The late 17th century saw the final demise of the pike, and its replacement by the bayonet. The plug bayonet, which blocked the muzzle of the musket and needed to be removed for firing, did not catch on. However, in 1669 the socket bayonet was developed and introduced into the French Army by General Jean Martinet; it was very practical and was not a hindrance to the shooter since it did not require to be removed when firing the musket. By 1689 it was becoming standard issue for French infantry. The latter 17th century also saw the development of the flintlock musket, lighter than the matchlock and with double the rate of fire. The introduction of pre-packaged cartridges, with the gunpowder charge already measured out, also increased the rate of fire (they became general issue in the French army by 1738).

The bayonet may have originated as a hunting weapon in the late 16th century. As early firearms were fairly inaccurate and took a long time to reload, a hunter of dangerous animals such as wild boar could easily have been exposed to danger if the hunter’s bullet missed the animal. Thus, at the beginning the bayonet may have been used as a last ditch resort weapon which allowed a hunter to fend off wild animals in the event of a missed shot. This idea was particularly persistent in Spain where hunting arms were usually equipped with bayonets from the 17th century until the advent of the cartridge era. The effectiveness of such a dual-purpose weapon (bayonet and musket contained in one) was soon apparent. The early muskets fired at a slow rate and could be both inaccurate and unreliable depending on quality of manufacture. Bayonets provided a useful addition to the weapons system when an enemy charging to contact could cross the musket’s killing ground (a range of approximately 100 yards/meters at the most optimistic) at the expense of perhaps only one or two volleys from their waiting opponents. A 12-18 inch (30–45 cm) bayonet on a 5-foot tall musket achieved a reach similar to the infantry spear, and later halberd, of earlier times. The combination of bayonet and musket was, however, considerably heavier than a polearm of the same length.

The Breda Modello 30 was the standard Italian army light machine gun of World War II. It was an infantry 6.5mm caliber machine gun designed and manufactured by Breda. Known in Italian as "Fucile Mitriagliatori Breda modello 30", this machine gun used a gas-operated mechanism and was fed by 20-round stripper clip loaded into a fixed folding magazine located on the right side. It was also fitted with a folding bipod.

Type: light machine gun
Country of origin: Italy
Manufacturer: Breda Meccanica Bresciana
Caliber: 6.5mm
Barrel length: 520 mm (20.47 in)
Weight: 10.32 kg (22.75 lb)
Muzzle velocity: 629 m (2,065 ft) per second
Rate of fire, cyclic: 450-500 rpm
Effective range: 800 m
Feed: 20-round charger

The Lehky Kulomet ZB vz.26 and vz.30 were Czech light machine guns used by the Waffen-SS and other German units during World War II. The vz.26 was a gas-operated weapon with a long gas piston under the barrel and fed from an adjustable gas vent about half-way down the finned barrel. Gas pushed the piston to the rear as a simple arrangement of a hinged breech block on a ramp formed the locking and firing basis. Ammunition was fed downwards from a simple box magazine. Barrel cooling was assisted by the use of prominent circular fins or flanges all along the barrel but a simple and rapid barrel change method was incorporated. The overall design of the vz.26 emphasized the virtues of easy stripping, maintenance and use in action. This Czech machine gun was also fitted with a folding bipod and a handle to carry around.

Type: light machine gun
Country of origin: Czechoslovakia
Manufacturer: Lehky Kulomet
Caliber: 7.92 mm (0.31 in)
Rate of fire, cyclic: 500 rpm
Muzzle velocity: 762 m (2,500 ft) per second
Effective range: 900 m (910 yards)
Barrel length: 67.2 cm (26.46 in)
Weight: 10.04 kg (22.13 lb)
Feed: 30-round box magazine

The FN Minimi is a gas-operated machine gun produced by the Belgian firm Fabrique Nationale d’Herstal from 1975. Equipped with a folding bipod, it is a light air-cooled machine gun used as an infantry support weapon, which fires 5.56x45mm NATO cartridges from an open bolt, with a rate of fire of 1,100 rounds per minute. The FN Minimi has a long-stroke piston system and its barrel is locked with a rotating bolt, fitted with two thick locking lugs; it is forced into battery by a helical camming guide in the bolt carrier. When the infantryman shoots the weapons, the piston is forced to the rear by expanding propellant gases bled through a port in the barrel near the muzzle end. The FN Minimi accepts the NATO STANAG magazine or disintegrating-link belts, without modification. It was adopted by the US Army as its M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, and by the British Army as the L108A1.

Type: light machine gun
Country of origin: Belgium
Manufacturer: Fabrique Nationale d’Herstal
Caliber: 5.56mm
Cartridge: 5.56x45mm NATO
Mechanism: gas-operated
Weight: 15 lb (6.83 kg)
Barrel length: 18 1/2 in (46.5 cm)
Effective range: up to 800 m

The Colt Python is a .357-caliber magnum revolver introduced by Colt in 1953 and produced until 1997. Based on the tried-and-tested New Service and army models, it was a double-action revolver with a six-round cylinder. The Python was made in two versions: one fitted with a 15cm-long barrel, and the other with a 10cm-long barrel. The gun has adjustable sights and a ventilated rib on top of the barrel. The Python was a sturdy and very accurate revolver; an excellent weapon for home and self-defense.

Type: double-action revolver
Country of origin: USA
Manufacturer: Colt’s Manufacturing Company
Caliber: .357 magnum
Cylinder: 6-round
Barrel length: 6 in (15 cm), or 4 in (10 cm)
Effective range: 40 m
Weight: 3 lb (1.4 kg)