If Oprah (paunchy, haughty, rich, has-been talk show host) can have her favorite things, so can I. And it’s Black Friday.
Therefore, I thought that I’d blog about my favorite BLACK submachine guns/machine pistols to shoot. They are not in any particular order. I love shooting them all for different reasons. When I was in the military and in my subsequent civilian government work, we qualified on “third world weapons” semi-annually, which meant those weapons we would likely find on the bodies of people we killed – and may need to take up and use if we ran out of ammo ourselves. Yes, I like the H&K MP-5SD2, MPK and the G-36 Commando, but I carried those as duty weapons at different times and became over-used on them so that they weren’t as fun to shoot as the more “exotic” SMG’s, below. The exception to that is the MP7A1 and A2.
I start with the SMG’s and gravitate downward to the Machine Pistols, which are a subset of SMG’s.
M-1928A1 (Navy) Thompson Submachine gun USA
I love the Thompson gun. It’s low cyclic rate lets your fire full auto and walk the rounds to the target as the heavy .45 ACP rounds thud out of the barrel. The weapon is rugged and was built to last. Using .45 ACP tracer ammunition is a real kick because the glow like “pumpkin balls” as they drift out to the target. It’s at the top of the list because it’s one of my very favorites.
M-45 Carl Gustav SWEDEN
No, it’s not a “Tommy Gun”, but the Swedish K is a very reliable, functional, easily repairable, submachine gun. They are still found around the world in the hands of militaries, spooks and mercenaries. For a very long time it was the favored submachine gun of US clandestine operators. It’s light to carry and as with its brethren, it bridges the gap between a handgun and a carbine/rifle.
MP7A1 (H&K) GERMANY
Heckler and Koch threw a 4.6×30 mm lightweight cartridge into a submachine gun/machinepistol hybrid and came out a winner. This weapon is currently carried by US forces, so I’m fudging by adding it here. I have no choice, I love this little weapon. There couldn’t be more difference than shooting an M1 Thompson, but that’s why more than one firearm is made. It’s the size of a pistol with a big SMG punch in a small cartridge.
Skorpion V-61 CZECHOSLOVAKIA
There are different cartridge options with the Skorpion. I favor the .380 (9 mm kurtz), but there are a lot of people who differ with me and prefer the .32 ACP (above) variant. They are small, have a high cyclic rate and are a true ‘machine pistol’. The new CZ805 BREN is also called a Skorpion, but they are two different weapons entirely.
Micro Uzi Israel
My Israeli friends would be unhappy if I snubbed them. The “Micro” Uzi is a reliable, effective machine pistol. I haven’t fired them as frequently as I fired their larger brethren, but you’ll note the effective use of the stock as a fore-grip as well as as the economical manufacturing process. They’re a in the same class as the Skorpion in that their high cyclic rate makes them a favorite with assassins.
PP2000 RUSSIA
The Russians, interested in retaining bragging rights for a machine pistol, came out with the PP — in 2000. It has some interesting features and MUST be fired with two hands, despite what Spetznaz operators claim. This comes from a design and balance issue. However, when fired as designed, it’s a buzz saw.
The venerable WW2 era PPSh came in honorable mention. No, it’s not something that I’d want to carry into battle because you have no idea where the rounds are going, but it’s a hoot to fire.
Feel free to post your favorites and dispute my choices.
There's always the M2 Carbine, which is what we had. Works great if you don't actually have to shoot someone.
I'd love to own a Thompson. Prior to the National Firearms Act of 1934 you could buy these for $200 in hardware stores. I'd spend my pension on ammo though….
That would be a pension wisely spent.
I'm not a huge fan of the M2 for that reason. However it's an easy rifle to carry and it's fun for plinking. The ballistics on it are somewhat less than a pistol cartridge but they work on varmints, cans and election posters of Barack.
I'd have to add the Kriss Vector to the list… FUN little sub gun, .45 cal and very controllable, even on full auto!
Had a Finnish dirtbike friend who said while in the Army he really loved the purr of the Suomi, but they took it away and gave him a godawful AK-thing he hated.
I thought the M/.30Carbine2 was pretty much on-par with a .357Magnum round? At my old club we used to have an annual Carbine Shoot – at 100-yards, my buddy Wes could keep them all in the 10-ring…
I've heard about the Kriss but have never shot one. It's good to have this review and to consider how I might go about scamming the opportunity to dump a few mags in one.
The Suomi is the Finnish version of the PPSh, which I gave honorable mention above. At any kind of close range the thing is a garden hose and effective, but at least the AK could reach out (a bit farther).
I understand the Finns like to get in close and have a talent for knives, too.
I've worked with all of the various intelligence services in Scandinavia and the Finns CONSISTENTLY impressed me. The Danes, not so much. The Swedes are ok, Norwegians are my personal friends. The Fins are COOL in more ways than just temperature.
It was really made, or so I've heard, for work in jungles or close woods. You also needed a small child to sit on the front of the barrel; it climbed a bit.
It fires full auto, but it's really a semi-auto weapon.
The Swedish K has a wicked climb as well, you need to start low and left and let it sweep up and right. The Thompson tends to do that as well but I think that it's easier to control than the K.
pretty sure the pink sigs are feeling discriminated against. such a racist.
This SMG blog post is all about black. If it's not black, take it back.
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