A question about guns...

[StRogue]

Scooby gang,

Normally I would ask my cousin who is an ex-cop all about guns, but at this time, I can't reach him. I would like advice on this.. One of the detectives in my story carries not one but two holstered guns. What should these guns be? He is a good cop who bends the rules from time to time (not that this EVER happens in real life). He wears two holstered guns underneath each arm, a leather belt AND suspenders.

Any suggestions?

Charli

[International Male]

I don't know much about guns, but a female Detroit cop friend of mine uses a Glock. (I don't think that's how you spell the name though).

This may help: I typed "police guns" in a search engine for you and found this website:

www.policeguns.com/ (http://www.policeguns.com/)

Good luck!

[Bill Marquardt]

Just remember - Guns don't kill people. Bullets kill people.

The Glock is a good choice if memory serves me. A trip to the local magazine rack will find several gun magazines that you could browse through.

[RatWriter]

9MM semi-auto is the handgun of choice. Brand is not important.

.38 revolver is a standard issue in some cities.

.44 or .357 magnums revolvers if you want power.

[International Male]

Also, go to a firing range and fire a few rounds if you never have. It will help give you writer's perspective of the power of a gun. I fired a 9mm Berretta one time at a range. It was an eye opener. (No, I didn't shoot my eye out.)

The guy next to me was firing a .357 Magnum and his hot shells were flying over in my face and burned my neck. His gun sounded like a cannon going off.

[Meltdown]

Most cops carry 9mm, Barretta, Colt, SIg Sauer and Glock seem to be the ones of choice, with the odd Taurus and S&W thrown in the mix.

As for the back-up probably an ankle biter like a .380 S&W. Most .380 are "palm guns" and really easy to conceal. Not much stopping power. The 9mm PPK models are also pretty small.

I've heard that some cops are starting to pack 10mm as the 9mm doesn't have the stopping power cops need. However there is a big difference in kick from the two.

I don't think many cops carry .357 anymore - The only autoslide that is over decent size is the Coonan - the desert eagle is rather bulky and the trypcial .357 revolvers are not very quick for reloads.

Hope that helps.

You want the ultimate eye opener - go fire a .50 caliber D.E. - then go see your chiropractor.

[Cornell]

Melt, you should change your handle to 'gunguru'...I just knew you'd be able to answer her question!

By the way...congrats again on the new arrival. Hope all is well.

[JD1]

Most police agencies will not allow an officer to carry two shoulder holstered weapons. It might be more realistic to go with a "back up" gun. One in a small holster in the back of the belt or an ankle holster.
You can choose any brand name out there. Most officers have gone to Glock 9mm. If you want your man to have firepower, maybe he should carry a 45. automatic and a snub nose .38 for back up. just a thought.

[RyRy]

As a 'gun nut', here's my couple pennies:

Alot of police agencies are arming officers with .40 caliber weapons. Smith & Wesson, Glock, any number of manufacturers make these. It's a stopgap caliber between 9mm and 10mm cartridges. The .380 (also known as 9mm short) is a logical backup choice, but there are now a number of sub-compact full caliber guns that would amaze you. Glock makes a sub-compact .45 model, the model 30, that is an amazing little weapon.

You might also want to give your character a weapon with some pizzaz:) Might I recommend a Colt Anaconda (sounds like a waiter offering you snake for your entree) .357 revolver, or a Smith & Wesson Mountain Gun .44 Magnum revolver.

But there's nothing like a Colt Government Model 1911 .45 semi-auto (please don't call it a .45 auto like so many do---it doesn't shoot full auto). Sure, everyone's seen it in the movies, but it is a trusted weapon around for almost a century.

Hope this helps.

[DWB1125]

A few other things to consider:

Cops use guns that are accurate and reliable. The ones I know started out with .357 Colt Pythons. Very accurate, very reliable, but a six-shooter and slow to reload. Some of them have moved to semi-auto, primarily Sig Sauer. SWAT teams use the Sig because of it's accuracy. These two guns also happen to look good.

10MM and .45 autos jam. Badly. The Glock is a great gun in general, but the 10MM and .45 are horrible when it comes to a clean ejection. I have yet to fire one that didn't jam at least once per clip. No cop is going to use this kind of gun, except to have in their collection at home.

Realism is important, so I would suggest asking the next cop you see about their gun of choice. I would also mention why you're asking - there's a good chance you'll get a lot more out of him/her.

[RyRy]

Have to differ. I've put 2500+ rounds through my Glock .45 caliber with not one jam, and I know several officers who use the Glock .45 as their department sidearm (the policy being 9mm or .45, they took the .45 for better 'one-shot stop' performance). 9mm pistols hold more rounds in the magazine, and therefore are chosen by alot of officers because of capacity and needing to reload less. The .45 cartridge has been proven over many decades and remains a favorite of police agencies, whether offered by Glock, S&W, Sig Sauer, Ruger, or others.

[RatWriter]

My .357 revolver hasn't jammed once either and I'm pretty sure you it won't in the future.

Back to the story: Though it's not practical to carry two different calibers, you could fit your detective with a revolver for accuracy and a semi-auto for firepower.

