What do you see as the next BIG EVOLUTION in gun design?

T

TxFlyFish

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This topic can be outlandish but let's keep it reasonable. What BIG changes do you foresee in gun design in the next 50 years?

I foresee adaptive ergonomics and accuracy tuning, "on the fly" without user having to swap out parts. The gun will electronically "sense" condition from "rest" to "panic" mode and mold it's grip shape/texture, trigger pull, and sights accordingly.

Gun will be able to calculate physics on the fly and provide micro adjustments to ensure POA=POI.


Just some ideas, what do you guys see in the next 50 years?
 
Most likely a $15,000 1911 thats is so tight it literally doesnt shoot. Just a hunk of metal. But the grip angle will be perfect...
Or all joking aside I could see more advanced plastics that will replace metal parts. Guns will be lighter and higher capacity than now.
 
Maybe full polymer barrel? We already have metal lined polymer barrels. The 100% polymer deep concealment gun. The initial production will have a max parts life of 250 rounds
 
Firing systems that do not require squeezing a trigger (which can pull point of impact to either side). In favor of firing systems that require a shooter to simpy touch a button.
 
Rather than the guns themselves, I imagine military development might actually make a caseless round, like the HK G11 ammunition, that works reliably and catches on in the mass market. This would in turn effect gun designs in ways I am unqualified to speculate on.
 
I see a lot of things staying the same. Mechanical triggers are much more reliable than electronic triggers and don't require batteries that die at the worst time. I know that the government would live to require a whole mess of things such as finger print readers so only the owner can fire the gun, or trackable ammo which is similar to what tasers have.

Other things that will most probably stay the same is metal barrels. When you are dealing with explosive forces such as ammunition, nothing that currently exists handles the pressure and heat like metal. Plastics will melt and ceramic is too brittle. For things that probably will change, I see the slide being made out of lighter metals such as titanium or possibly even carbon fiber. These will have metal inserts for strength, I'm sure, but it will lighten up the guns for sure. The only issue is that the mass of the slide helps tame recoil so some kind of advanced recoil system will be needed such as the Harrts system. Even then, the spring will probably have to be much stiffer to reduce felt recoil and keep the gun from beating itself to death.

I'm not quite sure we will be ready for "energy" weapons in the next 50 years, but who would have thought we would be sending people to the moon 50 years ago? I think tasers have their place, and they have been proven to be more effective at immediately stopping a threat. Of course there are the limitations of range, having a single shot only, being a battery operated device, and the effects of thick clothing.

Like I said, a lot of what we have now will probably be around for a long while. Let's just hope the government doesn't find a way to render all of our guns into paper weights. :(
 
Well it all depends on inventing higher capacity and smaller power sources. If we have a tiny fusion generator that can be installed in the gun, having a micro railgun seems pretty easy. If not familiar with the concept, this would use a rail of electromagnets to accelerate a slug of metal close to the speed of light, at which point it pretty much becomes energy.

Having a compact, very high output fusion generator solves most of the world's problems really. Century old technologies like combustion of gunpowder or fossil fuels would be completely replaced. We are close now, they create fusion reactions using high-powered lasers a few miles from where I live. They just need to get the lasers efficient enough that it is a net gain transaction.

But I digress.

Laser guns!
 
Honestly, I don't see pistols developing that much over the next 50 years. Materials may steadily get stronger and lighter, but the design will probably stay the same. There just isn't the need to change. The design hasn't really changed since cartridge guns were invented. Revolvers still, well, revolve and semi's still work pretty much the same they always have.

Wars and militaries generally drive arms design, and since wars are becoming more and more unmanned, I don't see rifles and pistols getting any sort of groundbreaking developments until we master lasers. I predict we keep going down the "tactical" road we've been going down for the last 15 years, and ARs of the future will get basic cable(with paid subscription plus the 3 month free trial), but that's more of an accessory issue than a design one.

I was born in 1987 and even I remember the talk back in the 90's of how we'd have flying cars by now.
 
If the latest Beretta rifle is a good example as I believe it is, we will see increases in modularity, elimination of tools, weapons that can be configured easily for different tactical situations. The page I linked provides several other insights in actual developments of military technology applied at the individual soldier level.

The rifle is the ARX 160 by the way.


The quickest changes will be in the convergence of information technology tools: from the page i quoted above
The soldier wears a touch screen for sending and receiving orders and information in the form of both text messages and graphic / image messages and displaying tactical situations, navigation data, global positioning system data over digital maps. The touch screen is wire linked to a pocket-sized computer that uses a standard man machine interface
Click to expand...
.

Manned aviation will eventually disappear, particularly for combat aircrafts. A pilotless aircraft that can outperform anything else and be much cheaper to build will be pa reality in the foreseeable future.

Incidentally,we sent the Apollo mission to the Moon 42 years ago so I guess somebody was imagining stuff 50 years ago. Time flies, it surprised me too thinking about it.

The pace of change and technological transformation we have witnessed in the last few years will accelerate in the near future, we are just seeing the beginning.
 
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Guns that are continuously feed belted ammo, with reliable exploding shells, that automatically show you needed lead. All this just so we can shoot down those danged flying cars!!!!
 
ive got a bit of an idea

imagine an optic on top of an assault rifle, or submachine gun

its basically a really hi-def digital camera, perfectly mounted and zeroed. with a click of a button you can go from 1x-1.5-3-10-40 you get the idea.

it records the entire engagement. it could transmit it in real time. it records when the trigger is pulled.

the screen is able to be viewed at a near perpendicular angle. you can shoot around corners and above cover.

in my imagination its more of a SWAT/hostage rescue/indoor CQB type thing, than the "future soldier" thing the army was/is doing. vey similar though, but brought up to modern speed.
 
I like that idea! It would not be hard to include windmeter and rangefinder. Basically no more turrets to turn.

Here's a radical idea. Could firearm design go green? What if you harnessed part of the spend cartridge energy? To charge electronic attachements or perhaps like a turbo system feedback to add power to the next round
 
The biggest advances will be to make guns cheaper.

Plastic frames and receivers are well established. Plastic trigger groups are starting to spread.

MIM will be improved and be even more widely used.

Guns will be built from the inside out. Google "3d printer."
Click to expand...

Yep, that will be a big one.

As metals prices increase, plastic cartridge casings might make a comeback.

I don't see much of a future for caseless cartridges. Civilians don't really get as much advantage out of it as the military does. Even if it did work out to be significantly cheaper, the increased price of caseless firearms would make up for it.

The intersection of optics and digital technology is hopefully going to be big. "Smart" scopes that will be able do all kinds of cool things.

Combine the "smart scope" with gyro-stabilizers. Design the stabilizer so it can also tilt the rifle for you. Real life auto aim. How cool would that be?
 
Laser guided bullets.

hand held Rail guns

the 9mm vs .45 debate will finally but settled with rounds that are 9mm as a loaded round but when it exits the barrel it expands to .45 size.
 
An electro / mechanical aiming device simlar to the one on the cannon of a Blackhawk helicopter.

Optics worn by the shooter read and communicate POA with a miniature gyroscopic device in the firearm for steady POI = POA every time. Aiming is done simply by looking at the target and pointing the gun.


ETA: And I'm sure someone will try to fill the gaping void between the 9mm and the .40 S&W.
 
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This might not be big but before we hit something major like energy weapons we might see changes in magazine design. Ie ability to load and switch at will multiple ammo at will. Shotguns are already seeing transition and I think pistols won't be far behind.

Just imagine in a semi auto pistol you can switch from low power less lethal cartridge to a high power one all with the press of a button
 
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