Ten Worst Firearms in History of Mankind

Firearms have been a consistent thing in battles. Although, it was a long time before they were actually manufactured and were used, they were quickly developed. Now, most of these firearms were really, well, stupid. The criteria that I picked out in order to list these firearms in this article were reliability, utility (at the time of use) and the overall safety. Now, I am no weapons expert so I am not entirely sure if you will agree with me and I do not know if I missed out something crucial to this list which is why your help will be most welcome. So do let us know what we missed out. Enjoy the read.

10. COLT REVOLVING RIFLES

Okay, I am going to be honest here and tell you that I simply dig the design considering that fact that was used in the Old West and that too somewhere in the 1830s. The problem with this one is that there were many leakages of gases and the muzzle velocity just used to drop exponentially. Well, whatever, I still dig the design. The gases by the way are really hot and can literally burn the hands of the user.

9. THE LIBERATOR

This is a funny name for such a tiny weapon. This was used during the Second World War. The problem with this particular weapon is that it used to get only one shot of .45 ACP. That means that if you are up against two guys with a semi-automatic rifle or even a pistol, you will not live to tell how it felt firing The ‘Liberator’. On top of that, the reloading time on this thing was long and difficult; great, more ways to waste time on th… Booom!

8. GYROJET

This guy used to be a rocket launcher. It was developed somewhere in the 1960s and used to fire 13mm rockets. The interesting bit is that the speed of the rocket increased as the projectile left the barrel which usually does not happen. Another interesting thing is that it did not have enough power to make a kill at close-range (that is so not good considering the fact that it is practically a pistol). There have been occasions where the rocket would just fall out of the front of the barrel. That is BAD.

7. BOYS ANTI-TANK RIFLE

In all honesty, this is a very bad name for an anti-tank rifle. This particular weapon was used in the beginning of the Second World War and unsuccessfully at that. It weighed in at around 16.33 kilograms. It fired a 13.97 mm caliber shot that was capable of piercing armors (21mm at a distance of 300m). The gun did not have a lot of power and that is the reason why it was pretty much useless against the German armor. The recoil was crazy and let’s face it, it’s not a very friendly gun to carry around with all that weight.

6. NOCK VOLLEY GUN

The Nock Volley Gun made its way as a weapon somewhere around 1780. It used to fire seven 0.50 caliber shots at the same time. The only problem with this gun was that the recoil (because of so many shots being fired at the same time) was potentially strong enough to dislocate or even break your shoulder. Also, the muzzle blast used to be dangerous as well and it posed a threat to the ships rigging. I wonder how they came up with such weapons. Did the concept of testing not exist back then?

5. COCHRAN REVOLVERS

This weapon will probably be the most well-known on this list. This revolver had a cylinder that would revolve horizontally. What that means is that every time you took a shot, the next round would be loaded and pointed right at you, which unfortunately means that make a mistake and that will be your last. Remember how snipers hold their breaths while firing, well, with this particular gun you are not allowed to breathe at all times. That’s my personal opinion.

4. NAMBU (94 SHIKI KENJU)

I am sure you can figure by the name that the gun is Japanese. This was used in the Second World War. It fired 8mm Taisho 14 rounds. This particular weapon was really awkward to use and on top of that, it lacked the power. Moreover, the Nambu was very easy to fire accidentally (it was very much possible to fire the cartridge before it was fully fitted into the chamber) which is why it was deemed more dangerous to the user than the target. Fancy that!

3. PEPPER BOX REVOLVER

I love the name of this one. Remember the colt style revolver? Well, this guy was used just before they became the new ‘thing’. This one was really heavy because of the multiple barrels, I am sure you can figure. It so happened at times that the shots would all fire off at once which resulted in extreme back force which sometimes broke the user’s wrist. That’s one of the reasons why it was very inaccurate as well. Most people joked around that when it went off, you’ll be the safest directly in front of it.

2. GROSSFLAMMENWERFER

Well, this particular weapon is actually, in the most literal sense, a ‘fire’arm. This is a German weapon and was issued during the First World War. It was a big German equivalent of a flamethrower. Two soldiers were needed to man the weapon and the mere use of this weapon posed a great threat to people around it. It was essentially a big bomb with two people sticking to it at all times. Gross means ‘large’ or ‘big’ in German and it is rightly named so which made it the easiest and the most ideal target.

1. CHAUCHAT

This was a French product and was supposed to be a light machine gun. The interesting part of this weapon is that the soldiers who ever given these weapons threw them away in exchange for rifles. That was a fail alright. This particular gun was issued during the First World War. There were big holes on either side and that resulted in mud and dust to mix in with the cartridges that would immediately jam the weapon. I am sure you can understand why this was thrown away. A jammed weapon is only good for smacking in the head.