When it comes to collectors guns, most collectors generally look for weapons which were primarily used throughout world war one and world war two. There are certain collectors however that look for armaments that come more specifically from the Vietnam war. While a good number of the weapons that were used in WW2 were also used in the Vietnam war, there were many modifications made on the traditional weapons designs, and many of the designs that persist and are still made to this day. Here is a rundown of some of the top historical guns which were used in Vietnam:
The M16: The 16 rifle would become one of the most widely used Vietnam war infantry rifles. It was the replacement for the M14 rifle and considered to be much more accurate than the typical AK47. The only problem that the M16 was best known for was its jamming action. In many cases this jamming was caused by spent cartridges getting lodged in the chamber, which was mostly caused by changes in gunpowder throughout testing. This is a gun that has been used since 1962 to the present day and still continues to be produced in a much more refined format.
M40 Rifle: This was a bolt action sniper rifle widely used by the US marine corps. This rifle had several different variants including the M40A1, M40A2 and M40A5. The first version of the rifle was introduced in 1966 and this sniper rifle was widely used as a support and sniper rifle throughout the Vietnam war. This same rifle is still used by the United States today to provide sniper fire support. It was one of the first officially designated US standard issue sniper rifles and since then the design has changed to include features like suppressed fire, a light weight construction and the ability to fire effectively over 800 meters or 2600+ ft.
M60: This caliber 7.62 mm machine gun was the ultimate general purpose machine gun for the Vietnam war. First put into service in 1957, there are still variants of this weapon being produced for the US military today. It was approved for several different types of ammunition including armor piercing rounds, ball tracer and more and was quite often mounted in helicopters throughout the Vietnam war. The weapon was belt fed and quite often used in teams of two to three people due to its size and the sheer volume of bullets it could fire. Teams would consist of an assistant gunner, a gunner and an ammunition bearer. The weapon is fed ammunition from a 100 round bandolier which has a metal disintegrating split link belt. It is gas powered, air cooled and belt fed and considered effective at a range of up to 1,100 meters while mounted with a full tripod.
Smith and Wesson M76: This submachine gun was very different from the grease guns of WWII and was capable of firing 720 rounds per minute. The guns were used my navy seals as well as Swedish forced through the Vietnam war. The Swedish version was the Swedish K gun and Smith and Wesson copied their plans after the Swedish government refused to provide weapons to American forces for the war. The American version had some alterations making it capable of firing caseless ammo. It was produced from 1967-1974 and although it performed well, the ammunition was susceptible to corrosion and also had to be delicately handled to prevent damage.