guns and bullets and clips, oh my...

[Toni McGee Causey]

I've been shooting a 9mm Glock, and have very little hands on experience with other guns, save my 410 shotgun and a 22 rifle and pistol. I haven't purchased the Glock yet, though (I've gone to the firing range a few times and practice with theirs, now that my son has moved and taken his with him--I used his a lot and liked it) (he's a cop)... and I've decided I need to go back to the range and tone up. (I used to be a pretty decent shot with the 9mm, but am slowly getting slack-ass lazy.) I've also decided that maybe I need to expand my gun knowledge to other models.

What's your favorite gun and why? (Or if you hate them, your criminals' or your protags' favorites, and why?)

What are common mistakes made in fiction / common terminology mistakes which drive you batty?

[Bill Cameron]

But. But. But. Clint Eastwood killed Lee Van Cleef from about that far away at the end of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

[Stephen Blackmoore]

I've never much liked the feel of the Glock, though it's a fantastic and reliable gun. I prefer the Sig-Sauer P-228, though some of their earlier models have really stupid design features. Revolvers are fun, just from the standpoint of watching stuff happen when you pull the trigger. They've got such a clockwork feel to them.

My favorite, though, is a specific 9mm Browning High-Power. My dad bought one off a guy in the Sierras for a hundred bucks and a 6-pack of Coors back in the 60's. I really don't want to know why he wanted to get rid of it so badly.

Aside from just being comfortable and reliable (there's an embarrassing moment when the wrong ammo, 9mm short, was fired through it once) it's got a bit of disturbing history attached. It was built for the Nazis before the Belgians started sabotaging their own factories, so it has swastikas stamped into the frame.

I've always wondered what that gun's been through and what it's been used for.

[David Terrenoire]

I have a friend who loves the High Power and owns several. One is a .40 that he calls his Higher Power.

My brother-in-law owns a PPK his father liberated that is inscribed to a Dr. in the SS. He recently Googled the good doctor's name and found out he was one of the prime architects and implementers of the Final Solution. He's dead now. Fuck him. The Nazi, not my brother-in-law.

[David Terrenoire]

Stephen, here's an update: This is the guy who owned my brother-in-law's PPK. A real sweetheart.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Kammler

[Robert Fate]

Toni - First of all I was just kidding when I said those things to you at LLC. And, besides that, after writing the books I do, you have to know, I appreciate a girl with a gun. But, you know who you should ask about gun questions? Shane Gericke - he has a wealth of know how on that subject. Best to you, kiddo. Robert Fate

[Toni McGee Causey]

(cracking up)

I'll definitely go bug Shane next time.

[Sunnie Gill]

I know, I know, I know the difference between a magazine and a clip.
A magazine is one of those things you see in supermarkets that feature inane trivia about celebrities written in breathless prose.. There's always a crisis.

A clip is something to hold loose papers together or keep your hair in place. Right?

Ok, so you've guessed the sum total of my gun knowledge is zero.

I come from a country where not many people own guns. A handful of hunters and farmers are about it.

So as someone who has never held, let alone owned a gun I'm interested in learning why you gun owners own guns?

[Tony Burton]

- I grew up with guns. Shot my first BB-gun when I was six years old, shot my first .22 rifle (single-shot, bolt action) when I was seven.
- I grew up in the country, where hunting is a common practice, and so is killing the fox or raccoon that's raiding your goodies. (Although in the last few years, it's the coyote that's killing your cat or dog or chickens...)
- I was in the military for over 12 years, and they sort of permeated my blood, you know?
- I enjoy shooting. It's a physical/mental challenge. Personally, I can't understand why anyone would enjoy playing golf, playing rugby or rock climbing, but I don't think they're crazy if they do. Maybe ruggers, though.
- As someone who HAS been required to face someone down with a handgun in a situation where I was far away from law enforcement and in danger of my life, I am glad to have them around. I have a CC permit, and am never far from my own weapons.

And to be lighthearted about it: I'm a guy, and guns go BOOM. Do I really need another reason???

[Larry W. Chavis]

I'm a gun-guy, too. As you said, they go "Boom!" and who needs another reason?

I tend to favor wheel-guns more than semiautos. A personal foible, I guess, but my carry-gun (I have a CCW permit, also) is a Taurus Model 617 .357 magnum (2" barrel). I WISH I could carry my Uberti Cattleman, a "clone" of the Colt 1873 Single Action Army revolver. Mine's in .44-40, and it's a beauty.

Then, I'm a black powder kind of guy, too. One of my favorite shooters is a reproduction Colt 1851 Navy model cap-and-ball revolver (except in .44 cal. rather than .36). Black powder makes a most satisfying "boom!"

[Robert Gregory Browne]

Guns scare the crap out of me and fascinate me at the same time.

[Lori G. Armstrong]

Toni-

Don't you find the grip on the Glock huge? I don't have little girly hands and everytime I've shot a Glock I *hate* the way it fits my hand. The trigger seems like a farther reach.

Yeah, yeah, I know you can get different grips, but from a "this is a pain in the ass" I don't think I'd buy a Glock.

My dream gun? 9mm Browning Hi Power. I love the way it fits, although I've never fired one. I've heard they're very reliable. My other dream gun? H&K P7. Someday....and my birthday is coming up, although I've asked for a pony :)

I have a plinker. A Walther P-22, because you can shoot all damn day on like $10 bucks worth of ammo

[Toni McGee Causey]

Try the compact Glock. (I'm not savvy enough to know the numbers and correct names of the things the guys spout off), but that's what they called it at the firing range and I found I did much better with it than the regular one. (My son would be so horrified that I cannot remember what they're called because every time we'd go, he'd patiently re-teach me. But it's like math--something I was once good at, but apparently, my brain ran out of storage space and jettisoned most of it)...

Anyway, try the compact Glock--little bit less of a recoil and very comfortable fit for me.