Equipping your armed forces (small arms)

[Kenshin]

If you were in charge of choosing the tools of a newly created armed forces, what would you put as the standard and such?

Example:

Rifle: G36 (G36-C issued to vehicle crews, tankers, and Spec Ops)
Pistol: XD-45
DM Rifle: M-14
SMG: UMP-45
Shotgun: Ithaca 37
Sniper: SR-25

Heavy Weapons: M249 SAW, M240, M2 .50

 

[bogie]

Is it comprised of your average everyday Americans?

Give 'em something with a joystick.

 

[Diesel man]

For my armed forces
Battle Rifle:G36 special forces Ak-74 series for common infantry forces
Pistol:Colt 1911 .45 common infantry forces and a smith and wesson .357 revolver for some MPs and low rank recruits
Smg:Uzi for common infantry forces and Mp5 for special forces
Shotgun:Remington 870 optional for all forces,Spas12 for MPs
Sniper:Remington 700 and Barret 50 cal rifle
Heavy weapons:RPK and M2 .50

For the rebels and freedom fighters in my militia
Battle rifles:AK semi-autos,illegal,Legal full autos,SKS,AR15s semi-auto,illegal modified or stolen maybe bought black market, and legal registered full autos,Fals same thing as above,etc
pistol:Most common types with some occasional rare and illegal ones
smg:All of the most common semiautos with some class 3 and illegal ones
shotgun:common shotguns with a few full auto and short barrel shotguns some legal and others illegal
sniper:the whole mix
Heavy weapons:Legal class 3's and some stolen national guard and abc agencies machine guns or bought from black market.

 

[Lucky]

I think a battle rifle has to use a full-power cartridge.

 

[TCUGLOCKER]

I would give everyone that cow-transformation ray I keep seeing on TV commercials... MMMOOO

 

[rangerruck]

steyer aug, cz-45 pistol, Saiga 12 shotty, with 10 round mags,
ar 10 long range work, m60 E3, for all automatic work and supression.

 

[Kalashnikov]

I'll go a differant route.

Battle Rifle: AK in 6.5 grendel
Pistol: Glock 21 (I'm not the biggest Glock fan but they work)
SMG: MP5/10
Shotgun: Sagia 12
GPMG: Pecheneg
Heavy MG: Kord
SAW: RPK in 6.5 Grendel
Sniper: M70 in 30-06

AS you can see, I went in a differant direction than most.

 

[Ian]

Rifle: Mondragon, 7x57
Pistol: Type 94 Nambu, 8mm
SMG: M55 Reising, .45
Light MG: Chauchat, .30-06

 

[Medusa]

Anything with the common calibre of the most likely enemy.
AK-10x rifles, SVD-S as DMR, VSS/AS for SF operators, PK as MG, maybe a KORD or two, 60mm mortars and LOTS of C4 explosives + grenades. AT mines, tripmines etc etc.

 

[mbt2001]

Rifle: FN P90
Side Arm: FN FiveSeven
Shotgun: Mossberg 590
Light MG: FN M240
Medium: FN M249
Sniper Rifle: SR-25

Special Forces - whatever they needed depending on the op.

 

[Ndenway]

AR-10A2/A4 and M-14 for the MBR, they use the same mag with a little modification,

sniper rifle current M40A, and AR-10T

side arm would be XD-45acp

shotgun Benilli M1 combat

standard M-79

 

[Geronimo45]

For armed forces with loads of money:
Rifle: FN FNC (looks like the FAL, but it's in 5.56) and the SCAR (on a more limited basis, for more elite units).

DM Rifle: Sniper variant SCAR in 7.62x51.

Handgun: FN FiveSeven seems like a nice choice, with a laser/light combo on the rail. All troops would be issued one (with negligence use severely punished, of course). Might have FN modify the thing so as to let it accept a wire-frame shoulder stock for longer distance shots... or even take a page from the VP-70 book, and allow full-auto fire only with the shoulder stock attached. Also have a 9mm pistol issued... M9A1 Beretta's good.

SMG: A few P90s, and a STEN-like 9mm. Don't see the need for an MP5 with its high price tag. P90's there to make FN happy. Take a STEN. Add a safety to it. Have a rail for sights, lights, lasers. Put in a better magazine (heard that STEN mags had issues), make it rock-in like the AK's. Probably be best to stick the magazine directly underneath the gun, too, instead of to the left or right. SMGs would be mainly issued to tankers and RE folk.

