FIELD RECORDINGS FROM A FORGOTTEN ARSENAL
WORLD WAR I FIREARMS is a library of authentic WWI weapon sound effects — recorded outdoors with original rifles, revolvers, and shotguns. It captures not just the gunshots, but the full mechanical reality: cocking, reloading, dryfires, misfires, and handling. Multiple mic perspectives deliver natural space and variation. Built for professional sound designers who need real material with real character.
Watch The Trailer
Authentic WWI Weapons
Original rifles, revolvers, and shotguns from the First World War – recorded on location with expertise. No replicas, no modern stand-ins. Just the real thing.
Complete Mechanical Detail
Includes everything from dryfires and reloads to bolt actions and handling. These elements bring weight and realism to your design, far beyond the shot itself.
Natural Acoustic Environments
Recorded in a carefully chosen location to capture authentic tail behaviour. Includes close, mid, and far mic positions for spatial control.
Formats for Flexible Workflows
Stereo, Ambisonics, and ORTF3D formats ensure the library fits into post, game, or immersive production pipelines without compromise.
WHAT THE PROS ARE SAYING ABOUT WORLD WAR I FIREARMS
“The WWI Firearms library is outstanding. Massive, detailed, and full of character. The distant blasts are especially well done, and the construction kit offers beautifully captured foley that’s perfect for nuanced scenes. I wish I’d had it when working on The Last of Us: Part II.”
Eric Paulsen
Emmy-winning Sound Designer
Twilight of The Gods • The Last of Us: Part II • God Of War Ragnarök
Emmy-winning Sound Designer
Twilight of The Gods • The Last of Us: Part II • God Of War Ragnarök
“One aspect I love about these newer weapon libraries from BOOM, like this most recent WWI Firearms entry, is the variety of foley, mech, and sweeteners provided. I frequently find myself using these sounds in ways well beyond their intended purpose.”
Alexander Ephraim
Award-winning Sound Designer
Call Of Duty • World Of Warcraft • Arcane • Overwatch
Award-winning Sound Designer
Call Of Duty • World Of Warcraft • Arcane • Overwatch
“BOOM’s WWI Firearms library delivers the punch and nuance I rely on. It’s a perfect fit for the era—detailed, aggressive, and beautifully captured. BOOM has always been my go-to for firearms, and this one’s no exception.”
Matt Temple
5 x Emmy Nominee
Ozark • Better Call Saul • Tracker
5 x Emmy Nominee
Ozark • Better Call Saul • Tracker
What’s Inside
Included sounds - keywords
BULLET, CASING, DRYFIRE, GUN ACTION, GUNSHOT, IMPACT, LOADING, MAGAZINE IN, MAGAZINE OUT, MECHANISM, METAL, METAL HIT, MOVEMENT, PISTOL, RELOAD, REVOLVER, RIFLE, SAFETY CLICK, SHELL, SHOTGUN, SLOW, SLIDE, TRIGGER, WEAPON GRAB, WEAPON HANDLING
WORLD WAR 1 FIREARMS – CONSTRUCTION KIT
Every Action Captured
Reloads, dryfires, cocking, and handling sounds recorded cleanly and with control. Over 13 GB of raw World War I firearm sound effects, ideal for layering, Foley work, or tension-building moments.
Multi-Mic Outdoor Recordings
The weapons have been recorded with multiple mic placements across two acoustic environments. This gives you options for realism, distance, and flexibility.
Designed, Construction Kit, Bundle: What’s the difference?
WORLD WAR 1 FIREARMS – DESIGNED
Pre-Built Shots, Ready to Drop In
A curated set of over 400 weapon sounds created from the raw recordings. Ideal for quick use when time is short but realism still matters.
Historical Grit, Modern Clarity
Carefully shaped to retain the authenticity of the original recordings, while fitting cleanly into today’s mixes. Balanced, believable, and immediately usable.
Designed, Construction Kit, Bundle: What’s the difference?
WORLD WAR I FIREARMS Bundle
THE BUNDLE – Raw and Refined
The WORLD WAR I FIREARMS Bundle includes both the Construction Kit and the Designed edition, offering maximum flexibility and value. The Designed edition provides ready-to-use shots that cover the full firing process — ideal for quick implementation. The Construction Kit includes all raw source recordings, giving you complete control to customise, layer, or build entirely new weapon sounds and Foley elements to suit your project.
