History Main / ImproperlyPlacedFirearms

* ComicBook/TexWiller, who operates in the Far West, once used a Mauser Gewehr 1888 rifle to snipe rogue Indians from beyond the range of their Winchesters. [[JustifiedTrope There's actually a good explanation for this]]: Tex was defending a mail wagon that was carrying a Mauser salesman who had come to America to try and get commissions from non-army customers, and brought the rifle, the scope and ammunition for demonstrative purposes.

** Throughout the series, Sgt. Schultz is armed with a Krag-Jørgensen rifle. It is very unlikely that a guard at a stalag would have carried a rifle that was both long antiquated by the time of WWII and not a standard-issue weapon of the German military.

* A very common one is use of the wrong AK variant. Sometimes you see Soviet/ex-Soviet soldiers in a reasonably modern setting wielding the original AK or the AKM. In reality, they'd been mostly replaced in Soviet service by the AK-74 (which can be identified by a smaller, less-curved, orange-coloured magazine, as well as a large muzzle brake on the end of the barrel). ''Film/LordOfWar'' is an example. Recently, however, 7.62mm [=AKs=], either former mainstays of the AKM line, or more modern AK-10x series, made a resurgence, after combat experience in Afghanistan and Chechnya demonstrated that the lighter bullet of the AK-74 tends to ricochet at the slightest prodding, and is thus unsuitable in forested areas. Thus there can be some unexpected aversion, when a bumbling producer who can't be bothered to do the research [[AccidentallyCorrectWriting gets things right on accident.]]

** The mistake were not only limited to the Axis forces either. M3 Grease Guns are seen in widespread use by both the US forces in Normandy landings as well as British SOE operatives & French resistance fighters in "S.O.E" mission in place of the more appropriate Thompson and Sten respectively (the former is available in the base game while the latter was added later as Multiplayer DLC).

** During the introductory assault course, the range master has two Desert Eagles, him brandishing the chrome-plated model [[PropRecycling taken from CoD4]] before giving the player character a two-tone one (with misaligned sights, at that). Keep in mind these are US Army Rangers in Afghanistan: Desert Eagles are definitely ''not'' standard issue (nor do the Rangers use chrome-plated ''anything''), and getting caught using an unapproved firearm can land you into ''serious'' trouble. Then again, the weapon boxes he opens before you run the Pit also contain a number of weapons that aren't standard-issue - including SPAS-12s, Mini-Uzis and even the same modded AK the Russians use later in the game - and, unless you pick up something without a suppressor in a stealth-based mission, nobody ever so much as bats an eye if you drop one of your starting guns for one that someone had just been trying to kill you with. It seems that Task Force 141, like many other special forces organizations, doesn't mind too much about the use of unorthodox equipment (Soap at one point directly encourages it, asking if you "see anything you like" in the Gulag's armory then directly suggesting you take a riot shield when you get ambushed before you can leave), though why the player as an Army Ranger can also take guns from enemies without consequence is purely for RuleOfFun.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'' features several anachronistic faults in regards to firearms shown in the game. The FN FAL in particular -- commonly known as the "Right Arm of the Free World" for its use by many Western-aligned nations, including every NATO member state except the US and West Germany -- is only used, of all people, by ''Vietcong'' and ''Cuban'' soldiers in single player. To the developers' credit, the second example is slightly [[JustifiedTrope justified]], since the specific model of the FAL seen in the game was part of a shipment of about 500 of these firearms, all delivered to the Cuban police. But other parts of the game return to playing this trope straight, since while the Cuban soldiers only appear in the first level of the game it's never explained why ''every other'' Soviet-aligned military present in the game uses the FAL as well (or why half of the Viet Cong soldiers armed with them also have American M203 grenade launchers attached to them); technically, the FAL was also in service as the semi-auto [=L1A1=] Self Loading Rifle with Australian soldiers stationed in Vietnam, so the argument ''could'' be made the ones encountered in Vietcong hands are simply captured rifles. It's somewhat harder to justify the highly anachronistic French FAMAS FELIN Russians occasionally use, except the FAMAS was a Russian staple weapon in ''Modern Warfare 2'' first, so it could again just be a matter of following the leader. Also, both the Soviet special forces seen in the 1968 Kowloon mission and the Vietcong in Huế City use the SPAS-12 shotgun – a firearm model from ''Italy'' which was introduced in ''[[AnachronismStew 1982]]''. The turret in the beginning of the Vorkuta level has a mounted American M249 SAW, which was made in 1984, and the player also acquires a hand-held version of the M134 Minigun, which didn't enter service until 1963 (and is also not man-portable, but [[RuleOfCool we can forgive that part]]) and finally escapes the prison on the back of a motorcycle while flip-cocking a Winchester 1887. Several campaign levels also feature the KS-23 shotgun, a 23mm riot gun that while at least actually being a Russian model (despite it like the FAL appearing primarily in Cuban and Vietcong hands -- even Mason starts with it in a mission or two set in Vietnam) was not designed until 1971 and on top of that wasn't meant for actual combat use -- it was a riot gun meant for keeping the peace in prisons. The closest any of these get to an actual justification is the last part of "Crash Site", where the presence of a single American China Lake grenade launcher (next to a crate full of Soviet [=SVDs=]) in a downed Soviet cargo plane is briefly and weakly {{handwave}}d as "some kind of setup". Somewhere, a firearms enthusiast is drinking themselves to death.

** ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyVanguard'' from the same developer continues the trend. Examples including but not limited to the [[https://guns.fandom.com/wiki/Becker_revolving_shotgun Becker Revolving Shotgun]] - an obscure prototype that in real life only had around 100 units produced - being a standard-issue shotgun for Axis forces in both Europe ''and'' Pacific, late-war German weapons such as the [=StG=] 44 and the Volkssturmgewehr seen in the hands of Wehrmacht forces in Stalingrad and El-Alamein, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlton_Automatic_Rifle Charlton Automatic Rifle]] - a rare New Zealand automatic conversion of Lee-Enfield rifle - as a standard issue automatic rifle for British/Australian forces in El-Alamein, Japanese forces in Bougainville using MG 42s and the aforementioned [=StG=] 44s and a French resistance fighter with an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AS-44 AS-44]] - a prototype Russian assault rifle - as her WeaponOfChoice.

** In the same game, literally ''everyone'' uses the .45 ACP [[CoolGuns/{{Handguns}} Colt 1911]] as sidearm. Forget Beretta, Makarov, Norinco, or any other brand or caliber that would be more plausible for non-American folks to carry; heck, the only 9mm weapons in the entire game are the Micro-Uzi and the [=MP5SD=].

* Played straight in ''Anime/AngelBeats'', with a group of high schoolers using realistic guns in detailed fashion. Justified by the setting being a sort of Purgatory where those who know about these weapons can re-create them. Which is hilariously subverted in episode 2 when they pull out a gigantic cannon to use against Angel, and the entire thing blows up in their face since none of them know the mechanics of an artillery gun. Note though that, mechanically, that cannon is actually ''much simpler'' than many of the RareGuns that appear in the hands of characters.

* Most of the guns in the ''Franchise/GhostInTheShell'' franchise are based on real-world weapons, some of which are outdated today (even though the series takes place circa 2030 A.D.) and are frequently RareGuns as well. The [[CoolGuns FN P90]] seems to be particularly popular with the creators, as half the guns in the franchise are at least partially based on it.

* ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'' is an heavy offender, with Marco's Steyr GB pistol, Henrietta's Walther WA 2000 sniper rifle and Triela's Winchester Model 1897 trench gun being quite improper for an assassination team sponsored by the Italian government (and most of them doubling as RareGuns to boot). Henrietta's WA 2000 is the only one of those that's appropriate ''at all'' for an assassin, except that no assassin is likely to have access to them because [[RareGuns there's less than 200 of them and they're all in private collections]], while Triela's shotgun gets a pass on being a somewhat diffuse war residuate and a personal choice of hers (they ''have'' tried to make her switch to something else, but she refuses).

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare3'' adds a Russian machine gun that's actually in use by modern Russian forces (the PKP Pecheneg - ignoring, of course, that it's meant primarily for mounted usage), but otherwise goes all-out with this trope: the new Russian military sidearm is the [[RareGuns never-produced]] (and, though at least designed in Russia, intended for sales to ''American'' civilians) [=MP412=] REX while FSO agents use the US Government model of the FN Five-seveN, African militia favor the (conceptual) ''Peruvian'' FAD assault rifle, a flashback to Zakhaev's assassination attempt set in the 90s now includes [[AnachronismStew a few Remington RSASS rifles]] which [[UnreliableNarrator weren't there the first time around]], and multiplayer allows the use of both the Chinese QBZ-97 assault rifle, South Korean USAS-12 automatic shotgun as well as Japanese PM-9 machine pistol, despite neither the PLA, ROKA nor the JSDF being present anywhere nor East Asia being the setting at any point in the game. For added hilarity, the aforementioned QBZ-97 (misidentified as the earlier -95), as a bullpup assault rifle that fires in bursts, serves as a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute for the second game's FAMAS - despite that the GIGN are playable in multiplayer and appear in one campaign level, thus meaning it would make perfect sense for the FAMAS to return.

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' has the enemies (Russian mercenaries) carry AN-94 assault rifles as their main weapon. While chronologically correct (the game is set in 2009, the rifle came out in 1993), the AN-94 is a bad case of RareGuns due to a very high cost, low reliability and ergonomics issues; the only users of the rifle are selected counter-terrorism Russian units. Made even weirder by the fact that some enemies use the still uncommon but way easier to obtain AKS-74U, but for some reason ''they're'' the ones in more specific, smaller roles (defense of the cores of the Big Shell). Less impossible but no less strange, if you alert the guards and then hide, the clearing teams they send to find you are armed with the SPAS-12, a weapon of which only 37,000 were made.

** Enemies early in ''VideoGame/SplinterCellChaosTheory'' are armed with the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Individual_Combat_Weapon AICW]], a prototype weapon system that was essentially to the Australian version of the AUG as the [[RareGuns XM29 OICW]] was to the American M16. Unlike most other occurrences of this trope, however, this is actually a plot point, as after Sam overhears a guard test-firing his weapon (noting that he [[GoodGunsBadGuns thinks Kalashnikov when he thinks of guerrillas]], and has had enough of those fired at him over his life to know that what he heard was not one) he is given optional objectives for this and the second mission to find and tag weapon crates to find out where exactly small-time Peruvian guerrillas are getting such advanced hardware from.

See also AKA47, ImprobableWeaponUsage, RareGuns, SelectiveHistoricalArmoury, JustPlaneWrong, TanksButNoTanks and ArtisticLicenseShips.

* Substitution of a common firearm variant for a [[RareGuns rare one]]. Machine pistols such as the Beretta 93R or the Glock 18 generally aren't sold outside of government agencies even if the armsmaster has a Class III permit; the usual solution is to drop a full-auto sear into the semiauto variant. In fairness it's not particularly hard to dress a Beretta up as a 93R, and the only obvious difference between semi and full auto Glocks is the ported barrel which you can only see from above (which not every real Glock 18 even has) and the small fire selector near the back of the slide, so most people aren't going to lose much sleep over doing this. The Joker's Glock in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' is one notable example.