Sniper Rifle: Some super-accurized bolt action in 338 Lapua or a brand new Walther 2000.

 

[ilbob]

The oddest questions get asked here.

If you have a real military force to equip you need to look at the totality of the thing. It is not just about what is the "best" caliber or firearm.You have to look at economics, logistics, training, politics, and about 20 other things before you can make a decent decision.

There is a lot to be said for simplicity and minimizing the strain on your logistics systems. The AK is simple, solid, and cheap, and so is the ammo. It is accurate enough for most general uses. Ammo is readily available just about anywhere in the world.

I am not all that sure that most of your troops have a need for a handgun. It just means you have extra stuff you have to buy, and supply, and train for. Most anything you can do with a handgun, you can also do with a rifle.

I feel the same way about shotguns. They might have some special use in a few cases, but an AK will do most of the things you need to do, and again, simplifies things not to have additional items in your arsenal.

Russian design RPGs have proven to be nearly as effective as the far more expensive US made man-portable anti-tank weapons.

 

[M249MachineGun]

Standard infantry rifle: Saiga-quality AK in .223
Designated Marksman rifle: VEPR-quality milled receiver AK in .308
Sub-machine gun: Bizon smg in 9mm parabellum
Shotgun: Saiga-12K with 10-round magazines
LMG/GPMG: Kalashnikov-type PK in .223 and .308
Pistol: Glock-19

This ought to minimize training problems, as it is mostly just inexpensive AKs. And anyone can use a Glock.

 

[heypete]

Rifle: AR-15/M16 variant. It's battle-tested, accurate, and suitable for nearly all modern warfare. M4s are handy too, but having a few in that "family" are good. Ergonomics are good, the rifle's lightweight, and nearly everyone can handle it well.

Pistol: Glock 19. Able to fit most people's hands (the XD-45 can be too big for some), 9mm recoil is easily managed by most people, few moving parts mean less to break, and spare parts are cheap and plentiful. Easy to train on.

DM Rifle: M14/M1A. Accurate, powerful.

SMG: Uzi. Simple, fires 9mm (cross-compatible with the G19), manageable recoil, few moving parts mean less to break, parts are cheap and plentiful. Reliable, durable, and easy to learn.

Shotgun: Mossberg 500 or variant (590?). The tang-mounted safety means that it's easy to train for both lefties and righties. Lightweight, durable, reliable, and mechanically simple.

Sniper: Some variant of the Remington 700, threaded for muzzle-mounted suppressor. Sure, suppressing .308 isn't all that easy, but reducing the sound of the shot will greatly reduce the ability of the receiving party to determine the location of the sniper, increasing the sniper's survivability.

 

[Aaryq]

Rifle: M16A4/M4 Carbine (Beretta CX4 Storm availible upon assignment warranting a pistol cartridge carbine)
Pistol: Not a big pistol Expert...something in 9mm with High Capacity
DM Rifle: M1A SOCOM II
SMG: H&K MP5
Shotgun: Saiga 12
Sniper: I would consult with the snipers and ask them what THEY want

 

[USMC Tanker]

Weapons list for TODAYS fight?

Ready to field NOW without time available for tweaking/working out imperfections/modifying designs?

Utilities: MARPAT
Personnel Armor: Eagle Ind. CIRAS

Rifle: M16A4/M4A4 (Dependent upon billet and/or specialty)
Grenade Launcher: M203 (Dependent upon billet and/or specialty)
DM Rifle: M14 (Accurized and modified by the USMC Precision Weapon Section in Quantico, VA)
Squad Level MG: M249 SAW
Shotgun: M1014 Combat Shotgun
Pistol: MCSOCOM Det-1 ICQB Pistol

Sniper Rifle: M40A3/M82 (Dependent upon mission)
Medium MG: M240
Heavy MG: M2/MK19 (Dependent upon mission)
Anti-Tank: AT4/SMAW/Javelin

Troop Vehicle: Cougar
Armor: M1A1 Abrams/LAV 25 (Dependent upon mission)

Helos: AH-1W Cobra, UH-1N Iroquois
Attack/Fighter: F/A-18 C/D Hornet
Support: C130 Hercules (Cargo), AC130 Spectre (Close air support)

 

[cheygriz]

I'd give them the best rifle and pistol ever issued.

The M16 and M9.

Why go back to ancient krap that the whole world discarded decades ago??