What kind of gun does your character carry?
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I don't even know what a "baster" is, but I own a double barrel 10ga, and it's a lot of fun to shoot.
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A Glock 19, the same as I carry.
Mine is named Liesel. His is named Erika.
I'm sure Freud would say something about naming your duty weapon, but who cares what he says.
Mine is named Liesel. His is named Erika.
I'm sure Freud would say something about naming your duty weapon, but who cares what he says.
BradyH1861 -- Hiya! Please don't take this wrong, but what kind of people name their guns? Is it a law enforcement-thing, or is it common among gun owners across the board? If it is a law enforcement-thing, does everyone (in your experience) do it? I've known quite a few folks with guns but none of them had names for them (as far as I know).
I'm working my way through this thread because I know very little about guns and one of my POV characters recently informed me his parents were both cops . . . lucky for me I love research! So, thanks to everyone who's contributed!
heyjude- Me too!
I'm working my way through this thread because I know very little about guns and one of my POV characters recently informed me his parents were both cops . . . lucky for me I love research! So, thanks to everyone who's contributed!
heyjude- Me too!
BradyH1861 -- Hiya! Please don't take this wrong, but what kindof people name their guns? Is it a law enforcement-thing, or is it common among gun owners across the board? If it is a law enforcement-thing, does everyone (in your experience) do it? I've known quite a few folks with guns but none of them had names for them (as far as I know).
I'm working my way through this thread because I know very little about guns and one of my POV characters recently informed me his parents were both cops . . . lucky for me I love research! So, thanks to everyone who's contributed!
heyjude- Me too!
It's not a law enforcement thing. Even Daniel Boone named his rifle. I don't know anyone who names them all, but how can you have a favorite weapon, one you use constantly, one that just plain shoots better than any other like it, one that's so comfortable in your hand it feels like a part of you, and not name it? Doing so is as old as weapons. People named knives and swords long before guns were invented.
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If it is a law enforcement-thing, does everyone (in your experience) do it? I've known quite a few folks with guns but none of them had names for them (as far as I know).
I have no idea how common it is. In my case we were doing our semi-annual qualification last May and somone mentioned that her gun had a name. So as we were cleaning ours after we shot, we came up with names for them. Glocks are Austrian, hence the German name.
It really started as a joking around thing with my agency, so I don't know if anyone else does it. I can ask around with some folks with different departments if you'd like.
Nicknames for the officers though are pretty common where I am. They are usually connected with some embarrasing incident that happened to you.
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Thanks for your answer, Brady.
I've heard that about nicknames for officers, which is why I thought naming duty weapons could be something common that I'd just hadn't run across. If you wouldn't mind, I'd love to find out more about how common a practice it is. I can't see my guy doing it (so far), but for some reason this really grabs me. Must follow the muse when he yanks my chain.
If anyone has related info/experience specific to the San Francisco/Berkeley area I'd love to hear that too.
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In the MS I just completed my MC's main weapon was a Sig Sauer 1911 Nightmare - a gift from his grandfather when he graduated from the Academy.
For my current WIP (book two in the series) I've decided to use the same gun I got for Christmas this year - a CZ-75 BD Police. It's a 9mm pistol which some of you might think of as too whimpy for a main character, but I assure you, Special Agent Ava Scott is anything but.
For my current WIP (book two in the series) I've decided to use the same gun I got for Christmas this year - a CZ-75 BD Police. It's a 9mm pistol which some of you might think of as too whimpy for a main character, but I assure you, Special Agent Ava Scott is anything but.
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I get crap from some of my coworkers for carrying a 9mm. It isn't the caliber that matters, it is where you place your shots. That is what I tell them.
And then I suggest that they are compensating for something by carrying larger calibers.
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Caliber matters, too. If it didn't, we'd all carry .22 rimfire handguns. No matter where you put a 9mm, it may not kill, and if it does kill, it may kill slow enough that you get killed before the attacker dies. Think Gabby Gifford. There are also case of people surviving heart shots with a 9mm. Long term autopsy studies, and equally long term hospital record studies, show conclusively that a 9mm is simply not very good at killing, no matter where you place the bullet, and certainly is not very good at killing fast.
