I've had some expereince with energy weapons and I confess, there's a certain satisfaction to watching silent, yet colorful death turn a perp into burning cinders. Particle beams, while bulky, expensive and energy intensive are extraordinarily effective in most situations.

That having been said, I have a certain attachment to my .44 Magnum Desert Eagle. I think I first fell in love with it while watching Harley Davidson and the Malboru Man. I've tweaked mine of course. A smaller spring and slightly lengthened magazine to squeeze in two more rounds. It's also been balanced and I've added a laser site.

Not many perps get up after being double tapped with that baby. Especially with some of the special ammo I use.

Edit: Darnation. I meant for this to be put in the Energy Weapons Thread. Must have hit the wrong button.

As a matter of a fact, I have spent the hours required to hit a man sized target with that very pistol from much further than ten feet away-using true double taps.

Shotguns have their place in my private arsenal as well.

I can't say I recommend any particular firearm to anyone. Go with what works for you, is what I say. If you can get by without them, so much the better. The fewer guns on the streets, the better. Unless you've been properly trained, they're as much a danger to you as they are to anyone else around you.

*Gets off soap box*

Since we're on the subject, what calibers and special types of ammo do you folks like to use?

I have a deep love and respect for the S&W Model 357PD Revolver

* Lightweight Scandium Frame for Easy Carry
* Powerful .41 Magnum Caliber with Lower Recoil than a .44 Magnum
* Perfect Back Country, High Power Pack Gun

Smith & Wesson combined a Scandium alloy frame with a Titanium cylinder to build the strongest and lightest weight .41 Magnum® revolver made. The result...maximum power in a small, lightweight, easy-to-carry package. Scandium alloy is used for small, medium and large frame revolvers. Smith & Wesson's lightest and strongest revolvers deliver dependable power every time.

I hand load all my ammo and have developed a variety for the hunting of all sorts of game…..

Well, out of the paperwork that came with the weapon.. But ... I still love it, easy to carry lots of stopping power.

The 1911 .45 is probably the best automatic ever made and is an excellent weapon. Good capacity, good stopping power and excellent controllability. In fact any thing designed by Browing is going to be a great choice. But I would NEVER have a 9mm they just don’t have the power to put someone (or something) down…. However, the are great for those just starting out.

Hm. Much as I loathe firearms and being personally involved in combat, I have found that a plain old .357 Magnum revolver is the best for dispatching tough jobs quickly. Obviously, it requires a great deal of skill and practice to use it properly, and is not a weapon to be used by novices.

I also find a Sig Saur "Saturday Night Special" effective for "saturation fire." Mine is extended to 24 rounds, and nearly 130 rpm fire rate. A beautiful little toy, light and deadly. Only drawback is heat and recoil.

I like the 9mm for target shooting and I learned on the venerable Browning. The Sig has my respect but for my money, it's the Glock in the 9mm department.

GLOCKs are nice. I once tried their machine pistol, the 18. It's got two settings, Jack. Easy listening, and rock'n'roll.

Ron Caliburn wrote:As much fun as full auto is, in the light weapons like the Glock18 you're often going to put more led past the target rather than into it.

That's why gun control is so important.

I'm happy with my USP. I use it when they stay out of reach and there aren't any heavy appliances around.

When it comes to firearms, I find that using a 'situational approach' is best. There are some weapons that are particularly good. H&K's are always good guns, if expensive. 9mm's are good for starters, but I agree, they don't have the knockdown power of the larger calibers, such as your venerated .45's.

Shotguns are always fun, especially if you get one that you really like. Personally, I prefer the 20 guage. It doesn't have so much of a recoil as a 12, and in a pinch it can be fired with one hand rather easily.

For an urban setting, its always good to favor accuracy with stopping power, so the recommendation of the UMP is a good one I find. I however prefer the H&K MP10. It fires 10mm rounds, with a better fire rate than the UMP and both are rather accurate. Not only that but it has three selections, for whatever your pleasure is. H&K weapons are also great for customizing so you -might- want to switch from 3 shot, to the 'naval' setting which cranks off a double tap with one squeeze. Saves on recoil some, and ammo.

But as was mentioned previously, go with what works for you.. go with what is comfortable.

Ron Caliburn wrote:...a shotgun or a carbine for a long arm.

