I appreciate creative firearms designers. Sometimes they create truly revolutionary weapons that change the world. Sometimes they make silly weapons that give me a laugh and something to write about. Other times — and these are rarest times —they create regular guns with weird features. I’ve gathered six relatively normal firearms with some peculiar characteristics. Some were designed for the military, others for civilians, and some for both. Either way, they pack in the weird in a very low-key way.
1. The Israeli Galil — Conveniently Weird
Israeli’s domestic weapon production is always interesting. After several conflicts with their neighbors, they began to admire the AK-47 series rifles their enemies were using. Israelis saw the AK had lots of room to improve and took some ideas for the M16 and FN FAL on top of the AK and made the Galil series of rifles.
The Galil rifles are relatively standard gas-operated assault rifles designed in multiple configurations and multiple calibers. The rifle served well, so what’s so weird about it? Well, the Israelis installed a bottle opener in the front handguard of the rifle. Apparently, soldiers were damaging the feed lips of Uzi magazines by using them to open bottle tops. The Israelis decided they’d prevent this by just building the bottle opener into the gun. As far as weird features go, this one is practical.
2. Taurus Curve
In America, the concealed carry market has exploded, and small firearms became one of the biggest sellers in the world. Companies like Taurus produce a variety of firearms for concealed carry, and one is the Curve. It’s a reasonably standard firearm for the genre. It’s a small polymer-frame single-stack 380 ACP pistol designed to be easy to conceal and easy to carry.
There are dozens of guns out there just like this out there, so what makes the Curve different? Well, the name Curve is taken literally, and the gun is literally curved. Specifically, the polymer frame is curved to allow you to carry the weapon around the curve of your body. The weird features don’t stop with the curved frame. Taurus also implemented a small LED light and red laser into the frame.
3. Arisaka Type 99
The Arisaka Type 99 rifle was the battle rifle of the Imperial Japanese military during World War 2. The Arisaka was a robust bolt action rifle utilizing the 7.7x58mm Arisaka cartridge. The Type 99 rifle was a wood-stocked, bolt-action rifle that used a five-round magazine and could mount a bayonet. Pretty stock standard for the day, so what are the weird features?
Well, just one feature. The Arisaka Type 99 featured anti-aircraft sights and a wire monopod. The monopod isn’t necessarily weird, but anti-aircraft sights on a bolt-action rifle aren’t normal. The sights flip up, and two calipers flip to the side and are supposed to help the soldier lead the plane. I love the optimism, to be honest, but I don’t see the practicality.
4. Remington 7188 Shotgun
Remington makes some of the best combat shotguns on the planet, and this includes pump-action and semi-auto guns. In the 1960s, the Navy SEALs and Remington produced the Remington 7188. The Remington 7188 shotgun utilized a gas-operated action that allowed the weapon to fire without any manual action. Remington heads might say, oh, that’s just a Remington 1100, their most famous semi-auto shotgun.
You’d be almost right. The 7188 is a variant of the 1100 and does feature a semi-auto option. When we talk weird features on guns, the 7188 might feature my favorite. Not only do we have a semi-auto mode, but a fully automatic option. It was designed to be an anti-ambush-type weapon that could dispense all eight rounds of ammunition in a second or so. Full auto shotguns exist but are often magazine-fed. This was a tube magazine like a traditional shotgun, making it a bizarre idea that didn’t pan out.
5. KelTec Sub 2000
Pistol caliber carbines, or PCCs, have become immensely popular in the United States and offer a lightweight, cheap-to-shoot, easy-to-handle rifle platform. These carbines are in 9mm and offer a fun little gun that’s also capable of self-defense. The Sub 2000 from KelTec is a simple blowback-operated rifle that uses popular pistol magazines and comes in a few different calibers.
The barrel detaches from the receiver and folds over the gun. This cuts the firearm’s overall length to half. It becomes very compact and easy to store. It reminds me of a gun from a James Bond movie or similar fantastical spy-like films.
6. LeMat Revolver
The LeMat came to be in 1855 and followed the path of most cap and ball revolvers of the day. It was a single-action, black powder design that utilized either .36 or .42 caliber projectiles. Although, it did feature a nine-shot cylinder that surpassed most six-shooters of the time. That was neat, but not quite weird.
The weird feature of this gun is the 20-gauge black powder shotgun mounted under the barrel of the revolver. The weird hammer and design allowed the user to choose when to fire the revolver portion and when to fire the shotgun portion. This earned the LeMat the name ‘Grape Shot Revolver.’ It was seen as a potential calvary weapon in which the shot could increase the rider’s chance of scoring a hit. The LeMat wasn’t successful, but I want a replica so bad.
Weird Features and Normal Guns
Weird features on normal guns can take the average and make it peculiar. It might not always make the gun a hit or revolution, but they do provide an entertaining subject to examine. What are some other features of normal guns you know of? Let me know below.
