I used to love Stargate as a kid, I loved the movie, and later, I enjoyed the TV show. I recently decided to walk to Nostalgia Land and revisit the film and series. Who has time to watch ten seasons of Stargate? So, I turned to a pop culture listicle for a top 20 list. After a few episodes, something I didn’t remember as a kid dawned on me. This show has a serious tactical drip. Drip is a term the kids use to describe stylish.
Stargate and Guns
Does the Stargate show have great gun handling or impressive tactics? No, not really, but the guns they use are far from boring. In fact, whichever team armed the Stargate cast clearly had an eye for style and strived to fill the show with some seriously awesome guns. It seems like an odd thing to write about but stick with me. Let’s dive into the world of Stargate SG-1’s best guns and appreciate the tactical drip they provided.
The P90
This one is a big duh. Stargate and the P90 go together like peanut butter and jelly. The P90 is the most famous of Stargate’s firearms and the most associated with the series. In the mind of most people, including me, it’s the main gun of the SG-1 team throughout the series. Interestingly, the P90 didn’t become the main SG-1 team gun until the fourth season.
The P90 had a very high-tech look and was a very modern gun during the run of the Stargate TV series. FN created the P90 to occupy a niche firearm needed by NATO known as the Personal Defense Weapon. These guns sit between an SMG and a proper assault rifle. The unique bullpup design and top-loaded magazine allowed the gun to stand out. It also allowed the gun to be occasionally dual-wielded when necessary.
The MP5A3
Before the SG-1 team received P90s, the weapon of choice was the MP5A3. HK MP5 doesn’t need much of an introduction. What’s neat about the gun in this series is the amount of work the armorer team put into it. It’s not just a plain MP5. The MP5A3 in the series wore custom Colt AR optics fabricated to fit claw mounts. A 4X scope on an SMG is silly, but it looks cool.
Next, the forend is a dedicated Surefire design with an integrated weapon light. Finally, most of the team uses magazine connectors to tote an extra magazine on the gun. Most also wore single-point slings for that late 1990s drip. These guns were carried in most seasons but faded after season 4 and the P90.
USAS-12 Assault Shotgun
Throughout the series, the Stargate SG-1 team faced off against various opponents. This includes the robotic replicators, which often took the look of above-average-sized bugs. These small, fast-moving creatures swarmed targets. When the SG-1 team took the replicators on, they often carried the USAS-12 Assault Shotgun. This makes a ton of sense because hitting a small, rapidly moving target is difficult but a little less difficult with a shotgun.
These weren’t your grandpa’s Remingtons, either. The USAS-12 is a box magazine-fed, semi-auto shotgun that borrowed some stylings from the AR series of rifles. In 1997, they were high-tech and rarely seen in the United States since Clinton declared them to be destructive devices. They certainly destroyed a few replicators in their time with the SG-1 team.
Daewoo K3
Throughout the series, there were times when the MP5 and FN P90 couldn’t cut it. These are ‘sub’ machine guns; you need a ‘dom’ machine gun. When these times came to fruition, the team turned to the Daewoo K3. It’s an odd choice for a US-based Stargate team if they are meant to be Daewoos. In reality, they dressed the guns to resemble the M249 SAW light machine gun.
They are often seen in the hands of background Marines who are assigned to the Stargate base. The production added paratrooper stocks, vertical grips, and handguards to give them that SAW look.
Carter Special Micro 16 Carbine
In season 7, the Carter Special, also known as the Micro 16 Carbine, is introduced. It’s not your average AR 15 kit. Major Samantha Carter carries the weapon. The Carter Special is an ultra-short AR with several custom features. The production took an Olympic Arms K23B and dressed it up. Have you ever seen a movie called Tomorrow War? Well, this is the dad of the rifle from that film.
At its core, it’s a micro-sized AR with a 7.5-inch barrel covered with a Picatinny rail. The gun has a vertical foregrip and an Elcan OS 3.4x28mm sight. The stock is a Hera wannabe from a company called Bell and Carlson. The gun almost exclusively fires from Beta C Mags. It’s a silly-looking gun, but it is still interesting to see.
Beretta 93R (Kind Of)
The SG-1 team had some slick guns, but they weren’t the only ones carrying blasters with a little drip to them. In episodes with the Secret Service, their gun of choice appears to be the Beretta 93R. Kind of. It’s a dressed-up 92FS designed to look like the all-too-cool 93R machine pistol.
There is something to be said for taking the time to dress a gun up to make it look even cooler than the average handgun. It’s also worth noting the 93R was designed for executive protection teams, but it was never very successful.
That Stargate Drip
Stargate was such a fun franchise. I’d love to see the cast come back to make a sweet reunion episode, but I fear Amazon would really goof it up. They certainly couldn’t capture the coolness of the original series. I’m not sure who was behind the guns of Stargate, but I want to give them a hand. They did a fantastic job, and it convinced me to find time to watch ten seasons. Are there any other Stargate fans out there?
