Why is it called a mini gun? what's mini about it?

The original miniguns fired 7.62×51 NATO rounds (and rarely 5.56×45 rounds). These rounds are much smaller than the 20mm cannon rounds that earlier weapons of the same design fired, thus the name “mini” gun.

Also, the military is quite fond of irony.

It’s the size of the rounds it fires, not the size of the gun or the power of the weapon. @Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard is right.

Mini is such a weak word. We need a strong word. I agree with Fiddle. But can’t we find a stronger word for a bad ass killing machine?

That sick little bastard mini me never goes anywhere without his mini gun,at least I think that’s what that unsightly bulge in his trousers is.

@Mikelbf2000, I kindof like the dramatic understatement.

It’s called mini because compared to their counterparts which are mounted to vehicles, they are mini

Because it makes Mini-meat out of people and things.

It is named that way because the people who use it have tiny penises.

Minigun

How it works

@ragingloli why is that?

*cough neo-Freudian bullshit *cough

“It’s not the size of the gun, it’s how you use it.” – garden variety anonymous weapons fanatic

I enjoy @Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard answer. the military has a rather funny sense of irony. Just take a look at the 2 (or 3?) stage ICBM- the Peace Keeper.

@Maximillian They are peace keepers. It’s the don’t nuke me or I’ll nuke you mentality lol

@Maximillian Hell, MAD’s worked so far. The problem is when people get nukes that don’t care if they get nuked back.

It’s basically an electric-motor-driven version of the Gatling Gun invented in the 1850s. The 5.56mm version is known as the “Six Pack” due to the six barrels. A 30mm version, firing DU shells, is the principal weapon of the A-10 “Warthog” ground-attack aircraft (it can open a battle tank like a beer can).

Indeed the GAU-8 is awesome in the purest definition of the word.

@Shuttle128 Good one.