Meet The Swiss Mini Gun, Currently The World’s Tiniest Fully-Functioning Firearm

POSTED BY: DATTATREYA MANDAL FEBRUARY 16, 2016

Meet the Swiss Mini Gun, currently the world’s tiniest working revolver that can actually be clipped to your belt loop. Recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records, this impressive firearm measures only 5.5 cm in length, around 3.5 cm in height and approximately 1 cm in width. Boasting all the features that can be found in a normal-sized gun, it is in fact so small that it weighs less than 19.8 g (or one ounce).

Since 2005, Switzerland-based company SwissMiniGun has been manufacturing only a limited number of these minature double-action revolvers, about 100 per year. Sold primarily as collectors’ items, the guns also feature the world’s smallest ammunition, in the form of 2.34 mm rimfire cartridges. As the company’s owner Paul Erard points out, the firearm and its ammo are produced using the latest technologies of the Swiss jewelry and watch industries.

Once fired, each round of ammunition travels at a speed of around 400 feet per second, generating under one joule of energy and producing less than 0.71 foot pounds upon impact. Despite its small size, however, the revolver comes with a surprisingly big price tag. According to the developers, the standard C1ST model sells for approximately $6,200. Speaking about this ingenious contraption, Erard said:

Since the product’s launch, the firm had sold around 300 of the guns, mainly to collectors in the Middle and Far East. We are producing in very small quantities – perhaps 25 gold guns and 100 steel guns a year, and there is a six-month waiting list to get one.

Before you get your hands on this miniature revolver, however, it is important to note that both the US and the UK prohibit the importation of the gun. Furthermore, given its small size, the weapon does not meet the minimum requirements of a sporting revolver, as set by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The SwissMiniGun is so incredibly tiny that it can be easily concealed in the palm of an adult person, and actually comes with a key ring holster.

One of the main reasons the gun is banned in the US is the fact that the bullet shatters every time a cartridge is fired. This makes the task of tracing its fragments using ballistics investigation almost impossible. Still interested? Head over to SwissMiniGun’s official website.

Via: Wikipedia