What is the oldest weapon still in use?

[the_diego]

@Blake

We are not talking about ceremonial weapons. We are talking about weapons used by serving police officers as their firearm for self defense purposes. We are talking about weapons used by serving soldiers.

I can’t quite see why a rifle carried by a Bangladeshi police officer or a LMG used by a Kenyan soldier is considered “ceremonial”.

A hunting arm is also a weapon (though people now call them ‘sporting arms.’)

[BMalion]

Was my response “witty”?

[clairobscur]

@Shmendrik

Yes, Mishmar Ezrahi/Civil Guard.
Civil Guard (Israel) - Wikipedia

There’s an equivalent in the Netherland, of all places! Not such a bad idea, once you get over the apparent weirdness of the concept.

[Martini_Enfield]

@Blakeyrat

So far the best answer, assuming the OP was looking for specific weapons, is the M116 Howitzer mentioned. Late-20s beats out the B-52.

Why is that Howitzer a better option than the rifles mentioned, whose designs (and in many cases actual construction) date to the late 19th/early 20th century?

Anyway, the question should really be cleaned up and re-posted because it is an interesting question and this thread is a total loss.

This I agree with.

@the_diego

A hunting arm is also a weapon (though people now call them ‘sporting arms.’)

The problem with that definition is there will be non-zero numbers of people out there hunting with their great-great-great grandfather’s Civil War era Springfield or Enfield musket. Importantly, I don’t think hunting arms was really within the spirit of the OP, since it’s almost impossibly to qualify how common such a practice actually is.

[spikebrennan]

Kusanagi (the sword included among the Japanese imperial regalia) supposedly dates from the 7th century and is still used in ceremonial occasions. But Wikipedia says that its “existence cannot be confirmed”.

Kusanagi no Tsurugi