How come modern weapons dont have magazine designs like the bren and sten guns with the magazines on the side?

Question

and top?

Answer 1

accuracy was poor with those weapons

the design also required the soldier to assume a posture that made him more vulnerable to enemy fire than the German Schmeisser's {P-38 or "grease gun"} design.

Stens, in particular, were very cheaply made -- that's fine for the first 45 seconds of a firefight but if it jams, you are so in trouble.


does this help?

Answer 2

The Bren, a Czech design, fed from a top-mounted magazine and was considered during WW2 to be probably the best light machine gun in existence. The old Lewis gun, mounted on WW1 aircraft and on WW2 landing craft in the Pacific, also fed from the top and had a good reputation.

The long single-column side-mounted magazine on the Sten tended to jam. Otherwise it was considered a pretty good little weapon at short range, which is what it was intended for, and it was cheap and easy to make. The Brits, never very good at maintaining their military inventory of firearms or allowing their citizens to own them, had few weapons at the beginning of WW2 and had to produce whatever they could and beg the rest from America.

Answer 3

The Bren machine gun had a top mounted magazine. The Sterling submachine gun, which replaced the Sten, did have a side-mounted magazine. However, side-mounted magazines are cumbersome and are prone to misfeeds. Modern SMGs and assault rifles have the magazine on the bottom to allow for easier handling and are ammunition is less prone to jam in the magazine.

Answer 4

Actually many new weapons do feed from 'the side'. The Bren actually fed from the top allowing the gunner to get lower to the ground. Machine guns mostly do feed from a side mounted magazine..anyother configuation would place the weapon at least waist high about would require the mechanism to lift a lot of weight to positioon the rounds into the chamber.

Answer 5

Changes balance, disrupts loading and creates a funny recoil from off-centred action.

These weapons were mass produced and unreliable.

Answer 6

Maybe they would get damaged when you drop to the ground and roll. Maybe also they tactically suck when navigating through a building, getting snagged in doorways and such. Interesting question.

Answer 7

they can snag on stuff