#10. The crossbow:
Naw. The longbow was better, it allowed for faster, more accurate shots, and it's what won Britain many battles in the 100 years war.
#9. Bowie Knife:
Agree with this, can't beat a good old knife.
#8. M1911A1: its recoil hinders its accuracy which bumps it down several notches.
The recoil of the 1911 is less than a glock shooting the same caliber.
#7.Thompson Submachine Gun:
Talking about recoil, this thing kick like a mule. It's really quite heavy as well. Good placement though
#6. The Halberd:
Good choice, but I would have to go with the Shaolin Spade instead, combed the ideas of the Halberd into a more maneuverable package.
#5. M1 Garand:
While this does deserve it's place in any top 10's list, I don't really agree that it belongs this high. I think the Sturmgewehr 44 deserves this spot as it really is the grandfather to most of today's assault rifles.
#4. RPG7
Yes, it is a useful anti-tank weapon, but the problem is that you have to be quite close. The small fins on the projectile itself don't really help in keeping it going straight and it will shoot off into random tangents. Many of them are also duds, not exploding when they hit something, or even not even firing out of the tube.
3#. Bow & Arrow:
I have to disagree with you here. I think this spot goes to the Browning M2. That's been in service since WWII, is extremely reliable, and it fires a .50caliber round. They were mounted on tanks, planes, jeeps, IFV's, and they're still used on tanks and many vehicles.
#2. AK47:
I don't think that the AK-47 even deserves to be in the upper 6. Yes, it is reliable and easily used, but it's unwieldy, unbalanced, and it's hard to control. There are only a couple of reasons AK is seen as good. One is because the USSR sent out boatloads of them to any country claiming to be communist and against America. Another is because it's so close to breaking constantly that it never actually does break from exposure. It does constantly misfire and jam. The last is because it can be cleaned easily, but it never needs to be cleaned. This is both good and bad. If it's never cleaned, it misfires more often. However, most people that use them don't actually know how to clean it. They know how to take apart the receivers, and that's about it.
#1. The Katana:
If you're going for the whole "extension of the body" thing, why not go all out and say what many military special forces say. Your own body, once properly trained, is the most lethal weapon in all of history. A well trained, determined man, can overpower any foe 9 times out of 10, and for the other time, there's automatic rifles.
OT: My list:
#10 The longbow
#9: The Bowie Knife
#8 The Thompson
#7 The 1911
#6 The Shaolin Spade
#5 The Sturmgewehr 44
#4 The GAU-8 or the M134 Minigun
#3 The Browning M2
#2 The AR-15 platform (if maintained)
#1 Your own Body
Reasons for #2, (because I know someone is going to say that AR-15's are shit)
The AR-15 platform is an amazing system. However, because of the first few months of fielding in Vietnam, it is seen as a jam-o-matic. The only reason was because the troops never cleaned it. It was sold to the U.S. army as a "self-cleaning firearm." That will never exist until we figure out how to speed projectiles faster than the speed of light without the use of gunpowder of any kind. If you properly maintain and lubricate the AR-15, it will never jam on you. My AR-15 has upwards of 20,000 rounds through it, and it's never jammed once. Why? Because I clean it every month, every time I shoot it, and I keep it well lubed. I also use good ammunition, none of that Wolf crap. It is more of a rifle than the AK-47, which is seem more as a machine gun than a rifle, and it can provide tighter groupings than it's counterpart. It is extremely adaptable for any mission you put it through as well.
Nice read and informative.