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Firearms and Telephones



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Sat Feb 04, 2006 5:27 am
Joeducktape says...



Um... my story involves firearms, and until recently I didn't realize something: I know nothing about firearms! A thirteen year old girl is usually not an authority on that subject anyway! So... I'm just going to give a liiiiiitle bit of my story away for some help.

The story is set in the future, but there is no electricity, and there are no cars. People have great living conditions, just without electricity and cars. Its not very industrialized either. Now the setting is not very "exotic" at all. Very much like today.

Anyone who knows about guns: one of the guns I have chosen for this time period is a .32 calibur, single action revolver........ only because that was the basics I needed for a gun. BUT I NEED REALISTICNESS!

So, given the circumstances above, what kind of gun would be a common one? Would mine be suitable?


Also, can you have telephones without the powerlines and electricity of today? Again, take into consideration the conditions above.


PLEEEEEEAAASE help the clueless thirteen year old!
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Sun Feb 05, 2006 12:43 am
Fishr says...



Question; What are the firearms being used primarly for? Self-defense, hunting or the combination of the two? I haven't shot a calibur..yet. But for some odd reason, I have this voice telling me cal. guns have a kickback.

I do target shoot, however. I mean, I have shot what technically are firearms like bows and arrows, sling shots, BB guns, pellet guns and there is one other firearm I've used; single shot revolver but having a brain cramp of its name. I'll leave it at the single shot revolver I've used had no kickback or effected my wrists right away when I shot it. It held six bullets. Had to cock it every time I fired. Fortunatly with this gun every time I fired, the safety clicked. Therefore, it forced me to cock the gun or it wouldn't let me fire a bullet.

Take into concideration that if no one is used to firing a hand gun, it is very unsettling. I had to plug my ears with the revolver I was using because the blast was so loud. What I mean by unsettling is; think of it this way - You have an object that can and will kill if not properaly trained by a knowledable person. Also, the rev. I was using had a decent weight to it. It was definately not light and because I wasn't used to firing a gun that was pure metal, after about an hour my wrists were cramping and my forearms ached. This was partly due to not gripping the gun correctly so I could absorb the minor pressure when I fired it.

Aw, let's see. Oh yes, forgot. Remember this; never hold a gun close to your face and fire it. While this may seem obvious, I've read cases where stupid people have fired their guns and the kickback knocked the end of the gun into their nose, thus breaking it. I'll try and explain but the way I was taught is to fully exstend your arms out strieght; and point your index finger as if your hand was your firearm. Now, wrap your right(I'm left handed)under your left into that of fist. The effect should be that your left hand(the pretend gun) is supported underneath by your right palm, where the gun should be resting and the 'fist' is wrapped around the front of the gun. So, the bottom and front of the firearm is fully supported and when the person fires it, the force surpressed and is minimal, pending on the cal. or gage of the gun. I'm pretty sure I lost you here, lol, but hopefully you get an idea.

Hmm...Might as well go all the way with this if you want a realistic story. When I fire a hand gun, in my opinion it's a myth to shut one eye. I've found I hit targets better with both eyes open and stare streight down the barel, towards the sight on the gun. The sight is a marksmans' best friend. Also, when I shoot, I've learned to hold my breath, so as I exhale, the extra breath won't jerk my arm and I can hit the target easier.

Well hope that helps.
The sadness drains through me rather than skating over my skin. It travels through every cell to reach the ground. I filter it yet strangely enough, I keep what was pure and it is the dirt that leaves.
  





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Sun Feb 05, 2006 1:06 am
Sponson Light says...



Closing one eye removes the "3d".
Ever see a double of something by looking too far away or too close? yeah.
People who hold guns too close will blast their ears, get kicked by recoil, muzzle blindness, and others.
You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, instead, you should read every single book to see what every book is about before you even come close to judging its viability.
  





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Sun Feb 05, 2006 1:53 am
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Fishr says...



Ever see a double of something by looking too far away or too close? yeah.
If you stare in a single spot for too long, of course you will see that, Sponson. But who actually will stare in a straight line that long? I aim, for about six seconds, if that. A short span like that will not cause doubles.

Closing one eye removes the "3d".
For some, I know this helps. It never worked for me, so I aim with both eyes open. A problem that can occur is some people have a 'weak' eye, meaning the vision is stronger on one side than the the other. I know because my right is slightly stronger then my left eye, which proves to be a problem since I'm left handed. I can't aim with my left eye closed; too weird and my accuracy was off. So I learned to aim with both eyes open and properly use the sight as my guide.
The sadness drains through me rather than skating over my skin. It travels through every cell to reach the ground. I filter it yet strangely enough, I keep what was pure and it is the dirt that leaves.
  





