Military Grade” Weapons You Can Own

Military Grade – This Is What’s Issued

The phrase “military grade” is often used as a marketing term, but in reality, it’s a thing. A description, really, of items made to an exact set of specifications. Gun, knife, life-jacket, or insect repellent; they can all be military grade. The items might be great or they might be crap, and typically the lowest bidder gets the contract. That doesn’t always mean cheap, though. Hell, have you seen how much the military pays for toilet seats?

Note that military grade is not the same as military issue.

For the purposes of this article, we’ll be talking about “military grade” firearms that are commercially available to the private citizen. These weapons, while issued to military personnel in various duty assignments, differ only slightly (if at all) to their “civilian” counterparts.

Let’s dive into the world of the military-grade guns you can own. Yes, you, the average joe, as long as you aren’t a felon and live in a free state. Of course, with many things, a lot of the fun of these guns has been removed. Sadly the NFA and later Hughes Amendment make owning guns with giggle switches somewhat difficult, so you’ll have to excuse the lack of such features.

So without further ado…

Military Grade Firearms You Can Own

Mossberg 590A1

Mossberg designed the 590A1 to meet the military’s requirements for a pump-action shotgun. This includes a heavy, thick-walled barrel, a bayonet lug, a metal trigger group, and an action reliable enough to eat 3,000 rounds of buckshot without issue. Mossberg has long made the 590A1 available to the average joe and in numerous configurations. This mighty mean shotgun is an excellent home defense and fighting shotgun and is one of the few guns on the list that’s legal in all 50 states.

Benelli M4

The Benelli M4, or M1014 Joint Service Shotgun, is what happens when you send the Marines to find you a shotgun. They did just that, and the Benelli name became synonymous with tactical shotguns. You can go two ways with this gun. Purchase the M1014 clone from Benelli with its fixed faux collapsing stock and five round tube. Or go my route, buy a Benelli M4, buy the proper collapsing stock, and get 922R parts from Freedom Fighter Tactical. The latter is the best way to get as close as possible to a military grade M1014.

SIG M17/18 Series

SIG won the MHS contest and almost immediately made the M17 and M18 series available to the civilian market. These are almost 1 for 1 clones of the military’s pistol, and the big difference is the controls are black instead of FDE. A quick visit to the cerakote shop will fix that. The M17 is the full-sized SIG, and the M18 is essentially the ‘Carry’ model. SIG’s military grade handguns are optics ready, fitted with a manual safety, and all you need is a Safariland holster to complete the package.

Beretta M9

Yeah, it might be sour grapes that Beretta has lost their dominant spot on the military’s sidearm list, but the M9 will stick around for a few years. It takes time, often lots of it, to equip the entire military with a new handgun. Until then, the classic Beretta M9 and M9A1 will continue to serve. The M9 is a 9mm, DA/SA pistol with an all-metal frame and is the military-grade version of the 92FS. Beretta makes the M9 and M9A1 configurations available to shooters so you can have a perfect clone of the classic Italian stallion.

The M40 Series

When the Marine Corps needed a new rifle system, they turned to the Remington 700 series of bolt action rifles and have seemingly never looked back. You can buy the base level Remington 700 in .308 Winchester and turn it into any of the M40 variations or go directly to the source. A little company called GA Precision produces the M40A5 as a plug-and-play Marine Corps and military grade sniper rifle. The half MOA guarantee might make you feel a bit better about the 5k price tag!

FN Military Collector Series

I’m combining two for one in this entry. FN produces the Military Collector series to replicate the M16 and M4 almost perfectly, minus the giggle stick. This includes the quad rail, UID sticker, and the classic aluminum magazines. Sure the M4 has a 16-inch barrel instead of the 14.5 the actual M4 wears, buts it’s close enough for collectors who don’t want a stamp. FN makes solid rifles and has been the trusted provider of M16s to the military since 1988.

FN M249

Sticking on the FN train, I have to give them major props for having the balls to release the M249 PARA in semi-auto, closed bolt form. This famous light machine gun has been the squad support weapon since 1984, and out of the blue, FN decided to release a semi-auto belt-fed model a few years back. That’s evolved into the Para model that’s available today. Be prepared to fork over close to 10K if you want your own NFA-free M249. At the end of the day, the civilian M249 is a big, heavy, and expensive rifle, but holy crap, I still want one.

Ohio Ordnance Works M240 SLR

Since we are talking about belt-fed, semi-auto, somewhat nonsensical rifles, I can’t forget to mention the Ohio Ordnance Works M240 SLR. Yep, a full-powered, belt-fed M240 clone in semi-auto, closed bolt form. It’s a thing of beauty, and they replicate the look and feel of the classic M240 well. For a little over 14K, you get the gun, 2,500 links, a custom hard fit case, and almost two dozen accessories. It’s silly to have a nearly 30-pound .308 semi-auto rifle, but you can’t deny it’s not stylish. A semi-auto format might not be exactly military grade, but I give it up to Ohio Ordannce Works for making such a beautiful piece of machinery.

SIG Spear in .277 Fury

SIG recently won the NGSW contest with their entry of the SIG MCX Spear in their new 6.8x51mm round. Coming off that win, they released the SIG Spear in .277 Fury for the civilian market. SIG’s short store gas piston gun features a 13-inch barrel, so it’s an SBR. The first run is a special edition run complete with a suppressor, so it’s a two-stamp setup. This gun is as close as we can get to the new XM5, and it costs a pretty penny to do so. Hopefully, Vortex makes the coordinating optic so we can get the full NGSW experience. As of right now, it’s the latest in military grade rifles.

SIG Rattler

Yep another SIG. I know, I know, they’ve kind of dominated the list. SIG has been getting contract after contract, and the latest isn’t the NGSW but the Rattler. SOCOM wasn’t a personal defense weapon, and SIG’s Rattler fit the bill. The Rattler is a pocket-sized military grade rifle in 300 Blackout and 5.56. Socom apparently purchased quantities of both calibers. It should be noted the SIG Low Visibility Assault Weapon, or LVAW is a variant of MCX very similar to this layout made for Delta Force. SIG sells the Rattler as both an SBR and large format, braced pistol.

B&T APC9K

Last but not least, the B&T APC9K is the first SMG adopted by the United States Army since the Grease Gun. The subcompact weapon contest came out with B&T on top and the little APC9K being the gun to beat. B&T happily made a limited series of SCW clones, as well as releasing the APC9K. I love the APC9K, and it’s my favorite little subgun. It’s certainly high priced, but man, the Swiss sure know how to build a gun, plus they aren’t shy to sell them to you or me, and I can greatly appreciate that.

Military Grade Misses

I provided 11 guns you can purchase today that are in use by the United States military. They aren’t perfect replicas but fall within the lines of what’s legal for the average joe to own. I know I had to miss some, so I’m turning it over to the comments section to help out.

Do guns like the Mk23 and M11-A1 deserve to be on the list? Let us know!

About the Author

Travis Pike is a former Marine Machine Gunner, a lifelong firearms enthusiast, and now a regular guy who likes to shoot, write, and find ways to combine the two. He holds an NRA certification as a Basic Pistol Instructor. is the world’s Okayest firearm instructor, and a simplicisist when it comes to talking about himself in the 3rd person. Hit him up on Instagram, @travis.l.pike, with story ideas.