Self-defense is not about killing, it's about stopping an attacker before he can kill you. This is not at all the same thing. A 9mm simply does not create enough blood loss and tissue damage to kill fast unless you're lucky enough to hit the brain pan, or make a high spine shot.
The wider and faster the bullet is, the more blood loss it causes, the more damage it does to bone, muscle, tendons, and other tissue. A wider bullet is also more likely to hit a major artery.
And the simple fact is, in real combat, perfect bullet placement is almost always luck. No one shoots as well in combat as they do on the range. When it comes to bullets that hit almost perfectly, a 9mm is nearly useless because the attacker will more likely than not have time to kill you before he dies.
Too many look at ballistic gel tests. This would be fine, if a human was made only of flesh. We aren't. There's a reason you can't hunt deer with a 9mm, and a reason the F.B.I. and other agencies do not carry them.
If a 9mm is the largest caliber you can handle well, can shoot well, then it's the one to carry, but the biggest myth out there is that caliber doesn't matter, and bullet placement is everything. Caliber, bullet weight and diameter, and velocity all matter.
I've seen people, and even fairly small animals, take several center mass shots with a 9mm and keep going. If you can handle a larger caliber, a 9mm is just not a very good choice.
I certainly never named any of my guns, but I don't believe it is terribly rare. A lot probably depends on the character. Brady may romanticize more than I do (I'm ruthlessly pragmatic) or he may be mocking those who do, or a hundred other reasons..but that's part of your character. If it makes sense for your guy to do something, they (generally) should, and if not, not....
btw I have a 6.8 AR as well I'm thinking may make its way into books..I posted upthread about a G20, again because the pragmatic in me likes versatile weapons, and the 6.8 and 10mm are nice "options" rounds to me. Brady is correct, the 9 does quite well especially with good rounds (I believe the Mossaad still carries 9s, and as much as I loathe the current state of Israeli politics, nobody argues those guys are badass) but I always liked my 10 because it fires hot loads similar to a .357 or light loads similar to the .40....and eats all of them without a hiccup.
btw I have a 6.8 AR as well I'm thinking may make its way into books..I posted upthread about a G20, again because the pragmatic in me likes versatile weapons, and the 6.8 and 10mm are nice "options" rounds to me. Brady is correct, the 9 does quite well especially with good rounds (I believe the Mossaad still carries 9s, and as much as I loathe the current state of Israeli politics, nobody argues those guys are badass) but I always liked my 10 because it fires hot loads similar to a .357 or light loads similar to the .40....and eats all of them without a hiccup.
Automatic revolver
We have lots of writers with gun savvy in this thread, so I hope this adds to the discussions.
I recently edited a mystery which called a murder weapon "an automatic revolver." It’s usually a contradiction in terms, but I know of two or three of the real article, so I questioned the author’s source. It was a mystery penned by Margaret Truman. Yep, I love our one-time first daughter’s descriptions of Washington D.C. murder scenes, but Maggie didn’t do much research into handguns.
Since Ms. Truman once claimed to admire Daschiell Hammett, I figure she got "automatic revolver" from The Maltese Falcon. Sam Spade’s partner was done in by a .38 Webley-Fosbery automatic revolver. It was so rare that the movie prop man could only find the .455 variety. Its recoil pushed the slide back to re-cock the hammer while groves in the cylinder turned it.
But most of us modern mystery writers know repeating handguns are either magazine-fed semi-automatic pistols or revolvers which require the cylinder to be accessed for reloading. A revolver’s "extra magazine" for rapid reloads is a speed-loader. I have 5-shot speedloaders for my carry gun and 6-shot models for a competition wheelgun.
However, two other handguns are a bit of both:
The Dardick revolver/pistol picks up triangular cartridges called trounds from its magazine and revolves them to the barrel. The gun is so ugly it’s cute, but it never gained popular acceptance. Writers using it should do some research.
