# Best small arms for use against...robots?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [February 24, 2005, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754 "2005-02-24T19:50:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2005, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/1 "2005-02-24T19:50:35Z")
In the grand tradition of “Ran’s weirdo questions”…
After watching a silly little Hong Kong martial arts/sci-fi/T&A movie last night ("I will not be distracted by your all-female sex orgy…_we must kung-fu fight!"_), I was left wondering…what kind of small arms, if any, would be best suited for attacking or defending against a mechanical opponent (something like [this](http://www.eterminator.com/t800_series.htm))?
My first WAG (emphasis on “W”) would be something like a [pistol based around a .50 BMG round,](http://airbornecombatengineer.typepad.com/airborne_combat_engineer/2005/01/the_maadi_griff.html) for sheer armor-piercing ability, but that guess is somewhat tempered by the fact that a) you’d just be poking holes in a fairly solid target with the hope of hitting something critical b) it’d probably take a LOT of time, effort, and expense to be able to manage that much accuracy, and c) a 1-1/2’,15-odd pound, single shot pistol chambered around a machine gun round _really_ doesn’t seem like a practical weapon to carry around as a sidearm in combat, even in a situation as exotic as this one. (Though it would have the advantage in that you could use it to bash in your own skull to avoid capture.)
[Very high powered rifles,](http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m82.htm) or even [anti-material rifles](http://www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/1200/1272.htm) or [light cannon](http://www.wapahani.com/samrecannon.html) might work, though at this point, an RPG would probably be quicker, easier, and cheaper. (That, or some dynamite.)
But are there any smaller weapons that might be handy for this kind of fight, at anything approaching close range?\*
Well, thanks for your patience,
Ranchoth
(\*Though don’t get me wrong, I’m the _strongest_ supporter of staying as far the hell away as I can from attacking robots.)
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### Author:  [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2005, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/2 "2005-02-24T19:58:40Z")
Well, I don’t know how small one could make it, but a good ol’ EMP will make a nice big scrap pile out of any robot.
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2005, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/3 "2005-02-24T20:03:39Z")
40mm Grenade Launcher, the Vietnam-era “Bloop Gun” would seem nice.
Or, at closer rangers, a taser/stun gun with the voltage upped.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/4 "2005-02-24T20:20:04Z")
Phased plasma rifle in the 40W range. 😃
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### Author:  [@19ForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/19ForMe)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/5 "2005-02-24T20:27:48Z")
If you are hunting one of [those](http://www.eterminator.com/t800_series.htm) robots could I suggest a phased plasma rifle (in 40-watt range).
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2005, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/6 "2005-02-24T20:30:24Z")
> [@](#):
>
> a silly little Hong Kong martial arts/sci-fi/T&A movie last night ("I will not be distracted by your all-female sex orgy…_we must kung-fu fight!"_)
Hijack: I must know which movie this is.
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### Author:  [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/7 "2005-02-24T20:38:33Z")
Oh, you big bore people make me tired. 40 W phased plasma rifle? Sure, it’d do the job, but you’re stuck inside the box.
Think smaller
Think versatile
Think tried & true
Think _scalar_!
That’s right. I’m talkin 'bout a good old fashioned…
1920s Style Death Ray
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### Author:  [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/8 "2005-02-24T20:38:45Z")
Yes, the movie title please!!! Oh, and can I get it from Netflix. 😉
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### Author:  [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/9 "2005-02-24T20:52:43Z")
The robot that you show looks like it’s basically all exposed joints and machinery. A handful of sand or emery dust should reduce it to scrap, although maybe not fast enough to keep it from ripping you in half. A beanbag weapon filled with sand and epoxy would be even better.
I agree with the taser or EMP weapon, although any robot designed for combat would likely be shielded against electromagnetic weapons.
Note that the T-800 must be made of extremely light weight alloys seeing as when covered with human flesh, it has to be detected using dogs and not less subtle means such as “This normal looking dude is leaving six inch deep footprints in the ground.” That implies a certain lack of armor. The T-800 isn’t likely to be much tougher than a Ryobi hedge trimmer.
The big difference between a robot and a human is that you won’t have the effect of shock taking down the robot when it gets hit. Unaffected components should still function unless you hit a major control center. So you want a weapon that provides a lot of volume. I’m thinking submachine gun, shotgun, or flame thrower.
