# What if all firearms in Africa and Asia vanished? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 23, 2025, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-firearms-in-africa-and-asia-vanished/1021216 "2025-07-23T10:30:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cmyers1980](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyers1980/32/11814_2.png) [@Cmyers1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cmyers1980)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-firearms-in-africa-and-asia-vanished/1021216/1 "2025-07-23T10:30:39Z")
Today, all firearms and their ammunition in Africa and Asia smaller than 20mm in caliber magically vanish (pistols, shotguns, rifles etc.). It only happens once so firearms are able to be built and used afterwards as normal. What happens next? How would militaries and law enforcement react to their primary weapons vanishing? How would the rest of the international community react? ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-firearms-in-africa-and-asia-vanished/1021216/3 "2025-07-23T15:04:09Z")
The genocide in Ruanda was perpetrated mainly with machetes. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-firearms-in-africa-and-asia-vanished/1021216/4 "2025-07-23T18:26:42Z")
A massive flow of military small arms instantly forms (or rather, intensifies) from areas with weapons to areas without. Asian and African small arms factories go into 24-hour operation to supply themselves and nearby customers. Russia and China put their nuclear forces on hair-trigger alert as a deterrent while they buy/manufacture new weapons and ammo. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-firearms-in-africa-and-asia-vanished/1021216/5 "2025-07-23T18:35:42Z")
Rebels in Myanmar are currently using some degree of 3d printed weaponry, they could spin those up again quick. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-firearms-in-africa-and-asia-vanished/1021216/6 "2025-07-23T18:45:14Z")
Those Nigerian zombies become less dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-firearms-in-africa-and-asia-vanished/1021216/7 "2025-07-23T18:49:27Z")
Militaries wouldn’t necessarily be affected much in the short term. Much of modern warfare is waged with missiles, large-caliber artillery and cannons, torpedoes, etc. - stuff that would be unaffected by the sudden disappearance. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-firearms-in-africa-and-asia-vanished/1021216/8 "2025-07-23T20:04:41Z")
> [@Cmyers1980](#): > > What happens next? South Africa makes a killing? [Denel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denel_Land_Systems) would return to profitability for sure. > [@Cmyers1980](#): > > How would militaries and law enforcement react to their primary weapons vanishing? Police, at least, largely have guns because criminals have them, and now they wouldn’t either. Billy clubs and tasers work just fine on unarmed people. As for militaries - they’ll still have all their tanks, mini-guns and aircraft cannons. They’ll do fine. > [@Cmyers1980](#): > > How would the rest of the international community react? Well, since magic would clearly be a real thing, I suspect they’ll lose their shit. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-firearms-in-africa-and-asia-vanished/1021216/9 "2025-07-23T21:17:04Z")
Good point. I was going to mention that immediately upon Britain leaving India, a group of Muslim or Hindu guys killed their Hindu or Muslin neighbors with shovels and rakes. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-firearms-in-africa-and-asia-vanished/1021216/10 "2025-07-24T13:04:10Z")
You’d see pretty much every USMC ship hightailing it back to Hawaii or the US, and all the ones not located in Asia heading the opposite direction. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2025, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-all-firearms-in-africa-and-asia-vanished/1021216/11 "2025-08-01T00:37:18Z")
Just like the UK: Butcher Knives Though Narwhal tusks have been used to counter their use.