Skip to main content

Firearms



Guns are like thermometers, only instead of measuring body temperatures they measure our fear. - Jean Zimmerman

History

The invention of the firearm in 10th century China transformed warfare and, as the technology spread along the Silk Route the nature of combat changed fundamentally forever.

Before the arrival of the gun the outcome of a fight was determined by physical strength, determination and skill in using weapons.  As we have discussed in our post related to Martial Arts such skills with armed and unarmed fighting took considerable time to develop.  It also required courage to stand against another opponent and physically exchange blows and techniques in a competition where life itself was at stake.

Philosophical Considerations

The gun transformed the nature of combat so that a weaker person could kill a physically stronger opponent from a distance and without any risk.   The gun was, and remains, the perfect weapon for the weak to overcome a physically or numerically superior opponent.

It is these very fundamental aspects that make guns synonymous with power, respect and dominance in the 21st century.  Anyone who feels disempowered, disrespected or downtrodden looks at the possession of a firearm as the only way they can recover their dignity. 

This is a sad reflection on our modern world because it is only a small step from feeling you need a gun to feeling you need to use a gun, in order to express your perceived loss of dignity. 

Psychological Considerations


There are also notable psychological linkages between guns and sexual imagery, such that the gun is often clearly a phallic symbol in literature and modern media.   Even the rifling within the barrel can take on a sexual connotation.

It has been postulated that there may be a link between excessive interest in guns and forms of sexual overcompensation.

Guns in Fiction

I could devote several pages to how guns have been misrepresented in fiction over the past decades in literature and especially on screen.  Here are some of the most frequent gun based errors that you will find:

Impossibly quick draws and perfect accuracy

It is a cliched scene when the hero is surrounded by bad guys who already have their guns drawn and pointing at the hero.  Somehow we are expected to believe that the good guy can pull his gun from his holster, disarm any safety locks, load a round into the chamber, aim the gun and pull the trigger quicker than the bad guy can pull a trigger half an inch.  Yes, it is nonsense.

Ignoring the effects of rain, wind, cold and water

Modern firearms are usually well constructed and reliable when they are properly maintained and not exposed to adverse environments.   How many times have you seen a gun cleaned in an action movie or read it in a book?  Not very often.   Automatic handgun designs are wonderful, if you need extended magazines, but their mechanisms for loading and firing require regular maintenance.  If not they jam or misfire.   Except in fiction.

Endless magazines

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could have endless supplies of things when we need them?  Especially bullets in the middle of a gunfight.  How many times have you noticed the hero in a book or movie count the number of rounds they have fired?  Or even run out of bullets?  Not often.

Bullets that cannot penetrate car doors, walls or wooden doors

Here is an even more unrealistic myth in books and movies, the expectation that bullets cannot penetrate objects.   I hate to be the one to break this to you but the whole design of calibrated weapons is that they go through objects, violently.   That includes doors, walls, plywood, desks, human beings and pretty much anything else you can think about. 

I will add here that when bullets hit things that they cannot go through they ricochet (bounce) off the hard object and randomly impact objects around them.   Yes gunfights are very dangerous places and the outcomes from firing a round are not always clear. 

Never getting shot while in a hail of bullets

Here is another cliche.  The hero gets a bunch of evil henchmen firing fully or semi-automatic machine guns and they never hit him.   Even if the henchmen were deliberately trying not to shoot the hero it is unlikely they will all miss.   Machine guns tend to pull the weapon as it discharges so accuracy is not reliable,  it does not need to be as the spray of multiple rounds is supposed to hit a wide area.

Guns in Bridge of Souls

As you can probably tell I am dedicated to writing totally realistic scenes.  Sometimes it can take me months to research a scene in my stories to make sure it is utterly realistic.

When it comes to the guns and the firefights within Bridge of Souls I was meticulous with respect to accurately describing the weapons, their capabilities and most importantly how they would behave in a real life gun fight in the location portrayed in that part of the story.

I also wanted to include a wide variety of modern and classic weapons for the entertainment of those readers who enjoy realism in their action and adventure.

Here are a selection of some of the many weapons you will find included within Bridge of Souls.


The “Jenna-El-Mootfah”

 Sig Sauer P229 MIL-Spec .357 SIG (12 RND MAG).

 Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan .44 Magnum revolver with 340 gr LFN + P + Buffalo Bore

 Glock 17

 Heckler and Koch Mk 23 Mod .45 Pistol

 Heckler and Koch MP5 & MP10

 Walther PP (Polizeipistole, or police pistol)

 Beretta 93 “R” (“ Raffica” the Italian for "volley”)

 Colt Government 1911 45 Gold plated



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Rules within The Bridge of Souls World.

Writers have to have some laws to govern how their characters behave (unless you work for the Government and are writing political speeches). I decided to set my story very firmly in the real world. By that I mean the action and activities of my characters respect the Laws of Physics and exist within the same physical world that my readers inhabit. My characters buy train tickets, bleed, sleep, eat, live and die by the same rules we do. Every location in Bridge of Souls is real. By that I mean you, the reader, can travel there and see the same buildings, roads, doors, pathways, trees and distances as my character see and explore in the story. For the supernatural elements within the story I limited myself to the same rules as would be applied by a court of law. I only permitted phenomena that have been reported by multiple independent witnesses in different places and different times. Yes, these rules made writing of the story more of a challenge but the end result
Post a Comment
Read more

Forbidden Knowledge: Eastern Esoteric Traditions of Reincarnation, Consciousness and Death

Citipati, Lords of the Cemetery. Bardo Thödol. Tibetan Book of the Dead. If you have been following my posts you will already know that in writing Bridge of Souls I wanted to include, not just classic action and adventure, but also elements of the supernatural. And, when I say supernatural, I do not mean just made up hokum, as is so often the modern trend in supernatural fiction, but story elements that reflect genuine esoteric traditions and techniques. As you have gathered, mysteries have had a life long fascination for me. I have been fortunate enough in my working life to visit some of the most remote places on earth and meet some extraordinary people. During these travels I frequently came across reports of reincarnation and, when talking with advanced practitioners of esoteric paths, such as Raja Yoga , of specific techniques which manipulated the life force and consciousness. In researching these techniques I came across accounts of how advanced mysti
Post a Comment
Read more

Dr John Dee, Elizabethan Magician and Pioneer of Mathematics

At around the age of ten, I used to spend hours in a reference library reading everything I could consume. It was at this time that I first came upon the works of a 16th century gentleman called Dr John Dee (1527–1609). Modern history takes a dim view of Dee and dismisses him a nutcase, due to his interest in Magic and Alchemy. However one must always place things in context. At the time of Dee science was unknown in England, as was the field of mathematics. Mathematics was not really taught in schools (just simple addition) and there were no chairs of mathematics in any English university. Dee was one of the founders of the "English School of Mathematics". He travelled to Europe, at his own expense, to study under the very few pioneers in this emerging field. He then brought this knowledge back to England and helped found a tradition that would eventually produce Isaac Newton (Dee was one of the shoulders Newton stood upon - "If I have seen further it
Post a Comment
Read more