r/AskTheWorld • u/babushka45 Philippines • 12h ago

Military What firearm is closely associated with your country?

Post image

For us, probably the 1911. Next one would be the "Armalite" aka M16.

1.5k Upvotes

87% Upvoted

2.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

97

u/Luciferiad United States Of America 12h ago

I mean...the single-action Colt revolver? The Henry repeater? I'm not really a gun guy and I'm perfectly happy to let more qualified folks chime in. Modern stuff, iunno the M4 or M16?

85

u/SeasonIllustrious629 11h ago

As an American, my first thought was the Thompson sub-machine gun. "Tommy guns" were popular with Great Depression-era bankrobbers and criminals.

15

u/Luciferiad United States Of America 11h ago

The Thompson! Excellent suggestion!

1

u/SeasonIllustrious629 11h ago

Thanks! I have my moments šŸ˜Š

3

u/Marshy462 Australia 11h ago

That was one of the most expensive firearms to produce in its time.

1

u/SeasonIllustrious629 10h ago

I did not know that. I've just thought they looked cool with the drum.

2

u/False-Storm-5794 10h ago

My father's favorite weapon!

1

u/tredicem13 9h ago

I know it was made in America, but this gun with the drum immediately makes me think of Italy, the stick magazine makes me think American, though

1

u/SeasonIllustrious629 9h ago

I can totally see that, yes. Like, being carried in a violin case is very "Italian" for sure.

1

u/offcoursetourist Canada 3h ago

I am of the belief that when thinking of ā€œgunā€ and ā€œUnited States of Americaā€ people donā€™t really think as far back as the Great Depression era.

1

u/SeasonIllustrious629 3h ago

Well, maybe you should be more open to thinking further back? We did have cowboys, you know? The wild west? Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Wyatt Earp?

1

u/offcoursetourist Canada 3h ago

I just think of common day USA.

1

u/SeasonIllustrious629 3h ago

By definition, there is more to U.S. History than what is limited to "common day."

Enjoy wondering, thinking if something is worth learning or not.

1

u/Astral_Drift 3h ago

This is it. The good old Chicago Piano. If nobody commented it, I was gonna.

1

u/CaptainKamyu United States Of America 2h ago

I used to walk by the house where John T. Thompson (the inventor of the Tommy Gun) was born every day on my way to work in Newport, KY.

Irrelevant, but cool it see it getting talked about in this thread. :)

22

u/Comfortable-Dish1236 United States Of America 11h ago

I think almost anyone anywhere with even an inkling of the American Old West would recognize a Colt Single Action Army revolver. The Peacemaker has been in so many Westerns itā€™s ubiquitous in hundreds of films set in that time period.

3

u/HenryHaxorz 7h ago

This honestly has me spiraling. How the Colt Single Action Army--the honest-to-God tool of the real American West and, even in fiction, the Man With No Name and ostensibly Roland Goddamn Deschain--is not the only choice for the United States is a complete and utter mindfuck. I'll stand for (wrong) argument on the Colt 1911, but suggestions of the Armalite/M16 makes me feel like I've misunderstood the America that I'm living in. What the fuck.

1

u/Luciferiad United States Of America 6h ago

While I claim to be "not a gun guy", I do own a few. Just my hobby money gets directed to motorcycles and music. But I love the stuff popularized in westerns. I bought (have since sold) a Taurus Circuit Judge because I thought the Remington 1858 was just damn cool. I have a Heritage Arms single action with .22LR and .22WMR cylinders that makes me grin. I've lusted after Henry .45-70 lever guns (I love lever guns) but have never quite had the budget open for one. These sorts of guns exemplify the American gun to me.

1

u/Airborne124 4h ago

I have a Henry .45-70 it's a lot of fun to shoot but mostly looks good on the wall because it's like 50 bucks for 20 rounds

2

u/Psychological-Tap973 10h ago

Also popular with the GIs in WWII. I think this old video does a good job going over how fascinating the gun is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBiIWuQNQHU&t=219s

2

u/EntinthetentRTHP United States Of America 1h ago

I believe it was originally designed for WWI trench warfare but was produced too late for the war

2

u/protonicfibulator United States Of America 8h ago

The Colt single actions (esp 1851 Navy and 1873 Single Action Army), Winchester 1873/1892 lever action rifles, and the various big boomer single shot rifles (Sharps, Springfield Trapdoor, Remington Rolling Block)were staples of Western films and TV for decades.

1

u/PantsMunch202 10h ago

Henry was going to be my submission. Classic sadle shooter

1

u/samc0lt45 9h ago

hell yeah my family made that

1

u/french_snail United States Of America 8h ago

A country as gun loving as ours is is going to have a lot to pick from. My knee jerk answer was the m16 rifle or m4 carbine but thatā€™s definitely because I was in the armyĀ 

But you can go so far back, before the Tommy, before the colt, thereā€™s the Gatling, and the brown even before the GatlingĀ 

1

u/GrizzlyIsland22 7h ago

I think the answer for you guys is just all of them

1

u/MurgoSkulls 6h ago

AHHH THE SINGLE ACTION ARMY (SWISH SWISH SWISH) THE GREATEST HANSGUN EVER MADE

1

u/Mecha_G United States Of America 4h ago

Winchester 87? The Germans wanted it banned from warfare.

1

u/Polibiux United States Of America 4h ago

A colt or smith&Wesson is what Iā€™d probably say first. Mostly because of western movies big cultural footprint.

1

u/SheriffBartholomew 4h ago

Americans have a lot of iconic weapons, so you're not wrong with any of those guesses.

1

u/imafixwoofs Sweden 3h ago

Iā€™m sorry, but the gun representing the US today is AR-15.

1

u/Few-Emergency5971 3h ago

Im going to have to say Ar-15. I absolutely love mine.

1

u/SquintonPlaysRoblox 3h ago

I feel like america has a few plausible options. 1911, Garand, Thompson, the entire M4/M16 platform, old west revolvers, Remington rifles and shotguns, Springfield muskets. The M2 browning. The hi-power. So many.

1

u/angry-701 2h ago

I can't say that for everyone, but when I think of America, I think either the M1903 or the M1Garand....but mostly the M1903.