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Sun Feb 05, 2006 2:11 am
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Sponson Light says...



No, like if you sit in a car, and stare at the house thats 50 yrds away, the you will see doubles of the window in an instant, because the light that shows the window will register in 2 different places.
Close your right eye, then open your right and close your left, stuff appears to move. Open them both.
You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, instead, you should read every single book to see what every book is about before you even come close to judging its viability.
  





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Sun Feb 05, 2006 2:17 am
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Duskglimmer says...



That's only true if you're focusing on something past the window. Otherwise, it shouldn't show up double.
The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief. ~William Shakespeare, Othello
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Sun Feb 05, 2006 2:21 am
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Sponson Light says...



that was the point
He said it was a myth. It's not.
You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, instead, you should read every single book to see what every book is about before you even come close to judging its viability.
  





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Sun Feb 05, 2006 3:30 am
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Griffinkeeper says...



This seems more like a research piece. *Moved*
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Sun Feb 05, 2006 3:58 am
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Griffinkeeper says...



First off, we need to work on the actual gun. There is no such thing as a single shot revolver. By definition, a revolver is a weapon that automatically "revolves" after firing, putting a bullet in the chamber. They are, essentially, a semi-automatic weapon.

Pistols in general are all semi-automatics, the few pistols that aren't would be very uncommon, think back to the early early 1800's.

Rifles and shotguns, on the other hand, do come in single shot weapons. Most rifles come in semi-auto modes. If you have a rifle though, you'd be able to fire from a farther distance. Shotguns are close range weapons in comparison. They fire small tiny pellets, instead of a single bullet. This enables the shotgun to hit flying targets and cover a target in shot. It is really hard to miss at a close range though.

I should also mention that machine guns are also another option. They are often equipped with a selector which will differentiate the firing rates. They could be changed to fire a single shot, a burst shot (three bullets in rapid succession, good for making sure people are killed and stay killed), or a full auto mode (bullets will keep coming so long as the trigger is held down).

Now, what would be common?

Assuming that the environment isn't a "post-war" environment, where any type of weapon would be found, a revolver would be quite common, along with hunting rifles and shotguns.
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Sun Feb 05, 2006 4:04 am
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sabradan says...



fishr wrote:Question; What are the firearms being used primarly for? Self-defense, hunting or the combination of the two? I haven't shot a calibur..yet. But for some odd reason, I have this voice telling me cal. guns have a kickback.

no,no,no,no, no. ALL GUNS ARE ".CAL" firearms. cal refers to Calibur, which relates the size of the bullet that the gun fires. Thus, we can tell that a .22 (22 caliber), a .38 (38 caliber) and .45 (45 caliber) are all different sized bullets. Now, how does this affect you? Bullet size is one of a few factors that help decide what is called "stopping power". Stopping power basically refers to how easy or difficult it is to "stop" (aka kill) someone with a bullet. Most bullets can kill people (aside from .22s, but thats another story) but the higher the caliber, the easier it is, thus the better the stopping power. Some bullets have such a high stopping power that they can even stop vehicles, things like APCs, tanks, trucks, and small airplanes. Just to complete the information on stopping power, aside from bullet size (or caliber), they also take into account range of the weapon, and what type of bullets are bieng shot (i.e. armor-peircing, incindiary, frag, regular, etc)

Now to continue with your question, I'm assuming that basically the story is set in the same time period and whatnot as we are now, except that theers no cars or electricity. So, I'm assuming they'll be using guns for a multitude of things. Ranging from hunting, to sport, to protection. So, as far as pistols/self defense goes, I'd say your best bet would be a Colt .45, M1945. Former standard issue sidearm for US Armed Forces, now replaced with M1911 .45 Baretta M9. Either one would be good. As far as hunting rifles, you need at the very least .38 caliber, but I personally wouldn't go any less than .45. Anything by smith and Wesson or Colt is a sure bet. As for military issue weaponry, I'd go with either US Standard Issue M16, or the Israeli Galil AR, which is a combination of the best parts of the M16 and the AK 47.

For anything more indepth, I'll need to have more information on what exactly happens in your story. (i.e. what are they killing?)
"He who takes a life...it is as if he has destroyed an entire world....but he who saves one life, it is as if he has saved the world entire" Talmud Sanhedrin 4:5

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Sun Feb 05, 2006 4:12 am
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Griffinkeeper says...



Most bullets can kill people (aside from .22s, but thats another story) but the higher the caliber, the easier it is, thus the better the stopping power.


Wrong. All bullets can kill people. Even BB guns can kill someone. It isn't a matter of the caliber when it comes to killing a person, but where the bullet impacts. A small BB will kill someone if it hits them in the Jugular vein or in other lethal areas.

