Top 5 Guns Used In Saving Private Ryan

D-Day context and Saving Private Ryan overview

The hosts open the episode by tying it to D-Day and explaining that they want to talk about the top rifles and other small arms featured in what they consider the best World War II movie. They jokingly debate other titles like Fury, Band of Brothers, and 1917 before agreeing that Saving Private Ryan is the clear focus. Kyle and Matt introduce themselves and stress that the list reflects their personal opinions, inviting viewers to share their own rankings in the comments if they disagree. They describe Saving Private Ryan as an iconic and visually powerful film that everyone should watch or rewatch. Before diving into specific firearms, they give a clear disclaimer that the video may show trademarked or copyrighted material, that they are not sponsored by or affiliated with DreamWorks or Paramount Pictures, and that all such rights belong to those companies. Their goal is simply to talk about the guns seen in the movie, why they like them, and how those arms are portrayed on screen, especially in the context of D-Day and the broader World War II setting.

BAR M1918A2 role and squad support use

They start the countdown with what they call number five on the list: the Browning Automatic Rifle, specifically the M1918A2 pattern seen in the film. The hosts mention that this exact type of rifle was once featured in a Classic Firearms contest, encouraging viewers to look it up online if they are curious about that giveaway. They recall that a winner even came out to film with them and Sooch, and they reference some footage from that event. Turning back to the movie, they focus on the character Reiben, who is closely associated with the BAR. In the opening beach landing sequence, he is shown discarding his original rifle in the surf because the weight is pulling him down in the waves, forcing him to grab another weapon on the beach so he can continue the assault. One of the most memorable scenes they highlight is when a wall collapses between American and German soldiers, suddenly exposing both sides and creating a tense standoff where everyone is pointing rifles at each other before a chaotic shootout erupts. In that moment, the BAR is prominently featured as part of the American firepower. The hosts describe the BAR as a classic American select-fire .30-06 rifle designed by John Moses Browning for Colt, fed by 20-round box magazines and intended as a squad support weapon rather than a belt-fed machine gun. They touch on the historical concept of "walking fire," where troops equipped with BARs were envisioned to advance while firing to keep enemy forces suppressed, noting that this tactic was more of a doctrinal idea than a widely used battlefield practice.

M1 Garand operation and battlefield impact

The discussion then moves to the M1 Garand, which they describe as a semi-automatic, gas-operated .30-06 rifle designed by John Garand. They explain how it uses an eight-round en bloc clip that is inserted into the internal magazine; once the clip is pushed down, the bolt automatically drives forward and chambers the first round. The hosts emphasize that this system gave U.S. troops a major advantage in rate of fire compared to many opposing forces that were still relying on five-round bolt-action rifles. They comment that, despite its full-power cartridge, the M1 Garand is relatively soft shooting thanks to its weight and operating system, with recoil that many shooters find comparable to or even milder than some .308 platforms. In Saving Private Ryan, the M1 Garand appears constantly as the standard infantry rifle, and its distinctive report and clip ejection sound are heard throughout the film. They bring up a key character moment involving Upham, who is initially portrayed as hesitant and non-aggressive. Later in the story, Upham confronts a German soldier he recognizes as a previously captured enemy who had been released and then returned to fight. In a pivotal scene, Upham uses an M1 Garand to shoot this soldier, marking a dramatic turning point in his character arc and underscoring how central the rifle is to the film’s depiction of infantry combat.

Thompson variants and urban fighting

Next, they cover the Thompson, focusing on the M1A1 pattern shown in the hands of Captain Miller and several other characters in the movie. They describe it as an early-generation .45 ACP, open-bolt, direct blowback design built with extensive machined steel components, which made it relatively heavy and costly to produce. The hosts note that military-issue Thompsons in World War II typically used box magazines rather than the large drum magazines often associated with the gun’s gangster-era image and the "Chicago typewriter" nickname. They point out simplified wartime features such as more basic rear sights and straightforward wooden furniture that made the weapon easier and faster to manufacture. For contrast, they talk about a more classic Thompson configuration with a vertical foregrip, finned barrel for improved cooling, a more complex rear sight assembly, and a top-mounted charging handle, explaining that this later 1927-style look is not the one primarily seen in Saving Private Ryan. In terms of battlefield role, they highlight how the Thompson excels in close-quarters environments like urban streets, building interiors, and room-clearing operations, where its high rate of fire and heavy .45 ACP projectiles are particularly effective at short distances. They also briefly mention that later wartime designs such as the M3 "grease gun" and the Soviet PPS-43 made greater use of stamped parts to cut costs and speed up production while filling a similar close-range support role.

M1911A1 service pistol features and movie moments

The hosts then turn to the M1911A1, represented on their table by a Tisas-made pistol patterned after the classic U.S. service sidearm. They describe it as a .45 ACP, single-action, semi-automatic handgun that feeds from a seven-round magazine and traces its origins to John Moses Browning’s design for Colt. During World War II, this pistol was commonly issued to commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers, and certain support personnel who needed a compact defensive weapon. They reference the climactic scene in Saving Private Ryan where Captain Miller, wounded and out of heavier weapons, fires his M1911A1 at an approaching German tank, underscoring how visually prominent the pistol is in the final battle. Using their example pistol, they walk through some of the distinguishing features and evolutionary changes compared to earlier military configurations: an arched mainspring housing instead of a flat one, an extended grip safety to reduce the chance of hammer bite, a shorter hammer spur, and subtle differences in the trigger and trigger guard such as a relieved area under the guard and a slightly longer trigger shoe. These details, they explain, show how the basic 1911 pattern has been refined over time while retaining the core ergonomics, manual of arms, and overall profile that made it a respected service pistol and an instantly recognizable sidearm in the film.