Guns · 3:45am Dec 29th, 2012
Since one of the most common HiE seems to be some kind of soldier, firearms are things that pop up in ponyfiction quite often. Unfortunately, they're also one of the easiet things to get wrong.
I like to think I know a lot about guns. I've owned about a dozen, I used to work in a gun shop, and I talk to military personnel as much as I can. It takes a lot of exhausting effort to become an expert (I don't consider myself a true expert), so what's a poor author to do?
First, ask yourself if the gun must be identified. Not stating exactly what model it is saves you the trouble of knowing anything about it. If you do talk about guns, it's not that difficult to do research. Wikipedia is usually a good resource because anal-retentive hardasses like myself edit it.
Second, study those specifications carefully. Don't let your characters fire more shots than the gun holds. Watch a few youtube videos so you know the steps involved in using that particular gun. Don't tell me you cocked the hammer on a Glock.
AND THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON
As always, I'm available for questions.
If you want to know a lot about firearms basics, here is a great resource. Check out the older posts first.
One final thought:
The 1911 is the Mary Sue of the gun world.
If you have one, it's so amazing. If you don't, you get tired of people who do talking about theirs.
And please don't start political commentary in the response section.
My god...
I know nothing 'bout guns.
k
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I like glocks. Good stopping power, doesn't have a huge number of parts, and is a solid gun. Decent mag capacity as well.
Eh. I'm not completely knowledgeable, but I know my way around them, so I have a passing knowledge if they're ever brought up.
Also my dad owns this Garand that is so fun to shoot.
All I know about guns is that when you point them at things, those things tend to die.
We need a pic of the Mane 6 as guns.
Ah, yes, the old clip vs. magazine thing. Had to revise my novel to fix that.
Thanks for the link. My story in progress happens to have a gun in a walk-on role, so this will help me get it right.
Difference or no, clip is less of a mouthful than magazine, and in a firefight every moment matters, so of course most people are gonna call it a clip.
Reading that sounds like reading a line to a rap. Add the word 'nigga' on the end, and you'll make any rapper proud.
Music to my ears.
As for guns, I only own 3 guns: a 22. handgun, 9 mil handgun, and a really old 22. rifle with a jacked-up scope.
658345 "Good stopping power"
That depends on the ammunition, not the gun itself.
I thank you for the warning earlier
I thought the most common HiE was a fan of the show who inexplicably woke up in the Everfree. Are you just mentally filtering out those ones like I do, or am I really that oblivious?
And the only thing I really know about guns is that they don't make that little *pap* *pap* *pap* noise you hear all the time on TV, they're little explosions that will deafen you if you don't protect yourself. Am I right?
Weird thing is just about everyone around me have guns, but I've never even held one. Guess I can go to the gun range to try them out.
658365 Yeah, one shot from an average gun, especially high caliber handguns, is enough to make your ears ring.
To be honest my only real experience with firearms are with muzzle loading black-powder rifles (Springfield Model 1861 .58 caliber), and similar era artillery. My main problem with the use of firearms in MLP fics, HiE or otherwise, is that most seem to forget that non-unicorns would have a hard time firing them due to the lack of thumbs.
YOU ARE A SAVIOR!
I AM SICK AND TIRED OF PEOPLE HAVING MILITARY HiE'S THAT DON'T GET THE IDEA!
……
…Although I myself don't not TOO much about firearms…
I am just disturbed by how many people go to equestria and procure armaments there. We don't actually see swords used in the show, and very very very very few people in this day and age have a working knowledge of how to use one effectively. Worse are the fics that INVENT firearms in equestria. I mean, come on.
I know a lot about guns, I own a small arsenal and I go to my local gun range any time I can. I'm going to guess maybe 80% of all the stories on this site were written by people who got their gun mechanics from call of duty. Hahahahahahaha they probably think the PDW and MP5 are really sub machine guns. No kids those are something called personal defense weapons.
658363 Point, though I'm used to using the .45 cal glocks, which are very good at knocking someone on their butt.
This... This so hard...abwehr-us.org/images/clip%2520vs%2520magazine%252002.jpg
Also, I'm more of a fan of weapons that aren't pistols... and one of my personal favourites is the SVD. No, not the shitty Chinese ones, but the actual Russian made ones...
I did not know most of this. Will keep in mind if I ever use guns in a fic. Which I wont. I always go with knives and stuff like that, because that's all I know about. Mostly Balisongs. But that might change, now that I know a bit more. THanks!
Obligatory video.
Although it is sad when a five minute read of Wikipedia could've at least made the story half-believable.
Tv Tropes can also help a ton.
Read, and be enlightened.
