The next major leap in firearms development?

[BogWalker]

If one looks at the history of firearms development, every once in a while a new technology comes along that becomes nearly universal.

If we start at the beginning, the movement of small cannon into hand held weaponry "created" the firearm.

Such leaps are match lock to flint to percussion to metallic cartridge.

Also the transition of smoothbore to rifled.

The invention of repeating firearms, especially the bolt action.

The change to smokeless powders.

The widespread adoption of spitzer bullets.

These transitions aren't ever clean or occur all at once. We end up with halfway technologies like wheel locks along the way, but clear trends in development are easily noted.


What do you think will be the next revolution in firearms technology? Electromagnetic "firearms" (rail guns, coil guns), lasers, caseless cartridges?

 

[ModernGunner]

'Smart guns', that make (or assist in) necessary 'corrections' in order to land shots on target.

There is already such 'target acquisition' technology on fighters, tanks, etc. And there's already 'similar' technology on things like (somewhat higher dollar) digital SLR cameras, etc.

JMO.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Gauss guns.

3-D printed guns.

Targeting platforms.

 

[throttletony]

agreed on the targeting assistance.

maybe a new attempt at something like this also: Caseless ammunition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Disposable Heart]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZa3Y1tcKJ4

Simon Phoenix knows...

 

[M67]

Hammer fired glocks

 

[Sybaris]

Guided Bullets

 

[Redhorse]

Hammer fired glocks

​1911 striker fired glocks

 

[worddoer]

Laser blasters of course...duh!!!

I mean, they have had those for years....a long, long time ago and even in the galaxies far, far away.

We are just soooooo far behind the times on earth.

 

[D-Ric902]

Concealable rail guns

 

[Excalibur]

Phasers

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

They've been trying for caseless ammunition for decades. If they ever succeed, I wonder how long before the antis pee their pants at the realization that their pet microstamping has become obsolete.

Trouble with a railgun is getting enough energy into the projectile to make it dangerous. That takes a lot of heavy equipment that's just not going to be portable in the foreseeable future, then there's the matter of a couple orders of magnitude increase in battery capacity necessary. I somehow doubt that's even possible.

We might be able to work up a laser powerful enough to hurt enough to be useful, and small enough to fit in a pistol with a battery pack good for a few shots. No bullet drop! Sniping made easy, no noise!

 

[LionWeight]

I would be interested in a new firearm that would clean itself after use.

 

[TTravis]

OBAMA Guns!

 

[jedi]

Near future I would say 3-D printing guns and ammo (casing and projectile) .
Just imagine you need to "re-load" 100 rounds of .223 for your sat. range day.
Print up 100 cases and 100 projectiles and load them up in your printing AR lower.

 

[IndyGunworks]

definatly 3-d printing... that will revolutionize the world

 

[sharkey]

Spritzer bullets? For a water gun?

 

[scrub buck]

Guns that will only fire for the registered owner.

 

[scrub buck]

Spritzer bullets? For a water gun?

Isn't spritzer a chic drink?

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Guns that will only fire for the registered owner.

Registered owner? Registered as in what? With the .gov, perhaps? I like mine with no paperwork, thank you, and I'll maintain control of it myself, without some device that's likely to fail, leaving me disarmed. What are you, some kind of brady bunch shill? If my animosity is somehow misdirected, my apologies, but this is the kind of thing that the wrong kind of people suggest.