There is no such thing as a safe weapon, except one that is fully disassembled. All calibers are dangerous and all can kill you assuming it hits you in the right area.
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Sun Feb 05, 2006 4:39 am
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sabradan says...



Yeah, yeah, yeah, Mr. Boyscout, I know. But in general terms, unless you hit a very "soft" read: fatal area (jugular vien, etc) your safe. You can shoot BBs at people and they'll be fine, I know because when I worked a range, sometimes kids would shoot BBs at me, and I'd be fine (of course they werent, but yanno)
"He who takes a life...it is as if he has destroyed an entire world....but he who saves one life, it is as if he has saved the world entire" Talmud Sanhedrin 4:5

!Hasta la victoria siempre! (Always, until Victory!)
-Ernesto "Che" Guevarra
  





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Sun Feb 05, 2006 7:03 pm
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Dono says...



Ugh. Come on kids, learn your stuff.

Caliber refers to how the length of the diameter of the bullet in inches. Therefore the diameter of a 0.50 Caliber bullet would be one half of an inch.

A 0.22 Caliber bullet WILL kill someone. Hell, a 0.177 Caliber bullet fired from a pump action rifle from WWI will kill someone.

ALL GUNS ARE ".CAL" firearms. cal refers to Calibur, which relates the size of the bullet that the gun fires.


Wrong, many bullets these days are measures using the metric system, where the bullet is measured in milimeters instead of inches. A 9mm bullet has a diamter of nine milimeters. This is not referred to as caliber, usually.

they also take into account range of the weapon, and what type of bullets are bieng shot (i.e. armor-peircing, incindiary, frag, regular, etc)


Shame on you, Dan. "Frag" bullets? Come on man, you've been palying way too much Warhammer. The most common type of handgun bullets used today by civilians are Jacketed Hollow Points, (JHP) which are hollow slugs that flatten upon impact, causing a greater damage area and a low likelyhood of passing through the target. These rounds are commonly known as hollow points or "safe" ammunition. There ARE incindeary rounds, tracer rounds, armor piercing rounds, etc, but those are purely military use.

First off, we need to work on the actual gun. There is no such thing as a single shot revolver. By definition, a revolver is a weapon that automatically "revolves" after firing, putting a bullet in the chamber. They are, essentially, a semi-automatic weapon.

Pistols in general are all semi-automatics, the few pistols that aren't would be very uncommon, think back to the early early 1800's.

Rifles and shotguns, on the other hand, do come in single shot weapons. Most rifles come in semi-auto modes. If you have a rifle though, you'd be able to fire from a farther distance. Shotguns are close range weapons in comparison. They fire small tiny pellets, instead of a single bullet. This enables the shotgun to hit flying targets and cover a target in shot. It is really hard to miss at a close range though.


Grif; not all revolvers rotate the next shot after firing. Many times, one would have to manually cock the pistol, setting the chamber around for the next shot. (such as Fishr's target pistol) This is referred to as "single action." A DOUBLE action revolver automatically rotate to the next chamber, ready to fire.

Single shot pistols were used from the 1400s on, and are still used widely in competition shooting today.

There are many kinds of rifles--single shot, bolt action repeaters, semi-auto, full auto, muzzle loaders, etc. Roughly half the rifles around today are semiaoutomatic. The other half are single shot or bolt action. Bolt action rifles are very common in hunting.

(modern) Shotguns usually rely on a pump system, which uses a slide to eject a spent shell, and pull a new one into the chamber. Some are semi-automatic, using a spring and gas blowback to transefer ammunition. Skeet shotguns are double shot, emaning they have two shots per loading. They are configured in an "over/under" pattern, meaning ther are two barrels, one over the other. After both shells have been fired, the shotgun "cracks" in half, and you must remove the shells and manually input new ones.

As for what KIND of guns you want to use, Ducktape...PM me or hit me up on instant messenger. I'll hook you up.
  





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Sun Feb 05, 2006 7:36 pm
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Griffinkeeper says...



There really is a huge amount of firearms out there. It just depends what you're using it for.
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Sun Feb 05, 2006 8:04 pm
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sabradan says...



Dono, the "frag" bullets are purely military use, and are, I believe still in development but are out there. And while bullets may be measured in millimeters, they also have a caliber size as well. 9mm is roughly equivalent to a .45, but slightly smaller.
"He who takes a life...it is as if he has destroyed an entire world....but he who saves one life, it is as if he has saved the world entire" Talmud Sanhedrin 4:5

!Hasta la victoria siempre! (Always, until Victory!)
-Ernesto "Che" Guevarra
  








Who's the more foolish, the fool, or the fool who follows him?
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