The relatively new Mateba Autorevolver rotates its cylinder and cocks its hammer by recoil. Its barrel is aligned with the bottom chamber, redirecting recoil and reducing barrel rise.
For us writers, guns can be fun if you know ‘em . . . or a big pain in the butt.
What special guns can you share?
We have lots of writers with gun savvy in this thread, so I hope this adds to the discussions.
I recently edited a mystery which called a murder weapon "an automatic revolver." It’s usually a contradiction in terms, but I know of two or three of the real article, so I questioned the author’s source. It was a mystery penned by Margaret Truman. Yep, I love our one-time first daughter’s descriptions of Washington D.C. murder scenes, but Maggie didn’t do much research into handguns.
Since Ms. Truman once claimed to admire Daschiell Hammett, I figure she got "automatic revolver" from The Maltese Falcon. Sam Spade’s partner was done in by a .38 Webley-Fosbery automatic revolver. It was so rare that the movie prop man could only find the .455 variety. Its recoil pushed the slide back to re-cock the hammer while groves in the cylinder turned it.
But most of us modern mystery writers know repeating handguns are either magazine-fed semi-automatic pistols or revolvers which require the cylinder to be accessed for reloading. A revolver’s "extra magazine" for rapid reloads is a speed-loader. I have 5-shot speedloaders for my carry gun and 6-shot models for a competition wheelgun.
However, two other handguns are a bit of both:
The Dardick revolver/pistol picks up triangular cartridges called trounds from its magazine and revolves them to the barrel. The gun is so ugly it’s cute, but it never gained popular acceptance. Writers using it should do some research.
The relatively new Mateba Autorevolver rotates its cylinder and cocks its hammer by recoil. Its barrel is aligned with the bottom chamber, redirecting recoil and reducing barrel rise.
For us writers, guns can be fun if you know ‘em . . . or a big pain in the butt.
What special guns can you share?
In my current WIP, the MC carries a Sig P229, although he lost it a couple of chapters ago, along with his second-best knife and a chunk of his left shoulder. He recently snagged a H&K MP7, which very rapidly saved his life but is going to run dry soon (at an inopportune moment, but don't tell him that) and its unusual 4.6mm ammo will cause problems, forcing him to acquire (violently) a FAMAS from one of his assailants.
H&K makes some seriously fine pistols, but my son and I recently went to a gun shop and looked at an H&K. The first thing my son said was, "Why did they write the date on the price tag?"
Then we found out that wasn't the date, it was the price. We thought about it for a few minutes, and realized we could buy a Glock, an XDM, and a Smith & Wesson for only a few dollars more than what the H&K cost. We didn't buy the H&K.
kristenvalentine
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My main character has a Smith & Wesson Model 327PD and a Beretta M9, but he prefers the revolver.
He doesn't.
Marcus lives in 2nd CE Rome, so he carries a gladius [later a spatha] and a dagger.
Marcus lives in 2nd CE Rome, so he carries a gladius [later a spatha] and a dagger.
Hey, Chase. Good dig on the Mateba. I do believe the lever high on the frame behind the cylinder is a safety. So those of us that insist revolvers have a safety now have a real-world example.
I always wanted to build a story around the imaginary Webley-Bangalore Frogthumper .500 Nitro Express but it's really hard to develop a main character that would be stupid enough to shoot the thing.
Stan
How can you stan there and call savvy shooters of the WBF .500 Nitro stupid? The trick is to not curl the trigger finger, allowing the WBF .500 (and its big sister, the WBF .600 Nitro Express) to spin John Wayne style until recoil has abated.
Ha! Good one, Chase.
I'd pay to see somebody try that trick with an X frame S&W M500 (full power loads, not the wimpy Specials).
Any volunteers...?
Have you fired a .700 Nitro Express? There's some hilarious video on YouTube. A 4 bore is fun, too. It's one of my favorites.