World War I Firearms
WW1 Gun Sound EffectsField 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.
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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.
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.
Recorded in a carefully chosen location to capture authentic tail behaviour. Includes close, mid, and far mic positions for spatial control.
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
What’s Inside
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?
Technical Specifications – Edition: Construction Kit
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?
Technical Specifications – Edition: Designed
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?
Technical Specifications – Edition: Bundle
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:
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- 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.
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.