If you’re allowed slightly futuristic weapons, I’d suggest explosive flechettes.
It looks like the robot pictured is pneumatically or hydraulically powered. That would be a bad choice as a shotgun blast would almost invariably sever several lines, rendering it immobile. A robot will also need a semblance of a nervous system to control its limbs – that would also be vulnerable to pellet-based weapons unless heavily shielded.
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### Author:  [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/10 "2005-02-24T20:58:46Z")
> [@Cervaise](#):
>
> Hijack: I must know which movie this is.
> [@vetbridge](#):
>
> Yes, the movie title please!!! Oh, and can I get it from Netflix.
Bah 40 lashes for missing a \*\* Family Guy \*\* reference.
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### Author:  [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2005, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/11 "2005-02-24T21:07:39Z")
A glass lined Super Soaker with your choice of corrosive acids?
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### Author:  [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2005, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/12 "2005-02-24T21:09:38Z")
I recommend a good camera strobe. That’s what [The Master](http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season6/page4.shtml) (no, the other one) used to get out of Itchy and Scratchy Land alive.
“Back you robots! Nobody ruins my family vacation but me! And maybe the boy!”
Stranger
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### Author:  [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/13 "2005-02-24T21:15:08Z")
> [@UncleBill](#):
>
> A glass lined Super Soaker with your choice of corrosive acids?
I thought of that, but a good rule of thumb for a weapon is that it shouldn’t be as dangerous to you as it is to your opponent. There are not too many corrosive acids that aren’t even more dangerous to flesh than they are to metal. Fire a supersoaker full of sulfuric acid at a robot on a windy day and you’ll spend your last few moments on Earth wishing that the robot would get around to killing you already.
And acid would be pretty slow, so even if you got a good shot off, the robot would have time to rip your arms off before melting.
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### Author:  [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2005, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/14 "2005-02-24T21:37:16Z")
Hmmm… hand-held weapons, eh? I think I would have to chose a hand-held radio, so I could report the robot’s postition and call in an airstrike.
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### Author:  [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2005, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/15 "2005-02-25T01:13:07Z")
An M16 on full auto with armor-piercing ammunition would be my choice. Just aim at vulnerable spots like electronics housings, motors, and joints.
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### Author:  [@emekthian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emekthian)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2005, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/16 "2005-02-25T02:32:48Z")
> [@bouv](#):
>
> Well, I don’t know how small one could make it, but a good ol’ EMP will make a nice big scrap pile out of any robot.
Neo: Electro-Magnetic Pulse?
Morpheus: No! Elongated Metal Pipe! :smacks the machines with the elongated metal pipe:
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### Author:  [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2005, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/17 "2005-02-25T03:10:28Z")
> [@Cervaise](#):
>
> Hijack: I must know which movie this is.
It was indeed a _Family Guy_ reference…however, the movie I saw, _Robotrix_, wasn’t a whole lot “better.” (Though it didn’t have a _lesbian_ orgy, I’m sad to say. ☹ )
And…thanks for the info, so far, all! With any luck, I won’t ever have to use it. (But, y’know, _Semper Paratus_.) 😃
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### Author:  [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2005, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/18 "2005-02-25T11:16:35Z")
I’m going for a bucket of warm {for increased viscosity} treacle mixed with sand.
That, or an insoluble logic problem: “Hey, Sparky! All Cretans are liars! I am a Cretan!” “But if all Cretans lie…and you are a Cretan… your first statement may not be true…therefore not all Cretans may lie…therefore your last statement may not be true either…this does not compute…I am…experiencing…conflict…in my…processing unit…” BZZZT! BANG!
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### Author:  [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2005, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/19 "2005-02-25T11:37:19Z")
> **[Springfield News-Leader](https://www.news-leader.com)**
>
> Springfield, Missouri News - News-Leader.com is the home page for the Springfield, Mo., News-Leader with in-depth local news, sports and entertainment
When I read your thread title, this was the first thing that came to mind…
These things may one day be on the battlefields…how would you go about taking them out?
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2005, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-small-arms-for-use-against-robots/291754/20 "2005-02-25T12:37:57Z")
It would be good to try to get something into the joints to try to seize them - maybe a shotgun that fires lead capsules (so the inside of the barrel isn’t abraded) filled with gritty abrasive granules (tungsten carbide maybe) in a variety of sizes.
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