iGun Pro

Hey Everyone

Anyone out there who uses geeky apps on their smartphones?

It's been about a year since our close friend Qamarul passed away, and one of my most poignant memories of him was his fascination with the iPhone gun app called iGun Pro. He was fixated on the renowned PPSh-41 submachinegun, because its 71-round drum magazine has the biggest magazine capacity of the collection of guns available.

The PPSh-41 SMG of WWII fame.

iGun Pro a free app that is all about guns. It's kinda like those Japanese ready painted/assembled military toys that come in boxes, that give you a model and at the same time offer some educational stuff about the model you got. You collect guns by accumulating coins, 10 coins are given for each day you play the app. To this day, I still 'play' it (it's not strictly a game app) almost everyday, and what attracts me most to this app is simply collecting the guns, firing the guns, hearing their unique sounds, and reading wiki pages about each gun I got.

Money money money.

There are some fascinating things you can learn about guns from Wikipedia...such as the M2 machinegun actually held the record for longest ranged kill for a long time, as soldiers have attached scopes to the MG to use it as a 'sniper'. Also learned that the WWI anti-tank rifles (like the Boys) formed the basis of anti-materiel rifles of today, such as the American Barrett and the French PGM Hecate. Big caliber = big mess.

Guns of all types are available to collect!

Guns do kill people...or do people kill people? I admit that I have some fascination with guns, such as their looks, historical importance, the security they give, and the technical expertise that goes into designing them. Maybe it's just being a military geek, but I won't deny that a world with peace and no need of guns would be a worthy ideal to aim for.

Top Tens: Close Quarter Combat

Recently, I watched the Military Channel's Top Tens episode on Close Quarter Combat guns, and I found the list rather interesting. It has a lot of new guns listed, and it appears that the future of gun warfare would be in bullets totally designed by computers. Could the halcyon days of the venerable 5.56x45mm NATO be over?

Without further ado, here are the guns listed in descending order of rank:

10) IMI Uzi

A simple Israeli SMG produced in the 1950s, it was named after its creator, Major Uziel Gal, and it has spawned successful "spin-offs" (micro and mini) and continues to see action to this day.

9) FERFRANS SOAR (Special Operations Assault Rifle)

A Philippine designed rifle that limits recoil climb with a patented rate reduction system, which does away with the need of a 3-round burst system.

8) H&K G36C

The G36C brings a rifle round to a pistol fight. The G36C uses a 3-round burst to limit heat build up in its barrel.

7) LWRC M6 PSD

Sharing 80% of the parts with the M4 Carbine, it has special design features such as a self-regulating gas piston system, and advanced bolt carrier/carrier key design. Known to be a reliable and easy to maintain, and still pack quite some punch.

6) Knight's PDW

Guns are usually designed around a bullet, but this gun uses a bullet specially designed for the gun. It uses a 6x35mm proprietary round, to give it a lethal punch and yet has 50% less recoil than the M4 carbine.

5) FN P90

A gun that looks like it came from the future, the bullpup P90 is chock full of design features. Its casings drop downwards to allow it to be used in both left and right hand styles, which provides much needed flexibility in close quarters fights.

4) Cornershot

The brainchild of Lt. Col. Amos Golan of Israel, the Cornershot allows its user to fire around corners without exposing him/herself to deadly fire. I have heard that some troops use a cat soft toy cover for its barrel, and it's humorous to see bullets flying out a cat! Side note: the Germans in WWII had experimented with this idea using a curved barrel for the StG 44 Krummlauf.

3) Magpul FMG9

The FMG9 represents a revolution in SMG design, as its folding design allows it to be easily concealed (like a spare radio battery) and quickly deployed under fire. It was specially designed for protection details, who need to remain discreet and provide firepower when needed.

2) MP7

The MP7 is uses the propriety H&K 4.6x30mm cartridge, which provides stopping power that penetrates body armor. Easy to control and capable of pistol and shoulder firing positions, the MP7 looks to a true successor of the fabled MP5.

1) Kriss Super V

A weapon of unconventional design, the Kriss Super V uses an asymmetrical recoil system that diverts the recoil off-axis, behind the magazine. This dramatically reduces recoil climb, and it uses the .45ACP cartridge, giving it a lot of stopping power. Also, this deadly gun is designed to be easily maintained and owes some "gun-DNA" to the solid AK series of Russia.

What do you think of this list? I do feel that the MP5 should receive some mention, since it's been the staple SMG for a long time...and even shined during famous gun battles, most notably in Operation Nimrod (1980 Iranian Embassy Siege by SAS).