Posted on Sep 10, 2022
What is the OLDEST model weapon that you used in the Military?
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For many of us, this will probably be dominated by the .45 Cal. Model 1911 Pistol (in service since 1911) and the .50 Cal. M2 Machinegun (Manufactured since 1921). For me, it was the above 2 weapons, plus the Smith & Wesson Model 1905 .38 Special Revolver. Please make this weapons that you actually used, carried, or operated as a service member. (The Navy guys will probably win. They never throw anything away.)
Rifles
Handguns and Pistols
Artillery
Machine Gun Basic
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 239
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Ma Deuce, of course! That was a fun day. I served on the .50 Cal crew, carried an M16 (various versions thereof), and an M203. I qualified with a 9mm Beretta, too but it wasn't my weapon, I went to the range with the S-3 one day, and fired his.
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SPC (Join to see)
I had an M813 (809 maybe) 5-Ton that would drive through a house (or wherever I wanted to go) too...plus an M-16 A2, and my own Rem 700 .270 right next to it in the arms room... since I rode on recovery missions in the 88 sometimes I got to be qualified with the old grease gun too....it was a hell of noise maker.
HALT! Who goes there?!
HALT! Who goes there?!
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M2, M3, 1911 were the oldest Arms I have fired. I used to own a sporter Krag Rifle in 30-40 or .30 Army (try looking for that by that name, stick with .30-40)
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MSG Lonnie Averkamp
CW3 Kevin Storm, "Cal .30 U.S.". I handled one, but not as part of my military duties.
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MSG Lonnie Averkamp
You are fortunate. I got to handle and disassemble/assemble the BAR, but Committee had no 30-06 on Range Day.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Thompson, but the darned thing weighed almost as much as an M-1 Garand.
And I was fortunate enough to be picked up for a Division Pistol Team, for a while, that used 1911's.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Thompson, but the darned thing weighed almost as much as an M-1 Garand.
And I was fortunate enough to be picked up for a Division Pistol Team, for a while, that used 1911's.
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PO2 Joan MacNeill
I was at a firearms museum, picked up their Thompson, asked what the danged high-gravity gadget weighed. Was told 12 pounds. Tops the M1 by 3.
In one command, a shipmate invited me to join him at the pistol team's practice. I was already pretty proficient with the 1911, and had a great time. But an official later told me I should not have been there since I wasn't a team member. I was so put off by his pissy attitude that I never even considered returning, or looking into team membership.
In one command, a shipmate invited me to join him at the pistol team's practice. I was already pretty proficient with the 1911, and had a great time. But an official later told me I should not have been there since I wasn't a team member. I was so put off by his pissy attitude that I never even considered returning, or looking into team membership.
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MSG Lonnie Averkamp
PO2 Joan MacNeill - You're right. It weighs in at 1.4 pounds more than the Garand. (No wonder it was so easy to hold on-target in full-auto fire.)
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Oldest used in service? M60 Machine Gun in BCT...as far as I know, anyway. Oldest in my possession? A trench knife and a bayonet from WWI.
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MSG Lonnie Averkamp
M-60: "the Pig". LOVE to hear it: HATE to carry it. The WW1 Trench Knife was a neat piece of Kit.
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SSG Eric Blue
MSG Lonnie Averkamp - The trench knife and the bayonet, however, were passed down to me by my father-in-law. They belonged to his dad, who fought in WWI.
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Are we talking, anything? I drove an 87 hemmet in WAANG back in 2010... 50cal, we think, was issued to the unit in 72.. post Vietnam
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I OWNED A 1911 AND A M-1 CARBINE WELL BEFORE I ENTERED THE USA (1965-1968) YOU'LL CRY IF I TOLD YOU WHAT I PAYED FOR THEM AND I STILL HAVE BOTH. IN VN I WAS NEVER ISSUED A 1911 BUT MANAGED TO AQUIRE ONE UNTIL I TRADED IT FOR A SLR CAMERA. I WAS THERE WHEN THE DIRTY AMMO WAS BEING GIVEN TO US FOR THE M-16 (BASIC & AIT TRAINED WITH THE M-14) AND WOULD HAVE LOVED TO GET MY HANDS ON A M-1 CARBINE OR M-37 SHOTGUN RATHER THEN THE M-16. SO SHORT ANSWER WAS THE 45 1911. THE OLDEST MILITARY RIFLE I OWN IS A 1898 KRAG (30-40).
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SGT George Edward Brown
MSG Lonnie Averkamp - JUMP SCHOOL MAY 1966, MARRIED 4tH OF JUNE, VN 16th OF JUNE "66, BEAT THE TET OF '68 BY A WEEK, THEY TOLD ME IF I HAD COME OFF OF LEAVE A WEEK EARLIER I WOULD HAVE BEEN SHIPPED RIGHT BACK TO VN WITH THE 82nd AND WOULD HAVE HAD A HIGHLY PISSED OFF WIFE THAT DIDN'T DRIVE....
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SGT Brigitte Baker
SGT George Edward Brown - My dad missed the Tet by a week, too, my grandfather passed away shortly before and he was home for the funeral. I was a little over a year old.....
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I first used the M2 .50 cal when I was on Sheridans back in the day and didn't use one again until the M1 series tanks came out. The oldest tank I was on...that's a toss-up between the M48A5 and an old M60A1 I once had at Ft Riley. The M60A1 had an old M60 hull (dtd 1961 I believe) with an A1 turret with add-on stab and IR sights. The M48A5 on the other hand was a Ft Drum during a rotation there. It had the later 105mm gun turret. Not sure which was actually older. The M1911 pistols had had were indeed old, including the "smooth bore" 1911 I had during the first Gulf War.
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MSG Lonnie Averkamp
Man, there aren't many M48 crewmen left. It's true that the Model 1911 may be an older design, but the M48 DEFINITLY left service first.
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