Questions From a Prospective Writer

[Duane Thomas]

A few months ago, I did a lecture at the local chapter of Mystery Writers of America. One of the attendees asked if she could put my name and e-mail addy on the e-Harleguin message board as "a gun expert who's willing to help writers." I said that was cool. God knows someone should help fiction writers get things straight in their stories. Thing is, I'm getting quite a few e-mails and even phone calls with questions from people I've never heard of. Again, this is cool. Some of these questions I think I know the answers to but would like some other people's thoughts. Here is a list of questions from an aspiring writer:

So what I was hoping you could help me with is what type of guns would these characters be likely to carry:

1) a young male FBI agent in his mid-20s, who had previously served in the National Guard

2) a young female former FBI agent of small build, who needs a powerful weapon in a more compact size for ease of use and feasibility of concealment

3) a retired NYPD cop working in corporate security

4) a young security guard with a liking for large caliber weapons

5) a yuppie executive who bought a firearm for personal protection from his drug dealer

[Bill Nesbitt]

I think the FBI is issuing Glock 22's or 23's to the new agents. So:

#1 Glock 22 in .40 S&W.

#2 Glock 23 in .40 S&W.

#3 S&W model 10 in .38 Special.

#4 How about a "Dirty Harry" S&W model 29 in .44 magnum?

#5 Raven 25 auto.

Bill

ps: Tell them that Glocks & S&W revolvers don't often have safeties to be flipped off and on.

[Merlin Orr]

#5 A nickel plated colt auto, engraved with gold inlays in .45 with black pearl handles with more gold inlays.

[texasag93]

#1 Glock 22 or 23

#2 Glock 23 or maybe a Kahr in 40(more concealable than a Glock)

# 3 Berreta 92

# 4 S&W 29 w/ 4" barrel or Desert Eagle in 50 AE

#5 Kel-Tec in 32 or 380

[TriggerT]

#1 Sig 226

#2 Sig 228

#3 Glock of some type. (I think NYPD issues Glock's and old habits die hard. Not to mention it would look good in court if the character was ever invoved in a shooting to still be using the same type of gun as he was issued.)

#4 S&W 500 Mag. if he's an idiot! Other wise A S&W 686 in .375. The #1 confirmed one shot stops.

#5 A H&K USP compact. To go with his German made BMW.

[SiG Lady]

#2 I'd say the Feds (females and others) like their Sigs...

[AikiDale]

Ditto on the S&W 500 Mag for #4. The 4" model so he can conceal it and loaded with 500S&W MAGNUM -- 440gr Hard Cast from Cor-Bon -- 1625fps/2580ftlbs -- 12 Rnds. per box Your Price: $27.20

That's a 715 PF !

[Run n Gun]

Duane,

This might be a good reference for you and Bill’s right about #3, definitely a .38. As far as #5 goes, what druggie (that IS who he bought the gun from) would be without his "nine"?

Ed

[jhgtyre]

• Beretta 9mm - Should be familiar to service men but I have no idea what the FBI's departmental requirements would be.
  
• Glock 27 - The . 40 was developed by S&W because of FBI complaints about the 10mm and the G27 is the embodiment of compact, reliable, controllable power in .40s&w.
  
• Ruger Security Six - Other than the S&W model 10 what gun screams "SECURITY GUARD" more than the Security Six?
  
• Glock 21 - It's big, it's plastic, and it's a freakin' .45! What more could you want?
  
• HK USP 45 - I always thought these guns were kind of yuppie. Reliable, accurate, and totally too damn big for practicality.
  

-ld

[Trey]

Just a thought..

Also might want to add a little blurb about "cocking the hammer", calibers/size of bullet, and the fact a little 180 grain bullet won't send a 200 lb guy flying 5 ft. back from the impact.

My favorite was someone at work told me that the GI's in WWII used their 45's to blow the bad guys out (as in up and out) of their fox holes.

[ErikW]

#4 is young and has a low-paying job (unless his security guard job is with Kellogg Brown and Root) so he's on a budget. S&W 500 and DE 50 are out of the question and aren't carry guns anyway. Think Taurus, Ruger, rebuilt Glock, Firestar, etc.

#5 Walther PPK/S

[Skywalker]

#3: Taurus 617 B, 7-shot .357 snubby revolver. It should be the 1st choice because a retired NYPD cop working in corporate security should be plenty familiar with a revolver, the caliber is a proven manstopper on the streets (and this guy knows), the gun is cheap, the 7-shot cylinder provides as many rounds as a Colt Officer model.

#4: Smith & Wesson 4563TSW, because it's THE american big bore caliber, because the gun is american, because the alloy frame makes it lighter for daily carry, because it's an automatic (nowadays nobody would ever carry a revolver for duty, unless he is an old fart).

#5: I agree with EW, PPK/S (stainless, to match his SS Omega Speedmaster Professional and silver-plated Montblanc, with ivory stocks matching his brand-new set of false teeth) in .32 ACP, because a yuppie doesn't know s#@t about calibers but he prefers to think of himself as 32 rather than 38...

Can't talk about FBI, do not know much about its officers, but SiGs seems to be a logical choice.

BTW, no offence intended to anyone in the gun selection process, I just tried to figure out the character and thoughts of each guy when choosing his gun.

[dajarrel]

#3 would be carrying an easily concealed gun. He, being a retired police officer, would lean toward a glock in .40 that is on the small side.

