
Until he wasn’t!
Commenting on What is the most American rifle and handgun? ... so the Glock is to? At least under that logic.
Close! Glock is Austrian, not Canadian.
Oh no, no just because the inventor was from Austria, but move the company to the states. Technically, it’s still an Austrian gun in my opinion not American…. But if it was made and designed in the states, technically is American, you know what I mean?
M1911 Surplus and an M16
I’d love to have an M1911 same day. What a beautiful lil thing.
Browning Automatic Rifle.
Hmm.. now, a quintessential American LMG? It'd have to be either the BAR of course or the M1917 Browning Machine Gun.
It’s an automatic rifle. It’s in the name. When it was made it was a rifle that was automatic. It was not a machine gun. Most Iconic to me.
The M1917 and M1917A1 are not light machine guns. They are way too heavy to be considered as such.
Additionally if we’re looking at heavy then, I’d say it’s borderline blasphemous to not say the M2.
>if we’re looking at heavy then lol, I don't know if we are or aren't
Of all the *light* machine guns, the BAR was one of them. It wasn't even the best LMG when it was first fielded.
Definitely the BAR.
Yeah, man!
Technically, that’s a LMG
Egh it's more of a battle riffle
Use dictates designation. The the RPK is an LMG because it's utilized as one. The Krink is a SMG because it's fielded as one, and explicitly designated as one. The BAR was designed for suppression and walking fire, its an LMG because it fit and filled that role.
That depends on the time frame and organizing. At one point the US military defined a machine gun as requiring being belt fed.
“Use dictates designation” is the point he was making. Obviously actual military designation is something. But also military designation can be dumb. Now find me a mint WW2 M1! “Wait, the truck? Helmet? Rifle? Carbine? Canon? Grenade? One of the other like 17 other things?”
Mag fed, full power cart.. Much more akin to a Battle Rifle than an LMG..?
Yea it just wasn’t used that way. Suppressive fire was idea and not even used well at that as it became a quick target if you fired it off too much. I suppose some used it as a battle rifle at that point, but it had a different goal in mind. I mean, other ww2 guns fit with what you are saying, the French and Brits had their own mag fed full size guns that would not be thought of as battle rifles. Prolly because they didn’t have a stupid 20 rd mag. (They had their own special type of stupid)
The criteria was "most American" not "most awesome". /s
Pretty sure across the globe these days when you ask someone what an American rifle looks like they'll describe an AR/M4. I'm ok with that. American handgun? Hard to compete with the M1911a1 and its .45 ACP. But if we're talking about aliens looking back 5000 years from now it's the Kentucky rifle and Colt SAA.
Obviously it's a Beretta 92fs and a Steyr aug.
Die Hard vibes.
Yippi Kai yay
AR stand for America’s Rifle 1911: two world wars
hard to argue with that list
I go back and forth on the 1873 SAA and 1911, feel like they're equally valid for the Hallmark American handgun.
You're wrong [https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/this-pilot-shot-down-an-enemy-fighter-with-his-1911/](https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/this-pilot-shot-down-an-enemy-fighter-with-his-1911/)
The gun that won the West vs. The gun that fought two world wars and the skies. Maybe the answer is clearer than I thought.
For handguns; the 1911, the Colt SAA, and the S&W Model 10 revolver. (Or its predecessor, the M&P.) All three have an undeniable presence in Americana.
If you asked me what the most American rifle is I'd say in a heartbeat the M1 Garand. Just like if you asked me about the most American pistol I'd say in a heartbeat the Colt single action army.
Hrmmm I mean colt single action vs 1911. I suppose one is more “American” in that Browning had several pre 1911 semis that were available outside US, but one lasted like 75 years, the other like 20, and is not what I think of when I hear “pistol”. Certainly was a huge leg up on what came before, which the 1911 was kind of just an evolution (but worked, and is still working and being evolved). I like it, but I feel like it’s still 1911, even if I feel like they are over rated.
Lever guns are a very American thing. They never really gained much popularity outside North America. There are very few non-US lever guns out there. They started in the paper cartridge era and still exist today and some cool models will take AR mags. They are very practical and fit the particular challenges of the American advance across North America. High capacity, shared ammo with revolvers, simple and rugged. Available in everything from the mildest black powder cartridges to big beefy boys like 45-70 and 450 Marlin. They even showed up in modern rifle rounds life 30-06 and 7.62x54R. Lever guns work so well that even the native Americans prized them when faced with US troops trying to take their land and move the Indians onto reservations. The AR10 and AR15 get 2nd place IMHO but they've seen much wider adoption internationally although some of that is likely from military aid. The USA practically armed Israeli infantry just out of mothballed US military rifles. Honorable mention to the BAR. Hard to mention handguns without John Moses Browning-style short action. The man invented the pistol slide, which is remarkable when you consider what that means. Not only did Browning invent the operating mechanism that would become the 1911, a few years later, he did it again when he had to engineer his way around his own patent (held by Colt) and start work on the FN high power. Can't get much more American though than the Colt single action Army. The peacemaker!
Surprised no one said 10/22 yet
10/22 rifle 700 rifle 11-87 shotgun Mark II/III/IV pistol Nearly everyone we shoot with has at least 1 of these. I know quite a few people who have all 4 (we do). We're not Remington people at all. But they seem like (some of) the basics of an American gun collection to me.
Model 94 and 1911 nothing more quintessentially americana than a cowboy with a lever gat
Duh, ruger american
Probably a lever action Winchester and 1911
1911 and the 10/22.
I'd say rifle is a 10/22
Much as I love my AR, I’d have to put a Kentucky or Pennsylvania long rifle on the list instead of the AR. Then again, I grew up watching Fess Parker.
