I'll chime in that manufacturing processes have ushered in huge leaps in firearms technologies. The changes over the last twenty years have fostered in things I (and many others) scarcely imagined.
Polymer frames being one of the biggest changes, has introduced a huge impact on the firearms industry in price point if nothing else. I am not a fan of Tupperware but I do recognize the significance of its presence.
Scopes, lasers, red dots, holographic, thermal, night vision (including clip-on front of the scope types), automatic digital adjusting scopes will continue to get better and cheaper. Many, many things have increased the usefulness and lethality of firearms in the last twenty years.
I question the absurdity of how anyone could postulate that firearms technology has stagnated. Unless of course one were to discount it all and ask, "Sure, but what have you done for me lately?"
What do you want? A phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range?
Shall we discuss reliability, PDW's, 35-50-100 round magazines? Blow back and gas operated PCCs, flat shooting barrel burners, 1000 yard shooting being commonplace, semi-automatic 50 BMGs, small projectiles running over 3000fps, all incredible stuff that has now become ho-hum?
If your sole concern is projectile launching, I'll cast a vote for caseless ammunition or polymer cases of some sort to be the next significant change.
Phasers and hand-held railguns will remain science fiction and prohibitively expensive (if not completely unavailable to the public) for a long time. They aren't firearms after all.
My guess on where things go in the next couple of decades? Hand held lasers that have batteries that are changed like magazines due to energy storage density and discharge rates. Very deep and very nasty burns that incapacitate the target instead of kinetic energy delivery. I just don't know how folks will handle the collateral damage due to accidentally setting things on fire. That's probably why the public won't be allowed to have these. They aren't firearms either.
Edit: Aww, KIA beat me to the Terminator reference while I was typing my tome
Polymer frames being one of the biggest changes, has introduced a huge impact on the firearms industry in price point if nothing else. I am not a fan of Tupperware but I do recognize the significance of its presence.
Scopes, lasers, red dots, holographic, thermal, night vision (including clip-on front of the scope types), automatic digital adjusting scopes will continue to get better and cheaper. Many, many things have increased the usefulness and lethality of firearms in the last twenty years.
I question the absurdity of how anyone could postulate that firearms technology has stagnated. Unless of course one were to discount it all and ask, "Sure, but what have you done for me lately?"
What do you want? A phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range?
Shall we discuss reliability, PDW's, 35-50-100 round magazines? Blow back and gas operated PCCs, flat shooting barrel burners, 1000 yard shooting being commonplace, semi-automatic 50 BMGs, small projectiles running over 3000fps, all incredible stuff that has now become ho-hum?
If your sole concern is projectile launching, I'll cast a vote for caseless ammunition or polymer cases of some sort to be the next significant change.
Phasers and hand-held railguns will remain science fiction and prohibitively expensive (if not completely unavailable to the public) for a long time. They aren't firearms after all.
My guess on where things go in the next couple of decades? Hand held lasers that have batteries that are changed like magazines due to energy storage density and discharge rates. Very deep and very nasty burns that incapacitate the target instead of kinetic energy delivery. I just don't know how folks will handle the collateral damage due to accidentally setting things on fire. That's probably why the public won't be allowed to have these. They aren't firearms either.
Edit: Aww, KIA beat me to the Terminator reference while I was typing my tome
