A Beginner's Guide to The Top 25 Gun Brands
Selecting top guns on the market depends on what you are looking for. You would want to consider: your needs, gun quality, gun features and design, and the brand. Factors that come into play when listing top quality guns are: ease of use, quality, accuracy, capacity, reliability, and performance.
However, if you have got it right with the brand, these factors usually just fall into place.
With so many recognized gun brands in the industry, it is difficult to point out the top gun brands. Many gun brands have survived this multi-billion dollar industry for years, even despite the controversy surrounding it. So, difficult or not, we have put together this perfectly curated list of the top gun brands in the industry. We have selected based on a myriad of factors including reputation, product quality, and more. Feel free to look closely at any of these top brands that appeal to you for a new gun or other inquiries.
#1 Heckler & Koch
If you are a gun enthusiast, you have definitely heard of the German brand popular for being innovative. Heckler & Koch was founded in 1948 by co-founders Theodore Koch, Alex Seidel, and Edmund Heckler. It is world-class providing products or weapons that guarantee durability, safety, and quality. This top gun brand is largely associated with the defense industry with products such as assault rifles, grenade launchers, submachine guns, sniper rifles, handguns, machine guns, and more. Aside from the defense industry, HK designs weapons for commercial use and the sporting market.
#2 Colt Defense
It's hard to not recognize this popular name in the gun industry. Colt Defense and its subsidiaries specialize in designing, producing, marketing, and researching, arms like handguns, pistols, revolvers, grenade launchers, long guns, submachine guns, carbines, and infantry automatic rifles. Colt Defense sells guns to serve recreational purposes, military, and self-defense. The most famous Colt products on the market include the Colt M1911 pistol, Colt Walker, and Colt Python. Also, check out the Colt Commando family.
#3 SIG Sauer
A little failure led to most of SIG Sauer’s fame today, starting decades ago. Unlike other top gun brands, SIG Sauer didn’t start as a fan favorite. The brand was relatively unknown until it gained recognition from the U.S Navy Seal. The company is a Swiss-German company producing weapons that are widely accepted in U.S Police Force. SIG Sauer has recently gotten the contract to design and produce the new M17 handgun for the U.S Army.
#4 Kimber
Kimber pistols are the weapons of choice for teams such as the USA Shooting Team Marines assigned to Special Operations Command. Kimber is an American company that specializes in the design and manufacture of small arms. Some top products from Kimber are Kimber Pro Crimson Carry II and Kimber Custom Crimson Carry II.
#5 FN Herstal
FN as its popularly called is a well-known firearms manufacturer equally recognized as the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe. It’s easy to see why it is a top gun brand already, but there’s more. FN is owned by a holding company, the Herstal Group, which is also owned by the regional government of Wallonia. FN specializes in firearms and their products which include rifles, handguns, shotguns, submachine guns, machine guns, and ammunition.
#6 Barett Firearms
Not to be confused with Beretta, Barett Firearms is a private company who likes to go big. Ronnie G. Barrett founded this company in 1982 precisely for the building and manufacture of semi-automatic rifles, optics, machine guns, ammunition, and sniper rifles. Their product range is nothing short of impressive and consists top guns and products like Barrett Optical Ranging System, Barrett XM109, Barrett M95, Barrett M82/M107, Barrett REC7, and .50 BMG M33 Ball.
#7 Browning Arms Company
The Herstal Group also owns the Browning Arms Company and the U.S. Repeating Arms Company (Winchester). The Browning Arms Company was founded in 1878 and its focus was marketing designs of John Moses Browning. In the firearms and sporting industry, this company is geared towards pistols, rifles, fishing rods, shotguns, reels, bicycles, sports bows, and knives.
#8 Remington Outdoor
The brand name informs you that they specialize in outdoor weapons. In this case, it involves products for hunting, military markets, shooting sports, law enforcement agencies, self-defense personal use, and more. Remington Outdoor Company has a recent origin than most of the top gun brands in this list. It was founded in 2007 and is a million-dollar company with its headquarters in the United States. This is properly positioned as Remington Outdoor is of American origin. The company’s product line extends from firearms and ammunition to many other related products in the industry.
#9 Walther’s Arms
For over a century the German company Walther’s Arms has manufactured distinctive air guns and firearms. Their product line includes Submachine guns like Walther p4, and Walther MPK/MPL, Rifles like Walther LGR, Walther LG400, Walther LG300, Handguns like Walther pk, and Firearm Rifles like Gewehr 41.
#10 Smith & Wesson
One of the oldest top gun brands of American origin is the popular and reputable Smith & Wesson. It was founded in 1852 by Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson. This gun brand doesn’t just produce an extensive catalog of weapons, they also offer products such as weapon bags, gun accessories, knives, flashlights, rifle, ammunition, heavyweight gun safe, rifle safes, nightstand gun safe, biometric gun vault, handcuffs, belly chains, prisoner transport chains, leg irons, and more. Smith & Wesson are also well known for their pistols and revolvers and their gun Model 29. Smith & Wesson’s comprehensive list of firearms includes Semi-automatic pistols, Rifles and carbines, Cartridges Revolvers, Submachine guns and Shotguns, such as the Smith & Wesson Governor Revolver, Smith & Wesson Model 1940 Light Rifle, Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 Semiautomatic Pistol, and Smith & Wesson Performance Centre Revolver.
#11 Winchester Repeating Arms
With several decades in the industry, Winchester Repeating Arms has churned out top models like Model 1873 Lever Action Rifles, Model 70 Bolt Action Rifles, Super X Pump – Pump Action Shotguns and Super X3 Autoloading Shotguns, Model 1866 Lever Action Rifles, Model 94 Lever Action Rifles, Model 101 Over And Under Shotguns, Model 1886 Lever Action Rifles, and XPR Bolt Action Rifles. The brand deals in the manufacture of rifles, pistols, shotguns, shooting accessories and ammunition and operates from the United States.