And I don't want to hear a bunch of crap about how accurate semi-autos are; I know. It's a movie. I prefer skeet shooting with my 3200 anyway.

[RyRy]

Yeah. saw in a movie once a revolver jamming. That was funny. Also saw all the time in the 80's and before revolvers with silencers. That was funnier.

[Meltdown]

Rat:

Depends on the gun - the Sig 210 has a longer barrel and decently accurate. The colt 9mm I got to try to was pretty decent up to about 75 yards.

As for here in Canuck land - some still pack the old 38 special revolver ( that shell shoul dhave been used once - on the guy who invented it)

Most now are going to the Glock 9mm - though I have seen the odd 9mm. Some of the special ops in Quebec use a .357 mag revolver.

I've heard that some of the first 10mm models were terrible for jams ( rivals the Llama). Never heard of a revolver jamming - the firing pin melting on one occasion, but never "jamming".

Personally I like giving my characters slightly unique weapons at times. One bad guy uses a .41 mag revolver (talk about a deadly accurate handgun if you have an 8" barrel) and another the Coonan .357 mag semi-auto ( never fird one but heard they were impressive)

[Dragonslayer02]

I'd have to side with the .40. It has enough stopping power to achieve the "one-shot stop" and carries nearly as many rounds as the 9mm. My .40 S&W never jammed either.

My view on the 9mm is that it's a pop gun that I'd never want in a bad situation. You'd have to shoot and shoot and shoot to take down a acid hyped dude on a bad trip with a gun. That's not something you'd want to do. One shot and he's down is your desired effect.

DS2

[StRogue]

First of all, I want to thank everyone that posted, you've given me some Fantastico ideas!

Secondly, I am a bit concerned here that you all know so much about guns.

Charli

[RyRy]

Better to know than not. Ignorance with firearms is not bliss---it can be dangerous. Happy writing.

[RatWriter]

There are 2 types of gun control...

1) Hitting your target (a clay pigeon)
2) Shooting a tight group (on paper)

Great gun related quotes:

a) How are you gonna get done that hill? (Hombre)
b) Tell him Valdez is coming (Valdez)
c) How fast are you? (gambler to Sundance)
d) Can I move? (Sundance)
e) Elk don't know many legs a horse has. (Grizzly Adams)
f) I kill't the Bear that Kill't me. (Hatchet Jack)
g) Do you feel lucky? Well do you, punk? (Harry)

[PteranoDon]

Wow. Late to the party again.

I have an old Browning semi-auto my dad got in Eupope in WWII. Though it's heavy, I like it because it holds 13 9mm rounds, and it's accurate.

If I were going to carry two guns with intent to use them, I'd want a semi-auto with as big a magazine as I can get but with a reputation of high reliability. Thus the Army Barretta (92FS; 15 rounds) might not work out because it has a rep for jamming.

Since all semi-auto's jam sometime, I'd back it up with a revolver. Since the revolver only holds six rounds, they'd better hit hard and accurately. I'd guess that's why .357's are so popular with cops. I think Colt makes a pretty good one.

Charli, if you're gonna write about guns, you ought to go shoot a few. Find a gun club (Isaak Walton Leagues usually have one) and talk to the club president. Tell him what you're doing and that you'd like to shoot a few different types of guns. You'll be an expert in no time.

[RatWriter]

Nah, not necessary for screenwriting, but it is fun.

In movies, pistols and lever action rifles seem to have an endless supply of cartridges and little or no kick. Very realistic.

Everyone shoots while diving through the air or at least running. More realism.

There never seems to be much regard for innocent bystanders either.

[StRogue]

Pt- Actually, I'm not writing about guns, just that my detective has two on him. He won't use them in the story. I just didn't want to write: "he has two holstered guns" that sounded a bit too vague. There will be some gun action later in the script, and when I get there, I'll ask for help if I need it.

My experience with weapons are as follows:
1. Fired a bbgun at cans in the woods
2. Seen guys fire a rifle in the air for July 4th celebration - I ducked for cover (what goes up must come down).
3. Heard bullets whizzz by my window at night (in the 70s the ghetto).
4. Cousin who is ex-cop got shot twice in the chest (thank god for bullet proof vests).

I could go on, but I've been around enough guns not to want to fire one. However, would you like to see me hold a knife? bawhwhaawwha (hey, they had guns, I had a knife under my pillow)

Charli

[Strange Mind]

charli,

this is just my personal opinion, but -

if you're not writing about guns, and your detective won't even use them in the story, then don't give them the time or detail that implies they're even important.

He takes off his jacket. Pulls off his double high-ride holster and hangs it up.

that's about all the detail i'd give to two holstered guns that never get fired.

cheers.

[StRogue]

Strange - makes sense. I printed all of the responses and have filed it for future reference. Lot of good stuff in there. Funny, I once thought I'd never write a flick with guns, and well, here I am.
Never say never..
Charli

[Strange Mind]

just watch -- in your next flick, the protagonist will fire his guns at least once. then every other script you write, will have a violence level in it that makes reservoir dogs seem like disney on ice.