what is the best personal weapon of all time

i think the best personal wepon of all time is m1 garrand :bang: cause it was acurate fast and reliable

 

braintissue

 

A strong right arm. But nothing beats brain tissue!

 

The Blade... Its been around forever and has stood the test of time. If ya look at raw killing power... the amount of people put down under the merciless power of raw edged metal totally eclipses any other weapon ever created.

ya want specifics... The Swiss Army knife... theres a diabolical weapon if ive seen one =)... an for Roel... :bang: :kill:

 

I am going to assume that we are talking about what one weapon would we choose, if we had one weapon and one weapon only to choose.

Blades are great but they are eating tools and were used as such for centuries before forks were invented. If we are talking pre-gunpowder then I would choose the Roman Gladius.

If we are talking guns then I would choose a simple .22 caliber semi automatic rifle with a scope.

1. It can kill any animal that walks.
2. Ammo s cheap, readily available, and one person can carry thousands of rounds with ease.

My two cents worth.

:smok:

 

The Roman Gladius is a good choice. Designed for use at close quarters, it was/is a great weapon for a melee. It's only 'bad' point is the lack of reach (because it is a melee weapon). If you wanted a longer reach, I'd recommend the 'Viking' type sword. 3lb of supple, pattern-welded metal.
Beautiful.

Actually, for 'personal weapon' try the saex.
Single-edged long dagger. Used for everything from eating to cleaning your nails to stabbing some guy down the pub 'cos he cheated at dice.

 

I can't get excited about any weapon that small enough to be man portable. Give men a Queen Elizabeth Class battleship (pre 1930's rebuild) fast, well armed, well armoured and it even looks good.

 

I've heard of 'pocket battleships', but that is ridiculous!
:lol:

 

The Roman Gladius (latin for sword) is a nice weapon, but I would prefer something with greater range and a more potent swing if I had to choose one weapon. Viking or Saxon swords really serve that purpose. But I might prefer a small axe over both weapons because of its many powerful applications for survival.

Maybe where you live...

 

Greg - can a .22 really kill a Hippo?
Or a Rhino, or an Elephant, or... (Ok, you get the idea!)

Roel - axes can inflict nasty wounds, but when wielding them you leave yourself wide open to a simple stab in the stomach. They really are not good weapons to keep up a good 'guard' with.
Anglo-Saxon Housecarls used to fight in 'combat groups' with an axeman, and a couple of 'others'. One tactic they could perform was the 2 'others' protecting the axeman while he is swinging his axe (and therefore vulnerable).

 

Yes Ricky, a .22 caliber can kill any animal that walks. Didn't say it was easy, but a well placed shot will drop anything, including an elephant.



And, second to the Gladius, I would take a rapier. A person well skilled with one told me many years ago that within 12 feet, the rapier was more deadly than a gun. He said that he could kill a man with a rapier before the man with the pistol could pull the trigger.

Who knows if he is correct but I do know a rapier is awesome! Almost bought one a few years ago.

 

That is surely so. But I wouldn't want to break my weapon in the middle of combat, against man or animal, which is less likely with axes than with swords.

Ah well, it's just that an axe doesn't require as much skill to be used efficiently and I'm not a physically skilled man at all...

 

Personal means something that's easilty to carry and to conceal but yet remains lethal. I doubt I can lug around a M1-Garand or an AK-47 in Washington D.C without attracting attention, let alone dragging a Queen-Elizabeth class battleship on the street.
My favorite is gotta be the Walther PPK, there 's a reason why Hitler chose it to end his life. It's small, yet reliable and deceptively powerful.

 

The best personal weapon is always the one that's to hand when you need it!

 

Roel - axes do tend have a wooden handle, which can be cut by a sword...
Many Medieval pole weapons had reinforcing bands of iron along the fist few feet of the wooden pole to prevent this happening.

however (I digress again)

I am definately with Greg on this, although I would really take almost any of the long dagger / short sword type weapons out there. After all, a sword never runs out of bullets...

 

Easier, I would imagine, in theory than practice. An axe handle will have to be quite strong to stand up the the forces exserted on in in normal use. In a fight you would probably find it far easier to kill the axe man than prat about trying to cut the axehead off with a weapon that isn't designed for cutting wood.

 

Yes, agreed.
Although it does depend a bit on stuff like the length of the axe-handle.
If you own a Viking 'bearded axe' for example, the handle is anywhere from 3 - 6 feet in length (1 - 2 metres).
If one of them comes down, and some poor bugger lifts his sword to parry...
The target dies (not like in the films!), but the axeman has a deep cut on the shaft of his axe, which weakens it significantly. Next time he tries to cut through a shield to get to somebody's arm, it might well snap.

 

A sawed-off,pump action,12 gauge shotgun loaded with buckshot would get my vote.Not big on ammo capacity,but who's gonna volunteer to take the first five or six rounds?

 

Let's see...

How about fuming red nitric acid; fuming sulfuric acid; and glycerin in small amounts. That's about as detailed as I want to get.

Or, potassium nitrate, carbon, and sulfer for grins.

P.S. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!

:smok:

 

Never bring a knife to a gun fight. The kind of pistol can be debated, but the modern multi-shot pistol must surely win.