* The armored vehicle variant shows up in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianDawn'', with its TwentyMinutesInTheFuture setting. Many contemporaneous US military vehicles such as the [[http://cnc.wikia.com/wiki/Light_tank_%28Tiberian_Dawn%29 M2 Bradley]] (here called a "light tank", [[TanksButNoTanks which it isn't]]), the [[http://cnc.wikia.com/wiki/Artillery_%28Tiberian_Dawn%29 M110 Howitzer]], and [[http://cnc.wikia.com/wiki/Apache_%28Tiberian_Dawn%29 AH-64 Apache]] are featured, the only problem being that many of them (including the above three) were ''Nod'' units. Sure, the United States hasn't been above supplying... [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters let's call them "partisans"]], in the past, but it doesn't usually ship them current-model military vehicles at the same time as it funds the UN force opposing them. This gets even worse in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRenegade'', where Nod now has the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing-Sikorsky_RAH-66_Comanche RAH-66 Comanche]] stealth helicopter'', a design that was hyped for a number of years (and also ended up semi-properly showing up in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals Generals]]'' as a US-only helicopter) but ultimately was not adopted and [[RareVehicles only had two prototypes]]. On the other hand, intentionally or not it could be a demonstration of how technology ended up going in different ways from reality thanks to the economic repercussions of Tiberium's arrival - cutscenes, for instance, indicate that the YF-23, another aircraft that only had two prototypes in reality, is GDI's standard jet fighter, while the YF-22, the winning competitor in the Advanced Tactical Fighter program that was developed into the F-22 Raptor, is used by Nod in those cutscenes, or that Nod uses the AH-64 because GDI has upgraded to the completely fictional Orca VTOL. This is actually explained in [[AllThereInTheManual the manual]], which implies Nod got its equipment directly from the source with reference to a scandal involving US defense contractors.

* ''VideoGame/FreedomFighters2003'' primarily sees weapons in the hands of Soviet forces that you would expect to see: the AK-103, the SVD, the PKM, and the rarer Bizon submachine gun. But the SPAS-12 is carried by all Soviet officers, who probably wouldn't carry a shotgun of any kind, let alone such a rare and western model (It's also seen in NYPD cars and armories, where it also wouldn't be) and the only sidearm used by the Soviets is the Beretta 92, which is even identified by its in-game description as a "standard Soviet handgun". In an inversion, the streets of New York City seem completely empty of any other weapons that would normally be widely found in America, except for the occasional Colt Python revolver.

** The Genome soldiers from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' are issued with FAMAS assault rifles despite no US Special Forces ever adopting such rifle. This is because the FAMAS rifle alongside the SOCOM pistol, due to their blocky designs, are much easier to render on a [=PS1=] Engine. Even with ''Twin Snakes'' (a [=GameCube=] remake of the first ''Solid'' title), the Genome soldiers' use of FAMAS is still retained.

* Two fun facts on the ammo score; first, the Russian [=SMGs=] that used 7.62x25mm Tokarev easily fit into the German logistics train because it was an enhanced version of the 7.63x25mm Mauser round, which the Germans had lots of. And second, the reasons the British Sten Gun was chambered for 9mm Parabellum, the German issue round, were first of all that no comparable self-loading pistol round was made in England ([=SMGs=] don't work too well with rimmed revolver cartridges); and second, when the Italian forces in North Africa surrendered to the British 8th Army in 1941 (before the Afrika Korps arrived), part of the booty was several million rounds of Italian-made 9mm Para ammunition, as their Beretta [=SMGs=] also used it (this one actually backfired, sometimes horribly: the Italian rounds came either in an underpowered variant for older UsefulNotes/WorldWarI models or an overpowered one for the Beretta Mod. 38: if used on more modern guns, the underpowered rounds would fail to cycle and cause a jam, and the overpowered ones could only be used with the Mod. [=38s=] or on any gun that's designed to handle over-pressure ammunition[[note]]The modern-day Russian [=7N21=] overpressure variant of the [=9x19=] round is way hotter than Mod. 38 load[[/note]], or else they'd literally blow up the gun).