#12 Beretta
Beretta is a top gun brand of Italian origin founded in 1526. Yes, it is the oldest active top gun brand in the world. Beretta specializes in the manufacture of semi-automatic pistols, sub-machine guns, carbines, rifles, shotguns, revolvers, and machine pistols. Its customer base is focused on civilians, military, and law enforcement. And if you are wondering why this top gun brand sounds uniquely familiar, it’s likely because Beretta has been a major supplier of weapons and arms in every European war since 1650.
#13 Springfield Armory, Inc
In 1974, Bob Reese established the American-origin gun brand, Springfield Armory, Inc. This brand worked hard to earn its global recognition and currently manufactures firearms for the defense industry. Springfield has done more than sport a lovely name and produce guns. The company has been a four-time winner of the American Rifleman’s Golden Bullseye award at National Rifle Association. Some of Springfield’s products are the Springfield Armory 911, Springfield Armory M6 Scout, Springfield Armory EMP, and Springfield Armory P9.
#14 Benelli
Our second Italian mention is Benelli Armi SpA established in 1967. Benelli is both famous and respected for its reliable and efficient shotguns, used primarily by law enforcement, military and civilians. Beyond shotguns, Benelli also offers weapons like rifles, pistols, air pistols, target pistols, and submachine guns. They introduced a gas-operated semi-automatic shotgun, called Benelli M4 Super 90 and intended for law enforcement use.
#15 Glock Ges.m.b.H
You have likely scrolled through this list just to find a solid mention of this brand. We agree there is no top gun brands list without Glock. Glock is a famous gun company founded by Gaston Glock in Austria and in the year 1963. It is a company with global recognition mostly for its handguns. The appeal with Glock pieces is the innovative, efficient, lightweight pistol design, polymer-framed body, and short recoil qualities. Its biggest fans and customers range from military forces to civilians and law enforcement officials. Some of this brand’s most famous handgun models are Glock 29, Glock 19, and Glock 17. Glock also produces knives and accessories alongside their handgun product line.
#16 Sturm, Ruger & Co.
You probably know this brand simply as Ruger. Sturm, Ruger & Co. embodies reliability, simplicity, and affordability. They are manufacturers of both handguns and long guns. The company’s GP100 is one of the leading full-size revolvers on the market. Their LCR series of compact, double-action-only revolvers are great concealed weapons that can be carried. Sturm, Ruger & Co. was founded in 1949 by Bill Ruger and Alexander Sturm.
#17 Mossberg
When it comes to the leading brand in gun design and innovation, Mossberg comes to mind. If you have been following up on the gun industry, then you know that Mossberg is to thank for countless breakthrough designs with guns.
Mossberg was found in 1919 by Oscar Fredrick Mossberg. They are constantly upgrading new products and bringing in the latest innovation. Their weapons catalog includes rifles, scopes, shotguns, and accessories.
#18 CZ
Although we like to refer to this brand by its abbreviated name, CZ is actually Česká zbrojovka, a major firearm manufacturer of Czech Republic. The company operates on a global scale and delivers on quality weapons of a diverse product range such as pistols, machine and submachine guns, rifles, and accessories. CZ was founded in 1919.
#19 Henry Repeating Arms
One of the top five long gun manufacturers across the globe is Henry Repeating Arms. This top gun brand is one with lots of accolades to its name. Henry Repeating Arms is the seventh leading in total firearms production with a production figure of over 300, 000 firearms yearly. The brand focuses on rifles and shotguns and has also been named as a leading manufacturer of lever action.
#20 Auto-Ordnance Company
Retired Colonel John Thompson founded this company in 1916. It is famous for its product, the Thompson submachine gun, which was a military weapon of the Allied Forces in World War II. The company continues to design and manufacture products for the military, including a U.S World War II M1911 pistol and M1 carbine.
#21 Taurus International
Taurus is a big name, and the company manufactures more than guns. Taurus is a Brazilian conglomerate founded in 1939 as a tool and die forging plant. Now the company has divisions such as metals manufacturing, helmets, plastics, body armours, civil construction, and Taurus Armas, the firearm division. You would find products such as Taurus Millennium series, Taurus CT G2 carbine, Taurus Model 689 6-shot .357 Magnum, Taurus Model 85 .38 Special, Taurus Model 82 .38 Special, Taurus Model 617 .357 Magnum 7 shot revolver and many more.
#22 Kahr Arms
Compact and mid-size semi-automatic pistols always serve their unique purpose, especially when they are chambered for popular cartridges. This is what the American company Kahr Arms brings to the table. Kahr Arms is a private company established in 1995 with its operating headquarters in the United States. The company manufactures several series of small-arms parts and accessories.
#23 Stag Arms, LLC
This company is a manufacturer of the AR-15 type rifle. It was founded in 2003 by Mark Malkowski and handles a wide range of firearms and related products. Stag Arms is the first producer of the left-handed Modern Sporting Rifle, and the company continues to specialize in introducing both right- and left-handed products.
#24 Savage Arms
Savage Arms’ portfolio sees top products like 110 Hog Hunter, Rascal FV-SR, 110 Lightweight Storm, B17 F Left Hand, B17 Left Hand, B22 F Compact, 320 Security Ghost Ring, and more. This company of America origin was founded in 1894 by Arthur Savage. Savage Arms deals in the manufacture of center-fire rifles, rimfire rifles, single-shot rifles, shotguns, and bolt-action rifles.
#25 Cobra Firearms
If you are looking for a company dedicated to a large assortment of compact handguns for personal use and protection, you can look to Cobra firearms. The American firearms company produces affordable handguns marketed to customers with low income.