Kinetics.

[Cybermancer]

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.

[Ron Caliburn]

I've always been wary about the large caliber hunting pistols for use in our work. Unless you've spent the hours and hours needed to master the weapon, there are much more effective choices out there. If you can pull off a true double tap with a .44 pistol and put both rounds on a mansized target more than 10 feet away, you have definitely put in that time.

For about anybody else I recommend a shotgun.

[Cybermancer]

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?

[WonderingMind]

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…..

[Ron Caliburn]

Straight out of S&W's catalogue by the sounds of it.

[WonderingMind]

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

[Ron Caliburn]

Again, great weapon for experts.

The average hunter needs a weapon that's more controllable and has a higher magazine capacity.

They also need a less expensive weapon and ammo.

That's why I usually steer them to a 9mm or a .45 automatic with decent capacity for a side arm and a shotgun or a carbine for a long arm.

[WonderingMind]

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.

[Elijah Sight]

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.

[Ron Caliburn]

The 1911 is a nice design, but it on;y has a capacity of 7 rounds. Not enough. Evena skilled marksman can't expect to put enough lead (or whatever other material you choose) into the very well protected vitals of most of the beasties I face if you only have seven rounds. Browning's other pistol has a capacity of 13 rounds is much more forgiving to our beginning shooters out there. Most more modern .45s are moving over the dozen rounds mark and the 9mm guns are pushing 20 rounds now.

But a handgun is really a back up piece or a low profile item in our work. I get nervous if I don't have a longarm at hand.

As for the .357 revolver, again another xperts gun, high marks for stopping power and reliability, low marks for magazine capacity and ease of use.

Too many of these things don't follow the standard rules of killing (ie shot placement). Instead of putting that projectile through a small, vital area, you have to go for saturation attacks to overwhelm them. Then when they are properly incapcitated you finish them off, prefferably with fire.

[Elijah Sight]

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.

[Cybermancer]

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.

[Willie Long]

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]

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. Seeing as I do most of my work in the city, that's not an acceptable option.

[Willie Long]

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.

[Razor]

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.

[Willie Long]

...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.

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.

[Ron Caliburn]

Unless they happen to own a gun store.

[Razor]

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.

[Ron Caliburn]

The UMC (semi auto carbine derivative of UMP) is available. As are a number of semi-auto varients of their military rifles. You just haev to pay throught he nose.

[librarian]

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.

[DevilNuts]

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.

[Ron Caliburn]

Librarian, I think your personell could save themselves a lot of excess weight and bosot their comabt performance by ditching the high calibre handgun. It won't do anything the shotgun can't, and can't do a lot that the shotgun can.

[DevilNuts]

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.

[Ron Caliburn]

Shotguns also fire slugs. And if you can fire one of those pistols one handed, with accuracy, then you're obviosuly a better man than 95% of the population.

Those guns are not made to be weapons. They are for target shooting and hunting. I have yet to see a large caliber handgun that makes for an effective weapon in a real fight. Yeah the damage doe by a signle round is impressive - but by the time you're ready to fire again, you can empty a Glock's extended magazine into the target. In my experience there's nothing that a .50 handgun can kill with a full magazine that a Glock can't.

I recomend the shotgun because it's a mroe effective wepaon, and you allready issue it to your guys. You also have a typical handgun. So why do you have the weapon that isn't as good at being light and concealable as the pistol, and isn't as effective on the target as the shotgun?

[Bert_the_Turtle]

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.

[Willie Long]

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.

[Bert_the_Turtle]

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.

[Willie Long]

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.

[Ron Caliburn]

I don't use rifled longarms too much, the versatiliy of shotguns is jus two imporant to me.

That being said, my profession does allow me to legally own and carry a lot wider variety of guns than most.

A compact 5.56 mm rifle with a large capacity magazine is very useful in this buisness, but has the disadvantge of rapidly loosing effectiveness at range. I only tend to use one when I know I iwll be up gianst large number of creatures tha can be stopped effectively by conventional munitions.

For most rifle necissary engagements I prefer a 7.62 mm piece for it's penatrative power and superior range. That being said, rarely do we get to play wiht that kind of range in this buisness, so the weight nad buk of a 7.62 rifle sually preclude it being all that useful to us.

That being said, I do have an interesting custom model based on the MC-51 made in england. Basically it's a 7.62 mm G3 rifle with barrel length and overal dimensions similar to an MP5 submachinegun. Now you don't want to tear out a long burst from it if you have any concern about where other rounds might land, but for car or monster stopping power in a package that hides under your coat, it's a pretty hard combo to beat.

I did make a couple of them for the local SWAT team. The like 'em because they will punch through body armour and will disable vehicles.