Needless to say, it isn't restricted to guns, but they are always the first and most notable victim. Which is strange, as it's generally a lot easier to get a few MP-40's than to arrange for a Tiger tank to show up in your production.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare3'' adds a Russian machine gun that's actually in use by modern Russian forces (the PKP Pecheneg - ignoring, of course, that it's meant primarily for mounted usage), but otherwise goes all-out with this trope: the new Russian military sidearm is the [[RareGuns never-produced]] (and, though at least designed in Russia, intended for sales to ''American'' civilians) [=MP412=] REX while FSO agents use the US Government model of the FN Five-seveN, African militia favor the (conceptual) ''Peruvian'' FAD assault rifle, a flashback to Zakhaev's assassination attempt in the 90s now includes [[AnachronismStew a few Remington RSASS rifles]] which [[UnreliableNarrator weren't there the first time around]], and multiplayer allows the use of both the Chinese QBZ-97 assault rifle, South Korean USAS-12 automatic shotgun and Japanese PM-9 machine pistol, despite neither the PLA, ROKA nor the JSDF being present anywhere nor East Asia being the setting at any point in the game. For added hilarity, the aforementioned QBZ-97 (misidentified as the earlier -95), as a bullpup assault rifle that fires in bursts, serves as a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute for the second game's FAMAS - despite that the GIGN are playable in multiplayer and appear in one campaign level, thus meaning it would make perfect sense for the FAMAS to return.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare3'' adds a Russian machine gun that's actually in use by modern Russian forces (the PKP Pecheneg - ignoring, of course, that it's meant primarily for mounted usage), but otherwise goes all-out with this trope: the new Russian military sidearm is the [[RareGuns never-produced]] (and, though at least designed in Russia, intended for sales to ''American'' civilians) [=MP412=] REX while FSO agents use the US Government model of the FN Five-seveN, African militia favor the (conceptual) ''Peruvian'' FAD assault rifle, a flashback to Zakhaev's assassination attempt now includes [[AnachronismStew a few Remington RSASS rifles]] which [[UnreliableNarrator weren't there the first time around]], and multiplayer allows the use of both the Chinese QBZ-97 assault rifle, South Korean USAS-12 automatic shotgun and the Japanese PM-9 machine pistol, despite neither the PLA, ROKA nor the JSDF being present anywhere nor East Asia being the setting at any point in the game. For added hilarity, the aforementioned QBZ-97 (misidentified as the earlier -95), as a bullpup assault rifle that fires in bursts, serves as a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute for the second game's FAMAS - despite that the GIGN are playable in multiplayer and appear in one campaign level, thus meaning it would make perfect sense for the FAMAS to return.

** The Genome soldiers from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' are issued with FAMAS assault rifles despite no US Special Forces ever adopting such rifle. This is because the FAMAS rifle, alongside the SOCOM pistol is much easier to render on (at that time) due to their blocky designs. Even with ''Twin Snakes'' (a [=GameCube=] remake of the first ''Solid'' title), the Genome soldiers' use of FAMAS is still retained.

*** The Assault classes in general, save for the Germans and their [=StG 44=], all use machine guns which are treated as generic assault rifles - not only usable but even viable for operation by a single person, issued far more extensively than in reality, and [[ArbitraryGunPower pathetically weak]] compared to much smaller and logically weaker weapons. The bolt-action and semi-auto rifles that were actual standard-issue are only used by the aforementioned Sniper and Engineer classes.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare3'' adds a Russian machine gun that's actually in use by modern Russian forces (the PKP Pecheneg - ignoring, of course, that it's meant primarily for mounted usage), but otherwise goes all-out with this trope: the new Russian military sidearm is the [[RareGuns never-produced]] (and, though at least designed in Russia, intended for sales to ''American'' civilians) [=MP412=] REX while FSO agents use the US Government model of the FN Five-seveN, African militia favor the (conceptual) ''Peruvian'' FAD assault rifle, a flashback to Zakhaev's assassination attempt now includes [[AnachronismStew a few Remington RSASS rifles]] which [[UnreliableNarrator weren't there the first time around]], and multiplayer allows the use of both the Chinese QBZ-97 assault rifle and the Japanese PM-9 machine pistol, despite neither the PLA nor the JSDF being present anywhere in the game. For added hilarity, the aforementioned QBZ-97 (misidentified as the earlier -95), as a bullpup assault rifle that fires in bursts, serves as a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute for the second game's FAMAS - despite that the GIGN are playable in multiplayer and appear in one campaign level, thus meaning it would make perfect sense for the FAMAS to return.

** ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsColdWar'' continues the tradition. The SPAS-12 (which is infamous for being uncomfortable in real-life and famous in fiction due to its menacing and imposing look) seems to be one of the most common and widely-used shotguns in the world, second to the Ithaca 37, and both are frequently found in the hands and armories of Soviet, East German, Cuban, and Vietnamese troops. The Western 1911 is depicted as the standard-issue sidearm for every armed forces. For rifles, the Soviets should primarily be using the AK-74, with perhaps some AKM's mixed in, and the East Germans should be using their own AK variants, but instead, one of the most commonly-found weapons for both seems to be the Ak 5, a Swedish weapon that [[AnachronismStew did not exist in 1981]]. Also seen in Soviet and East German hands are various configurations of West German [=MP5s=]. The latter might be believable, if unlikely, in East Berlin but is completely out of place carried by a Soviet sentry on a military base in Ukraine. While infiltrating said base, CIA operative Bell also carries a Chinese-made Norinco Type 63. This could be hand-waved to them trying to enforce plausible deniability by not carrying western weapons, but their partner, Woods, primarily uses an [=MP5=] and a Remington 700 on the same mission.

** The mistake were not only limited to the Axis forces either. M3 Grease Guns are seen in widespread use by the US forces during Normandy landings as well as British SOE operatives and French resistance fighters in "S.O.E" mission in place of the more appropriate Thompson and Sten respectively (the latter of which was added later as Multiplayer DLC), all of which were set in the mid 1944 before the gun actually enter active service.

* The armored vehicle variant shows up in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianDawn'', with its TwentyMinutesInTheFuture setting. Many contemporaneous US military vehicles such as the [[http://cnc.wikia.com/wiki/Light_tank_%28Tiberian_Dawn%29 M2 Bradley]] (here called a "light tank", [[TanksButNoTanks which it isn't]]), the [[http://cnc.wikia.com/wiki/Artillery_%28Tiberian_Dawn%29 M110 Howitzer]], and [[http://cnc.wikia.com/wiki/Apache_%28Tiberian_Dawn%29 AH-64 Apache]] are featured, the only problem being that many of them (including the above three) were ''Nod'' units. Sure, the United States hasn't been above supplying... [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters let's call them "partisans"]], in the past, but it doesn't usually ship them current-model military vehicles at the same time as it funds the UN force opposing them. This gets even worse in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRenegade'', where Nod now has the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing-Sikorsky_RAH-66_Comanche RAH-66 Comanche]] stealth helicopter'', a design that was hyped for a number of years (and also ended up semi-properly showing up in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals Generals]]'' as a US-only helicopter) but ultimately was not adopted and [[RareVehicles only had two prototypes]]. On the other hand, intentionally or not it could be a demonstration of how technology ended up going in different ways from reality thanks to the economic repercussions of Tiberium's arrival - cutscenes, for instance, indicate that the YF-23, another aircraft that only had two prototypes in reality, is GDI's standard jet fighter, while the YF-22, the winning competitor in the Advanced Tactical Fighter program that was developed into the F-22 Raptor, is used by Nod in those cutscenes, or that Nod uses the AH-64 because GDI has upgraded to the completely fictional Orca VTOL. This is actually explained in [[AllThereInTheManual the manual]], which implies Nod got its equipment directly from the source with reference to a scandal involving US defense contractors. There are also implications across the series that the first game takes place much further in the future than the fandom's original suggestion of circa 1999 to 2002 (only four to seven years after release), closer to 2019, which gives much more time for events to go in a different direction from reality, such as vehicles falling out of use with standing militaries and into the hands of terrorists.

