So which gun would you want to go after Giant Ants with.

indy1919a4 · Jul 22, 2019

So was re watching the classic Movie THEM and pretty much there were 3 guns that were the most effective against the ants.

M1 Garands..

Thompsons

and flamethrowers

So assuming you were on the Bug hunt which of these fine weapons would you like to have???
I personally like the irony of the flamethrowers. Kind of like a kid with a magnifying glass on
a sunny day.. They just carried such limited fuel.

Just as a side note I think a few of those jeeps they used in the movie should have mounted crew served weapons like they did in "Day the Earth Stood Still". A few of those belt fed Brownings (No matter which caliber) would have made one heck of an ant mess. In this case the Tombstone drum would have allowed you to make several messes..

badkarmamib · Jul 22, 2019

I don't think I would want to trust a .30 or even a .45 caliber projectile against a target that size. Shot placement may be key, but 40mm sounds a whole lot better to me.

RedlegRick · Jul 22, 2019

Mah Deuce with a truckload of ammo would be my first choice, or my old M-60, but 7.62x51 seems a titch light for those bruisers. Might need two truckfuls then. And lots and lots of white phosphorus and napalm, maybe even a tactical nuke or two to really end that nest.

Zaydok Allen · Jul 22, 2019

Well this is just silly.

But, keep in mind that chitin is a very flexible natural armor. Chances are the proportional thickness needed to support an insect body as large as in that classic B film would be so thick that anything conventional is unlikely to penetrate. So 50 caliber machine guns would be my requirement, and as for personal defense goes, I want a 45-70 lever action with hot heavy rounds at the minimum, but would prefer a Barrett semi auto 50 BMG. Lugging that Barrett around is gonna get old fast.

So nuke em is the only real answer.

Now for the thread closure.

Jessesky · Jul 22, 2019

This may be the most far fetched gun question I’ve seen haha but I love it.

Because they have an exoskeleton, I’d use a shotgun with #4 buck and a very open choke to shatter the exoskeleton from multiple points rather than poke a single holes in it.

czhen · Jul 22, 2019

Someone told once for ants water works fine.
So Nerf .50 cal conected to San Pellegrino truck supply.

RedlegRick · Jul 22, 2019

460Shooter has a valid point about exoskeletons, even on standard size ants it's pretty tough, and they don't have a nervous system analogous to mammals, so how we understand hydrostatic shock probably won't apply. You'd need big, tough slugs with lots of velocity behind them to tear them up and blow off limbs and stuff.

skeeterfogger · Jul 22, 2019

My gun would be the flame thrower and maltov cocktails.

theotherwaldo · Jul 22, 2019

Soapy water will shut down the respiration of most insects, so I would probably want a fleet of airfield fire-fighting foam trucks. Failing that, RPGs backed up with M-1 tanks and Warthogs.

SharpDog · Jul 22, 2019

RAID:

NIGHTLORD40K · Jul 22, 2019

Well, since the square cubed law would indicate that a chitinous exoskelaton would collapse under the ants' own weight, they must have a device implanted in them that changes the local gravimetric coefficient around their bodies. Hit them with a strong enough EMP to disrupt the device field effect and SPLAT!

Tommygunn · Jul 22, 2019

Fascinating; I just watched my blue ray of this old sf classic this afternoon!
Flame throwers seemed particularly effective. "Shoot the antennae; he's helpless without them!" exclaimed Edmund Gwenn's character. The Thompson pumped out enough .45ACP to eventually tko the formidable formicidae.
Pop's .30-30 had more powerful ammo .... just not enough, fast enough ... and those big bad bugs bent the barrel! :uhoh:

(how's THAT for alliteration?? :evil:

)

Huge insects are a scientific impossibility in real life .... but that WAS a GREAT MOVIE!!!

SharpDog · Jul 22, 2019

Tommygunn said:
Fascinating; I just watched my blue ray of this old sf classic this afternoon!
Flame throwers seemed particularly effective. "Shoot the antennae; he's helpless without them!" exclaimed Edmund Gwenn's character. The Thompson pumped out enough .45ACP to eventually tko the formidable formicidae.
Pop's .30-30 had more powerful ammo .... just not enough, fast enough ... and those big bad bugs bent the barrel! (how's THAT for alliteration??)

Huge insects are a scientific impossibility in real life .... but that WAS a GREAT MOVIE!!!

Bashing bugs be better with BBs

Mousegun · Jul 22, 2019

Crossman 655 BB gun, I heard giant ants are very ticklish.

Jim Watson · Jul 22, 2019

One SF writer produced monster ants that were mostly empty space, just a web of muscles and organs inside a large stout chitinous shell.

AlexanderA · Jul 22, 2019

Because of the proportional weight of the exoskeleton, they would not be able to stand up. You cannot make a bug the size of an elephant, or an elephant the size of a bug. The type of weapon to be used would be moot.

Zaydok Allen · Jul 22, 2019

Actually I’d like to change my answer.

I’d want a tactical magnifying glass.

Tommygunn · Jul 22, 2019

AlexanderA said:
Because of the proportional weight of the exoskeleton, they would not be able to stand up. You cannot make a bug the size of an elephant, or an elephant the size of a bug. The type of weapon to be used would be moot.

Very true AlexanderA.... but somewhat of a killjoy answer. :cuss:

......

Tommygunn · Jul 22, 2019

460Shooter said:
Actually I’d like to change my answer.

I’d want a tactical magnifying glass.

Tactical magnifying glass .... :rofl:

Is that one with a picatinny rail? :evil:

SharpDog · Jul 22, 2019

Really Giant Anteater:

cheygriz · Jul 22, 2019

Giant spray gun loaded with RAID!!!

badkarmamib · Jul 22, 2019

Nuke 'em from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Zaydok Allen · Jul 22, 2019

If they really were part of our world human construction would need to be completely rethought. I suggest all houses be made to look like giant shoes. Multistory buildings would have to look like hiking boots, and skyscrapers would need to look like cowboy boots, and those tall leather hooker boots some women like to wear.

It’d be the only way to keep THEM out of our cities.

SharpDog · Jul 22, 2019

AlexanderA said:
Because of the proportional weight of the exoskeleton, they would not be able to stand up. You cannot make a bug the size of an elephant, or an elephant the size of a bug. The type of weapon to be used would be moot.

Annd, that's why they call it 'science-fiction' and not 'science' :neener:

MedWheeler · Jul 22, 2019

Isn't Bug-A-Salt coming out with a 127mm shipboard cannon version?

So which gun would you want to go after Giant Ants with.

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