And on #5, no doper supplied gun would be complete if it still had the serial numbers.

[TriggerT]

Guys, did #5 buy the gun for protection, purchasing it from his dealer? Or, did he buy it to protect himself from his dealer who he feels is a threat to him? You could interpret it either way.

[diehli]

1)Glock 22

2)Sig 228/229 or 225

3)S&W Chief's Special (like Jerry Orbach's character in Law and Order)

4)Depends on how he wants this character portrayed. A well-setup 1911 in .45 would fill the bill if he's competent. A cheap .44Mag revolver or 1911 if he's somewhat bumbling.

5)Gotta go with Erik on this one. Sounds to me like his DD is after him and the PPK (PPK/S... some variant of the PPK) has that James Bond appeal... kinda ironic, I guess.

[Skywalker]

Or, did he buy it to protect himself from his dealer who he feels is a threat to him?

This was my pick.

[DogmaDog]

Heheheh.

In all likelihood, they'd ALL have Glocks.

Just give every character in the book a G-23

That could make for a real entertaining, or a real boring, book.

(I don't really care for Glocks...they're just ubiquitous)

DD

[ErikW]

Apparently, the writer needs to pay more attention to his sentence structure and worry less about the characters.

[Matthew_Mink]

Gotta go with the majority on the first 4:

1. Glock 22

2. Glock 23

3. S&W Model 10 .38

4. Some kinda big revolver, take your pick .44 Mag, etc...

Here is where I deviate:

5. Stolen FN Browning Hi-Power 9mm.

[Loves2Shoot]

I think the Feds would have Sigs, Glocks don't cost enough.

The NY Cop a POS .38 revolver

The Security Guard a Ruger Black Hawk .44 mag

The stolen gun would be a stainless Berretta 92 pimped out in stainless with fake ivory grips.

[Sam]

1) He carries a Beretta 92 in 9mm. The gun is only a necessity to him. He is saving his money for law school and packs the Beretta because the regulations require him to carry something, and became familiar with it while serving in the Guard.

2) She packs a Colt Officers Model, Series 70,in .45 ACP. Her former FBI partner had always carried one just like it, in the small of his back, as the back-up piece he hoped he never needed. Pity, it couldn't save him. It ended up just another piece of twisted metal the night his SUV exploded in Panama.

3) Now that he doesn’t have to eke out living on a cop’s salary, He carries a hard-chromed Valtro in .45 ACP. This corporate beat sure beats the hell out of busting hookers and druggies for a living. Now, if he could only get over the feeling that these guys in the boardroom might be the same ones he spent the last 22 years chasing.

4) He’s packing a nickel-plated 6” Colt Anaconda in .44 Magnum. He’s a big kid, probably 6’-5” although he’s not too bright. So, his pride and joy hog leg doesn’t look too out of place on him. He keeps the black basket-weave duty holster hanging from his Sam Browne belt polished to a high shine. Four times every night he opens the cylinder and inspects each of the 200 grain hollow-point rounds he meticulously hand loaded on his basement reloading press.

5) He loves his satin nickel S&W .38 Chief’s Special . It matches the silver plated coke spoon he carries in his vest pocket. He digs the irony that the "Chief’s Special" is supposed to be a cop’s gun.

[Sac Law Man]

Duane, this is what I would suggest

So what I was hoping you could help me with is what type of guns would these characters be likely to carry:

1) a young male FBI agent in his mid-20s, who had previously served in the National Guard

2) a young female former FBI agent of small build, who needs a powerful weapon in a more compact size for ease of use and feasibility of concealment

3) a retired NYPD cop working in corporate security

4) a young security guard with a liking for large caliber weapons

5) a yuppie executive who bought a firearm for personal protection from his drug dealer

for #1 A glock 22

for #2 sig p229 in 40

#3 Glock model 19

#4 Sig P220

#5 original glock, smooth grip model 17

[Duane Thomas]

Oh Sam. That is priceless. You should be writing this novel. Much LOLing going on here.

[Sam]

You should be writing this novel.

Thanks, Duane.

You know, there just may be a frustrated writer inside of me squirming to get out.

[DBChaffin]

Nice work Sam. Not being nearly as creative, I'll simply combine/copy some of the choices from above into my list. . .

1. Glock 22. No doubt about it. Mid 20's FBI agent is a newbie in the Bureau. He's issued a 22. See Run n Gun's link above. (and credit to Bill Nesbitt)

2. Little tougher. Depending on when she was in the Bureau, she'd have been issued either a Sig P228 (1993-98) or a Glock 23 (98-present). Since she is out, she doesn't have to carry her issued weapon but she might want something similar for familiarity. Either a Sig P229 (familiar but more powerful than the 228) or a Glock 23 would be my pick. (Bill again and others on the Sig)

3. I like the S&W .38's, a Model 10 or a Chief's Special, but a fairly stock Colt or Springfield 1911 would do too. Tough call. (Bill and others)

4. S&W .44 Mag, Model 29 or 629. A Dirty Harry wannabe. (Following right along with Bill, why not?)

5. I think Loves2Shoot nailed this one with one small change: Stainless Taurus PT92 with ivory grips rather than a Beretta 92. Just a nuance but I think its for the best IMHO.

Fun stuff, Duane. Glad to hear you are helping out some folks. What are your picks? Have you already answered and if so, how?

Bryant