* In the sci-fi movie ''Film/EnemyMine'' the human pilot is armed with a stainless steel Walther PPK. That somehow shoots [[SlowLaser Slow Lasers]].

* ''Film/NoCountryForOldMen'' is set in 1980, but features several weapons that weren't available at that point in time. At three different point antagonist Anton Chigurh uses a Glock 19 (not developed until 1983), a TEC-9 (produced in 1985), and a Remington 11-87 (produced in 1987). Llewelyn also acquires a Heckler & Koch [=SP89=] at one point, which didn't enter production until 1989, although this is standing in for the proper [=MP5k=] (which entered production in '76) that was used in the novel.

** Similarly disguised [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M50_Reising_submachine_gun Reising]] submachine guns were also used in some episodes. Like the M3, the Reising was also distributed to US troops in WWII, though in more limited numbers.

* Taken UpToEleven in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'' which features several anachronistic faults in regards to firearms shown in the game. The FN FAL in particular -- commonly known as the "Right Arm of the Free World" for its use by many Western-aligned nations, including every NATO member state except the US and West Germany -- is only used, of all people, by ''Vietcong'' and ''Cuban'' soldiers in single player. To the developers' credit, the second example is slightly [[JustifiedTrope justified]], since the specific model of the FAL seen in the game was part of a shipment of about 500 of these firearms, all delivered to the Cuban police. But other parts of the game return to playing this trope straight, since while the Cuban soldiers only appear in the first level of the game it's never explained why ''every other'' Soviet-aligned military present in the game uses the FAL as well (or why half of the Viet Cong soldiers armed with them also have American M203 grenade launchers attached to them); technically, the FAL was also in service as the semi-auto [=L1A1=] Self Loading Rifle with Australian soldiers stationed in Vietnam, so the argument ''could'' be made the ones encountered in Vietcong hands are simply captured rifles. It's somewhat harder to justify the highly anachronistic French FAMAS FELIN Russians occasionally use, except the FAMAS was a Russian staple weapon in ''Modern Warfare 2'' first, so it could again just be a matter of following the leader. Also, both the Soviet special forces seen in the 1968 Kowloon mission and the Vietcong in Huế City use the SPAS-12 shotgun – a firearm model from ''Italy'' which was introduced in ''[[AnachronismStew 1982]]''. The turret in the beginning of the Vorkuta level has a mounted American M249 SAW, which was made in 1984, and the player also acquires a hand-held version of the M134 Minigun, which didn't enter service until 1963 (and is also not man-portable, but [[RuleOfCool we can forgive that part]]) and finally escapes the prison on the back of a motorcycle while flip-cocking a Winchester 1887. Several campaign levels also feature the KS-23 shotgun, a 23mm riot gun that while at least actually being a Russian model (despite it like the FAL appearing primarily in Cuban and Vietcong hands -- even Mason starts with it in a mission or two set in Vietnam) was not designed until 1971 and on top of that wasn't meant for actual combat use -- it was a riot gun meant for keeping the peace in prisons. The closest any of these get to an actual justification is the last part of "Crash Site", where the presence of a single American China Lake grenade launcher (next to a crate full of Soviet [=SVDs=]) in a downed Soviet cargo plane is briefly and weakly {{handwave}}d as "some kind of setup". Somewhere, a firearms enthusiast is drinking themselves to death.

*** ''[[VideoGame/BattlefieldHardline Hardline]]'' with it's experimental, military grade hardware in the hands of domestic law enforcement and {{gangbangers}} from the poorest areas of Los Angeles and Miami.

