The firearm database
9,162 firearms from 1,003 manufacturers in 69 countries, with 605 cartridges. Every record cites the pages its figures come from, and every figure is reachable through the API.
What it holds
One catalogue, every record structured the same way and served by the same API.
Browse every firearmBy type
Each type is a page of its own, with every record of it.
By country of origin
The countries with the most records; all 69 are in the catalogue.
By action
How each firearm cycles, from short recoil to lever action.
- Short recoil2,812
- Bolt action1,269
- Blowback971
- Break action559
- Gas operated397
- Long-stroke gas piston335
- Direct impingement267
- Revolving222
- Short-stroke gas piston205
- Muzzleloading201
- Pump action186
- Lever action161
- Double action128
- Falling block120
- Roller-delayed blowback100
- Single action92
- Short-stroke piston84
- Single-action revolver74
- Double-action revolver67
- Inertia operated59
- Recoil operated48
- Delayed blowback41
Ranked by their figures
The lightest, smallest and highest-capacity of each type, from measured figures only.
- Highest-capacity assault rifles276
- Lightest assault rifles274
- Shortest assault rifles271
- Highest-capacity battle rifles110
- Lightest battle rifles107
- Shortest battle rifles107
- Highest-capacity carbines423
- Lightest carbines409
- Shortest carbines407
- Lightest machine guns261
- Shortest machine guns260
- Highest-capacity machine guns222
- Highest-capacity personal defense weapons57
- Lightest personal defense weapons54
- Shortest personal defense weapons53
- Highest-capacity pistols1,962
- Smallest pistols1,911
- Lightest pistols1,909
- Highest-capacity revolvers434
- Smallest revolvers415
- Lightest revolvers404
- Lightest rifles1,612
- Highest-capacity rifles1,611
- Shortest rifles1,557
- Highest-capacity shotguns777
- Lightest shotguns755
- Shortest shotguns678
- Highest-capacity sniper rifles434
- Lightest sniper rifles430
- Shortest sniper rifles429
- Highest-capacity submachine guns287
- Lightest submachine guns282
- Shortest submachine guns281
The data is the product, so it is the thing we maintain
A specification database is only worth the state it is in today. Keeping it consistent is where the engineering goes, and these are the figures it produces rather than a claim about effort.
See the live health checks- Records citing at least one source page
- 100%
- Records citing two or more
- 83%
- Records citing a maker, a standards body or a government document
- 34%
- Mean confidence across the catalogue
- 74%
- Every record is validated before it shipsTypes, units and vocabularies are checked in CI. A barrel length is millimetres or the build fails.
- Nothing automated writes to the catalogueAgents and checks file proposals against a record. A person decides what lands.
- Every change is dated and addressableRecords carry updatedAt and a content hash, so you can tell what moved and fetch only that.
Questions about the firearm database
How the catalogue is built and how to use it.
The database
How many firearms are in the database?
9,162 firearms from 1,003 manufacturers in 69 countries, and 1,353 of them are variants of another record.
Read about the catalogueWhere does the data come from?
Every record cites the pages its figures were read from: 100% cite at least one and 83% two or more. 34% cite the maker, a standards body or a government document.
Read about the catalogueCan I download the firearm database?
The catalogue is served through the API as JSON, record by record or in pages, with change webhooks for keeping a copy current.
Read about the catalogueIs the firearm database free to browse?
Yes. Every record, ranking and cartridge on this site is free to read. The API has a free plan for building on it.
Read about the catalogue