Designed, Construction Kit, Bundle: What’s the difference?
What We Recorded?
WORLD WAR I FIREARMS was recorded with a clear goal: to capture the real sound of early 20th-century weapons in their natural environment, without modern embellishment.
We sourced original WWI-era firearms — not reproductions — and recorded them at a carefully selected outdoor location. This location offered hard, reflective surfaces but was softer, surrounded by natural vegetation. This gave us a contrasting set of reverb tails and spatial behaviours, ideal for designers who want sonic variety without relying on artificial processing.
Each session focused on capturing both the acoustic impact and the mechanical identity of the weapons. Using close, mid, and far mic placements, we documented not just the gunshots, but the full physical performance: bolt actions, reloads, dryfires, misfires, and subtle handling sounds.
The idea was simple — treat these weapons not as props, but as characters. Preserve their imperfections. Honour their historical context. And make the results as usable and flexible as possible for modern workflows.
Firearms included:
Revolvers
Colt New Service
M1917 Revolver
Webley Mk VI
Nagant M1895
Pistols
Steyr M1912
Colt M1911
FN Highpower
Mauser C96
P08 Luger
Rifles
M1917 Enfield
Mosin Nagant 1891
Mosin Nagant M1907
Springfield M1903
Springfield M1903 A4
Steyr 1895
Krag–Jørgensen
Shotguns
Browning Auto 5
Winchester M1887
What’s so special about this library?
WOLRD WAR I FIREARMS is a sound library built on authenticity, flexibility, and detail — not stylisation. Every weapon in this collection is a genuine WWI-era firearm, recorded in real outdoor spaces to capture both mechanical nuance and environmental context.
Unlike libraries built for impact or drama, this one’s about truth. You hear the weight of old metal, the wear in the actions, the space the sound moves through. Whether you’re recreating historical scenes, building grounded weapon layers, or designing something modern with vintage grit, these sounds give you honest material to work with.
Key advantages:
- Use unprocessed close-mic recordings for tight, controlled design
- Tailor spatial depth using mid and far mics from two distinct environments
- Repurpose mechanical elements for tension, character, or Foley layering
- Adapt stereo, Ambisonics, or ORTF3D formats for linear or immersive mixes
This is a library for sound designers who don’t want the same generic gunshot. It’s for those who want to feel the design in their hands — and shape it with precision.
Designing The Sound of WORLD WAR I FIREARMS
In this interview, our sound designer Wieland Müller goes into detail about WORLD WAR I FIREARMS. Learn more about the creative process, the recordings, and the approach to keep the weapons as authentic as possible.
Capturing the Past, Without Pretending: Making of WORLD WAR I FIREARMS
With WORLD WAR I FIREARMS, we’re set out to do something specific: record a set of authentic WW1 sounds, with their full sonic character intact, and make that material useful for professional sound designers working across film, games, and immersive formats. Not exaggerated. Not stylised. Just honest recordings, made for real design work.
Read more about the ideas and the creative process behind WORLD WAR I FIREARMS in our latest blog.
Compatible Software
BOOM Library sound FX come as WAV files, meaning you can import and work with them in any software that can handle this file type. Here are the most common audio and video editing software tools that work perfectly with our game and UI sound effects:
Audio Software
Logic Pro
Cubase
Nuendo
Ableton Live
Pro Tools
Reaper
Video Editing Software
Premiere Pro
Final Cut Pro X
After Effects
Vegas Pro
Media Composer
Rich Metadata Embedded
We want to provide you with the fastest and easiest workflow possible. That’s why all files contain extensive metadata like file description & keywords to quickly find the sounds you’re looking for. Metadata can be read and processed by audio management tools. Some digital audio workstations feature an included search tool that can also read embedded metadata. Here are the most common audio management tools:
Soundminer
Basehead
Soundly
According to the new UCS standard
Universal Category System 
Significant Savings
World War I Firearms is part of the Signature Series Bundle. By purchasing the Signature Series Bundle, you save thousands of dollars compared to buying each of the 93 packs individually. This bundle offers exceptional value, making high-quality sound design accessible at a fraction of the cost.
Subscription Option
To make the BOOM Signature Series even more accessible, you can subscribe and spread the cost over time. This flexible option allows you to enjoy the full benefits of the series without the upfront investment.
Related Products
