When you've seen and been through the horrors of war to the extent of a guy like John Rambo, you'd want to know your weapons, too! This psychologically traumatized action hero has wielded a variety of heavy hitting weapons throughout the course of his checkered past, and they all become 10 times more deadly in his hands.
Today we're counting down the most iconic weapons featured in the Rambo film franchise. Some of these weapons are so famous, they scarcely need introduction. Others are loaded (no pun intended) with some interesting facts you may not have known! To survive a war, you gotta' become war!
M60
The most iconic images of John Rambo show him wielding the equally powerful M60 machine gun, which became a staple of warfare in 1980s action movies. Rambo first acquires this gun in First Blood, when he raids the back of a National Guard truck, before going on a shooting spree.
The M60 fired 7.62mm rounds, and saw major service during the Vietnam War. It was designed to replace the Browning M1919 as a portable heavy-hitter that could be fired from the shoulder. It was also prone to various problems, yet still managed to become a favorite of U.S. soldiers. Rambo would use a variant of the original in First Blood: Part II - specifically the M60E3.
Survival Knife
When he's not mowing down a legion of foes whilst hollering at the moon, Rambo kills using stealth tactics. For that, he needs the right weapon - in this case, his trusty survival knife. Rambo has wielded variants of the knife throughout the course of the franchise, each one razor sharp and ready to kill.
First Blood's survival knife included a hilt with a suture needle and thread for dealing with wounds, plus a compass and reverse-edged teeth to cut barbed wire. It was also designed specifically for the film by Jimmy Lile, the "Arkansas Knifesmith," and a celebrity in the world of knife enthusiasts.
Heckler & Koch MP5A3
Rambo is given this weapon by his CIA handlers in First Blood: Part II before his drop into enemy territory to begin his mission. Interestingly, the gun isn't actually an MP5A3, but a 94A3 which was "chopped up and converted" to act as a fill-in weapon. Unfortunately, Rambo wouldn't actually get to use the weapon, due to a botched drop.
Variants of the MP5 have popped up in many action movies, from The Matrix to Die Hard 2, and even Independence Day. Their appearance is a dead giveaway, and easily one of the most recognizable submachine guns ever created.
AKM
You might be forgiven for thinking that the AKM is actually an AK-47, but that's not entirely accurate. First Blood: Part II shows Co Bao wielding one of these bad boys alongside actual AK-47s that pop up later in the movie. In truth, the AKM is a successor to the AK-47 that was designed to refine some minor oversights in an otherwise super-trusty and reliable weapon.
Also interesting is the fact that AKM is widely regarded as the proper title for these Russian 7.62x39 assault rifles, rather than the more generic "AK-47." During the time period which First Blood: Part II was filmed, the Soviet army had switched to the AK-74, making both the AKM and AK-47 outdated.
M72 LAW
Rambo uses this weapon of mini-mass destruction on his nemesis Podovsky after a lengthy chopper chase. He fools Podovsky into thinking he's dead by touching his helicopter down and playing possum. Thinking he has the upper hand, Podovsky is shocked when Rambo springs to life and jams the LAW through the chopper's windshield, obliterating his HIND gunship.
The M72 "Light Anti-Tank Weapon" is a straightforward, simplistic weapon crafted in the 1960s, which was designed to fulfill its namesake. It would later get replaced by the FGR-17 Viper rocket launcher before the cost of that model became too much for Congress to swallow.
"Torque" Compound Bow
Hoyt is known for crafting some truly superb compound bows, and it makes sense to see one of their models in a Rambo flick. This uber-popular weapon was turned into a pop culture icon thanks to an outrageous scene where Rambo blows an enemy soldier to smithereens with an explosive-tipped arrow.
Over-the-top as it is, the bow itself is a thing of beauty. Hoyt is still doing business to this day with its range of Compound and Recurve bows that many archers and hunters swear by.
SVD Dragunov
This instantly recognizable sniper rifle has been a featured weapon in many movies and video games. It's of Russian design, and fires 7.62x54mm rounds in semi-auto mode. A commercial version exists as well, and come with two distinct looks - all black, and one with wood trim.
The latter would be used in Rambo III, when he crashes a HIND helicopter and uses it to knock out several targets while Colonel Trautman acts as his spotter.
Browning M2
Variants of the Browning M2 pop up in several Rambo films, but the weapon truly became famous later in the franchise's life with 2008's Rambo, where it's used to turn dozens of bad guys into tomato gory tomato paste. It was the second time Rambo would wield a truck-mounted version of the weapon; the other being Rambo III.
The Browning M2 is a .50 caliber heavy machine gun that has been around in one form or another since the First World War. Its war pedigree is unmatched, being only one of a select handful of weapons to serve the longest in the U.S. military.
Barrett M107CQ
2008's Rambo saw "School Boy" wielding one of these highly efficient sniper .50 caliber sniper rifles on the rescue mission alongside Rambo. This particular variant of the gun is a CQC (close-quarters-combat) version with a vastly reduced barrel length in comparison to the standard model.
The film takes liberties with the physical makeup of the rifle, showing a fully suppressed model that emits barely any sound. In reality, a weapon of this ammo caliber could never be fully suppressed this way.
Sawed Off Double Barrel Shotgun
For all the military grade weapons Rambo has used to dispatch his enemies, the man went old school in the (possibly) final chapter of the saga, Last Blood. After luring a vicious human trafficker and his gang to his underground catacomb system, he begins offing them one by one in increasingly brutal fashion.
Rambo uses a sawed off double barrel shotgun to go full DOOM on his enemies, turning perfectly good human heads into exploding melon balls. At least it's more compassionate than some of the other grisly deaths suffered by less-fortunate victims!