Early in my teenage years; I had a growing obsession with firearms. The mechanical workings of them; how they shoot...so on. Tsar has a pretty impressive article himself about weapons and the basic use, and I urge you all to read through that.

But I wanted to go more detailed and explain a few things about firearms that I think people should know in realist terms. Natrually, you are more than happy to ignore any part of these for the fun of the RP, but hey. Some people enjoy raw realism.

Few Basics I think people should know-

#1:
The Desert Eagle is NOT a viable combat weapon.

Ugh, so many times have I seen this thing. And it almost makes me flinch. A Desert Eagle is a heavy, loud encumbrance that seems to serve no real practical purpose. It's expensive, it's rounds are expensive no matter what caliber you put it in, and many shooting ranges will not allow it because it is so incredibly loud that even people with ear protection still complain about it; it also ejects the casings fairly high over partitions.

It's loud, it's heavy and you could probably carry way more ammo for a .45 or a 9mm in the same weight.

#2:
Not all silenced Weapons are not whisper quiet.

In actuality, many silenced weapons use subsonic bullets to reduce the sound further and make a sound that is indiscriminate from an actual gunshot; it also reduces muzzle flash to practically nothing. The few exceptions I speak of are the MP5SD:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6...ns/mp5_sd3.jpg

And the High Standard HDM which fires a .22 LR, the gun is supposedly so quiet that Roosevelt was dictating a letter as the gun was fired behind him and it never interrupted him.

#3:
Guns are loud.

This is an often ignored part of firearms in anything, for good reason. There is no real point to constantly describing it over and over. But you need to keep it in mind for a few reasons. Gunshots can be heard pretty well probably..eh, I'll say maybe 20 meters all around for most weapons; bigger the bullet, bigger the boom. Generally speaking.

#4:
You probably can't go Akimbo very well.

If you don't know what Akimbo is, it's holding a gun in each hand. Weapons seen like this are pretty much anything automatic and capable to be held with one hand.

Such as the MP5K:http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6...ns/hk_mp5k.jpg
Mini-Uzi: http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6.../uzi-mini1.jpg
MAC-10:
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j6.../mac_m10_9.jpg

These small firearms have an incredibly high rate of fire; around 900 RPM (Rounds per minute) And the muzzle climb associated with that is pretty horrendous. Many of the smaller submachine guns and machine pistols can empty their magazines in a few seconds.

#5:
Nobody is going to go flying back when you shoot them with a shotgun or anything else at close range.

An often boring rule I ignore sometimes myself, but nonetheless true. In order for this to actually be possible; you would have to feel the force of it back on your shoulder. I.E. If he flies back, so do you. Chances are that they would jerk back and fall; or just crumple to the ground.

#6:
Your weapons are not immune to the elements. Guns will clatter, fall and break like anything else. Although they are generally made to a very durable standard. (I've seen pistols get hit with a baseball bat, smack hard against a concrete wall and fire fine)

This rule should really only be considered for a few things, notably desert and water. Fine dust will really screw up the operating action of a gun if it is not cleaned at least once in a while (Although some guns are more suspectable to such things)

Water, however will really bust up a firearm. A good idea for characters who's weapons have been submerged in water is to open the firing port and tilt it to the side to clear it of any excess water.


I think that's it for the basic rules..up next; a look on common firearm usage.