* An in-universe example in an episode of ''Series/Jake20'', where one of the clues that the guys holding him are not German Secret Service is that one of the guys has a Walther PPK. Being a HollywoodNerd, he instantly recognizes Film/JamesBond's favorite gun. He's also an experienced NSA agent, so he knows that nobody uses these anymore. The other clues are constantly-dropped movie quotes ("[[Film/RoboCop1987 Can you outsmart a bullet]]?") and a watch too expensive for a government agent. Turns out they were just hackers (''American'' hackers) playing a prank on him (or rather, on the person they think is their leader).

*** ''[[VideoGame/BattlefieldHardline Hardline]]'' is arguably even worse in this regard. It's one thing to imagine an experimental assault rifle in the hands of a spec ops trooper, it's an entirely different ball game imagining them being used by domestic law enforcement, let alone some {{gangbangers}} from the poorest areas of Los Angeles and Miami.
*** This is what some people are complaining about in ''VideoGame/Battlefield1'', what with the prevalence of automatic weapons and prototype firearms, instead of the bolt-action rifles and melee weapons that were so common in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. This is averted in the game mode "Back to Basics" in which the all classes are equipped with only the unscoped bolt-action rifles used by their respective nations (e.g. the British can only use the SMLE and the Germans can only use the Gewehr 98).

* Another WWII example: many games with setting in the Pacific Theater, even the ones that delves more into realism and historical accuracy such as ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'' and ''VideoGame/RisingStorm'', often implausibly depicts the Nambu Type 100 submachine gun as a standard-issue weapon used by Japanese soldiers, essentially acting as a Japanese counterpart to the already overrepresented MP 40. Disregarding the fact that in real life, no less than ten thousand units of it were produced ''at most.'' (for comparison, around 1 million units of the aforementioned MP 40 were produced at the end of the war).

** In reality, the AK-74 was just starting to make its way to the export market before TheGreatPoliticsMessUp. The ''vast'' majority of AK variants in the world are of the AKM variety or the Chinese Type 56 clone, both firing the original 7.62x39mm cartridge.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWWII'': German soldiers in Normandy using Soviet-made [=PPSh=]-41s and SVT-40s. Actually not that ridiculous an example, as [[https://ww2militaria.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/ppsh_germanforces.jpg the Germans in the real life war]] were rather fond of these Soviet weapons and often kept them as war trophies, even having [=PPShs=] rechambered to fire the German 9mm round and designated MP-41(r), while the SVT-40s saw widespread use as the Germans lacked a worthwhile self-loading rifle until Walther used the captured weapon as inspiration for the G43. Of course, Germans using captured Soviet weapons in such numbers ''outside'' of the Eastern Front stretches belief.

** ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyVanguard'' continues the trend. Examples including but not limited to the [[https://guns.fandom.com/wiki/Becker_revolving_shotgun Becker Revolving Shotgun]] - an obscure prototype that in real life only had around 100 units produced - being a standard-issue shotgun for Axis forces in both Europe and Pacific, late-war German weapons such as the [=StG=] 44 and the Volkssturmgewehr seen in the hands of Wehrmacht forces in Stalingrad and El-Alamein, Japanese forces in Bougainville using MG 42s and the aforementioned [=StG=] 44s and a French resistance fighter with an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AS-44 AS-44]] - a prototype Russian assault rifle - as her WeaponOfChoice.

* Another WWII example: many games with setting in the Pacific Theater such as ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'', ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorPacificAssault'' and ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyVanguard'' often implausibly depicts the Nambu Type 100 submachine gun as a standard-issue weapon used by Japanese soldiers, essentially acting as a Japanese counterpart to the already overrepresented MP 40. Disregarding the fact that in real life, no less than ten thousand units of it were produced ''at most.'' (for comparison, around 1 million units of the aforementioned MP 40 were produced at the end of the war).