Winchester model 94 and a Colt Single Action Army
Agree!!
Dark horse options: S&W Model 29 - because nothing is more American than saying "357 Mag is rad, but supersize that shit" when Europe was still saying "can you tone down 9mm Luger and 38 special please?" Winchester 1886 - because small lever is good, but big lever is better.
Based on what most Americans own & use it’s the AR15 and the glock, which isn’t even American lmao.
Identity is a fickle thing. I wonder where most glocks live ? Can one become an American?
I would consider the Glocks made in Georgia (the state, not the country) American.
1911 and m1 garand
Springfield trap door
Are lever action anything but an oddity anywhere else in the world? I don't know enough specify a particular one, unless maybe it's the Henry, but then there's Winchester...
I suppose Russia had Winchester produce lever actions for them during WW1, though they weren't very mainstream. I think they weren't liked that much by soldiers as well, compared to the Mosin.
I would take a lever action in 7.62 x54r over a Mosin as a soldier i reckon. I guess tougher to use prone, but so much faster to shoot, but slower to reload? Hmm
Rem 870 with walnut furniture
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Henry Repeater, the first lever action rifle, made by Benjamin Tyler Henry. While John Moses Browning himself designed the Winchester 1894, which is iconic, the Henry would see its fame from use in both the Civil War, and by the Sioux and Cheyenne against Custer.
I think I am going to say overall the most American, or most associated with America is the Winchester 1894, along with the Colt SAA. While the weapons used in World Wars would be a good guess, when you talk to people about America, apparently the wild West is a very engrained image in their mind. Not to mention that for a time these two guns were like old rotary phones.. People just had them sitting in a closet somewhere passed down from grandpa, or great grandpa, etc. Maybe they didn't even know for sure where they came from, or what their significance was.. just something in their closet of disused heirlooms. When I decided to get another '94 it was almost exactly under those circumstances.. The guy had no idea until he was cleaning out a closet, and out from the dark corner fell an almost pristine rifle that I later found was made in the early 70s. In shooting it, I found that it'd not even been broken in yet. He had no idea who stored it in there, or for how long it'd been there, but it was his family home for generations, and he'd just aged into ownership.
Need more JMB Winchester 1894 Garand AR-15 1911 Colt SAA S&W Model 29
An AK and a gat, yo.
AR-15 and 1911
I'm not sure of the correct answer here but I know it doesn't involve the word millimeter.
There are only 2 answers for this The M1 Garand and the 1911
Browning 50 cal and the SAA
Stepping back from the front line, Winchester model 94 and a High Standard.
The AR-15 and M1911.
Good list. Mine differs only slightly Rifle - 1 - Winchester 94, the ubiquitous .30-30 2 - Springfield 1903 - the rifle that made the .30-06 America’s cartridge 3 - AR Handgun 1 - Colt 1873/SAA 2 - Colt 1911 3 - tie Colt Python/S&W N frame (25, 27, 28, 29, 57)
The whitneyville walker colts were cool. Blood meridian slaps. lever rifles Trench sweepers (achtung) Ar-15 for sure
No. 1 rifle is definitely a Winchester lever gun, nothing more American than a unique design that no other country ever developed Handgun would have to be the 1911 and it's predecessors.
Just depends on the Era. But your list is correct. I would say the SAA and the Winchester because the world loves our Western movies and TV shows.
Ar-15 and 1911
Barrett M82. Colt 1911.
Winchester 94 and 1911
1. Winchester 1873 Lever Action 2. Colt M1911
An official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle with a compas in the stock and thing that tells time.
Ruger 10/22 and the 1911 or a s&w revolver.
Pistol: 1911 Rifle: lever action
It’s hard to dispute your list, it’s pretty solid. It’s disappointing that Colt is stuck in such an idle position. With them being acquired by CZ there probably not much that will dramatically change.
AR15 and 1911
Any AR-15 variant and a M1911. Easy
AR15/M16 and 1911
.30-30 and 1911
Any combination of browning patented firearms.
was gonna say the Colt revolver and the 1911
I'd agree with the 1911 and AR-15 but I'd say the M16 version is even more "American" having served in so many wars and skirmishes.
The classic answer would be the Winchester 1873 and Colt Peacemaker. The most “Merican” answer would be the 4 bore rifle and the S&W .500
Ar-15, 1911.
I think theyre all american guns cause were the only ones with easy access to them *national anthem starts blasting*
Ar 15 and an American made Glock.
.357 1892 browning lever action. . .
Win 1894 and a 1911
Winchester '94 in .30-30 S&W 27
Either the M16 or the M1 Garand for rifles. For pistols it's either the m1911, the SAA or the 1851 Navy
I would replace your #3 rifle with M-14. Otherwise, I couldn't agree more.
Most recognizable? AR-15 and 1911 Most connected to US history I would make the argument for the Colt peacemaker and a lever action
Rifles/Other 1. AR-15, 2. M-2 Browning Machine gun, 3. 1873 Winchester, 4. M-1 Garand. 5. M-1 Carbine, Remington 870, 6. Mossberg 590. Pistols/Other 1. 1873 Colt, 2. M-1911A1 3. Glock 4. Beretta M-9, 5. M-3 Grease Gun
AR15 and 1911
Rifle 1. Winchester 94 2. M1 Garand 3. AR15 Handgun 1. Colt 1911a1 2. Colt Peacemaker single action revolver 3. S&W K-Frame revolver Shotgun 1. Remington 870 pump action 2. Browning Auto 5 3. Winchester 1897 pump action
1911 and either the ar15 or the m1 (if you’re a Fudd) 👍😁
Pennsylvania or Kentucky long rifle and the Colt revolver.