And most importantly remember that there is absolutely no difference between a semi-automatic assault rifle, automatic assault rifle, and a machine gun.
No difference.
At all.
None. Nope.
Carry On
658382 Pistols suck. My grandpa had a M1911, and it sucked. I much prefer rifles. Once, I was lent a M1 Gaurand. (I think I misspelled it)
I'm friends with a few GMs that work with Seabees and they talk about guns... a lot, so I tend to glean a lot of my knowledge about guns from their expertise. Everyone tends to simplify matters when it comes to guns, whether it be machine-guns that need barrel changes after a box or two of rounds, underestimating how dirty the insides of an M4 or a M240 can get after an hour of firing, berreta bites and shell casing burns, or the overall effectiveness of a 9m round verses the .22 or .45. It's a lot more complicated than pointing the end of a gun to something and pulling the trigger.
658389 Hey, I said no politics!
658350 i.imgur.com/7jPdJ.jpg
658378 Heh heh, yeah, invent firearms...
i myself like the glock model 22 as oppose to the colt 1911
I know enough to avoid making awful mistakes like confusing "magazine" and "clip" but since I have extremely limited firearms experience, there are some things I don't know. For that, there's Wikipedia.
Also one thing I noticed, most firearms in HiE fics are rifles, pistols, SMGs or personal defense weapons. How come no one brings a shotgun?
658378 No swords, but spears.
By the way, guns in Equestria is totally cannon. *puts on nerd glasses* In the "May the best pet win" episode, Rainbow Dash describes herself as "faster than a speeding bullet." The weird part is that even though guns are a thing, none of the royal guards in Canterlot are equipped with firearms. Way to keep the military up to speed, Celestia.
For some reason this entire journal / blog post made me think of the first Ranger School Promo video.
GUNS! YOU'LL GET TO USE THEM!
BIG GUNS! SMALL GUNS! FUTURE GUNS! OLD GUNS! STUPID GUNS! UNACCEPTABLLLLLLE!
addendum--
Yeah I've never seen the reason to Tom Clancy it up and give a precise make and model of the firearm unless it becomes very, VERY important to the storyline for whatever reason.
658410 Good memories
658391 *Garand* and yes, pistols do suck.
658393 Fancy meeting you here.
658394 Funny I wouldve pegged AJ as a Ithaca or a M4 shotgun.
658403
Spears for ponies make sense, as it allows them to transfer their incredible speed into striking power. It makes even more sense for Pegasi to have weighted javelins. Pointy Death From Above, and more difficult to use against them.
However, the fact of the matter is that every weapon that humanity has ever built has been for use against Humans, by Humans, not ponies, griffons, dragons, or minotaurs. If the peoples of Equestria put a rudimentary amount of effort into making their weaponry more efficient, then there should be next to no chance at all of a human wielding one effectively.
658378>>658403
I believe the Dread Pirate Pipsqueak would like to have words with you.
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658406
Also, Party cannon, Fireworks, and the fact that RD named her
turtletortise 'Tank'.658428
my bad.
As captain of the cheap slavic weaponry patrol, I approve of this post.
658371 Even the small ones can do, that I once shot my M4 without one of my earplugs and that ear was ringing WITH ONE SHOT and I had to shot forty rounds that day a ten minute spand for qualifcion, never again, haven't shot a pistol yet want to. I hate when people don't do their homework before writting somthing anything, planes are a sour one.
The F-35 CAN'T take off even in VTOL mode in a forest with out the engine sucking thousands peices of juck in destroying it. A small screw smaller that your pinkie finger can ruin a jet engine imagine what a stick will do.
658418
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Fancy Pants
I am too young to own a gun, but me and my grandfather have a good time shooting a few
hundredrounds down range, so I know a bit about some guns.I have a bit of experience with the 1911, and I still don't like it. I'll stick a Glock or any 9mm any day. But that's just me.
And a just for fun round is the .22. Cool story: my grandfather got one of my cousin's a AR15 style rifle chambered in .22 long rifle. It's awesome. He put a red dot sight on the top rail.
I need to get a moist nugget.
658423
I was gonna go with the M2HB: Reliable, traditional, combined with a whole lotta power.
658439 The VTOL variant of the F35 doesn't have a cannon- so, it's a crap plane.
My Grandpa hated his. It's inaccurate. Very inaccurate.
658453 Damn it, Hog, must you look down on any plane that is defenseless when the missiles run out?
658453 You can put a cannon pod on it and the F-4 origanally didn't have a gun and at one put all three branchs used and some countries still are. So
. Beside I think they reason why the VTOL doesn't have an inbuilt gun is becauseo of the lack of room on it to put the damn thing.
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Not political, I swear.