I'm partial to the Springfield Armory SOCOM 16. 20 rounds of 7.62 NATO and the shortest barrel the law allows.

I also have to give props to the Winchester 94 Trapper. An old-school lever action carbine, you could get four for the price of one SOCOM 16.

Razor wrote:For an urban setting, its always good to favor accuracy with stopping power, so the recommendation of the UMP is a good one I find. I however prefer the H&K MP10.

Those look sweet on TV, but I doubt most hunters could get their hands on submachine guns.

That -is- true, considerig H&K MP series is primarily sold to military and law enforcement. I should have considered that one.

A shotgun is always fun though. I'll have to check into the SOCOM.

when we send our collection teams out they are usaully assigned a 50 cal AE browning side arm. with mercury rounds and a shotgun with silver and lead slugs and a backup 9mm with hand loaded wood casing rounds.

I for one have a cross bow in my office I dont deal with these modern weapons all that well.

since the lift of the assault rifle ban, you can buy semi-automatic versions of most SMG's on the market. from there all you need to do is carefully grind down the safety catch on the sear and you will have a fully automatic SMG.

if you dont know how to do this, there are many books and publications available on full-auto conversions, and any machinist worth his beans would be able to make the mod in minutes.

personally, i prefer semi-automatic weapons to full-auto anyway, because I believe that one well placed shot can be more effective than a random spray of lead, and less costly too. but whatever does it for you I guess.

its harder to make silver buckshot than slugs, and i imagine its near impossible to make mercury buckshot, or at least impractical. plus easier to fire one handed, from vehicles or in tight spaces.

can be retained on the body easier than a shotgun, too. instead of slinging it you can hip or shoulder holster it.

The Colt Model 1911 is my preferred handgun of choice, anything that can stop a horse in its tracks is ok in my book. Now, if I can carry my choice of weapons, its my backup, but I don't get to use Assault Rifles as often as I'd prefer (and forget about a Ma Duce or other MGs, you really need to be remote to get to use them.)

When I do get to use an Assault Rifle, I must admit I prefer an AK47, at least when I'm shlepping around Deserts and Jungles. You can pour handfulls of sand and dirt into an AK47 and it'll still fire. And with some of the weird stuff that comes out of the things we have to deal with sometimes, I like that reliability.

Although an M16A1 with under barrel grenade launcher will really tear up what you're aiming at. And the versatility, depending on what's on the receiving end, tear gas or FlashBangs can really change the outcome. Humans, forget about it they'll be blind and/or choking, Tear Gas isn't so useful against the SuperNatural but a lot of them can still be temporarily stunned or blinded with a Stun Grenade. The uses of traditional grenades, High Explosive, Fragmentation, etc. are obvious, plus you can mod your own (Silver Frag Grenades, a delivery system for freezing agents, etc.)

Now Machineguns, are highly situational. There was a thread here about a Demon in a Lake, that would be a good situation to setup a MG on a point overlooking the lake to provide cover for anyone engaging the creature up close, either while they're advancing or retreating. Or if you can set up a situation where the target is forced to go through one area, a hallway or similar where dodging out of the way isn't possible, you can setup there and inflict some serious damage against even Supernatural Menaces. Or even if you can slow down whatever it is you're fighting. I don't care if you can tear out of a net in 5 seconds, I can send quite a bit of lead down range in 5 seconds. The downside being people will notice you toting a machinegun around.

I've rambled on enough.

Bert_the_Turtle wrote:The Colt Model 1911 is my preferred handgun of choice, anything that can stop a horse in its tracks is ok in my book.

Meet your new friend, the Springfield XD-45. Same ergonomics as the 1911, double the magazine capacity. And check out this torture test, Jack.

...grenade launcher will really tear up what you're aiming at. And the versatility...

Shotguns can offer some of that versatility, and all the cops I know swear by the Remington 870. You could get a 4-shell Express or a 6-shell nickel plated Marine Magnum.

Unfortuneately I've yet to be trained in the use of shotguns.

Looks like a nice handgun. I'll need to check it out more thoroughly.

I don't use shotguns myself, but my posse likes them. I carry a Springfield carbine, and I'm trying to decide if the SIG 556 or the S&W M&P is a better light rifle. The HK416/417 would be totally sweet, but they don't import those.