Ever find gun mistakes in books?
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servantofinari
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CSI Miami said a FN P90 shot the "5.7x 29mm." I yelled at the TV. same when a News chanel said a 7.62x 51mm shoots "close to a mile a second"
commygun
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In Alan Furst's The Polish Colonel set in 1939-40 the hero at one point procures a Makarov which was not yet in existence of course. The mistake surprised me as Furst's prewar-set spy novels often mention relatively obscure Eastern European handguns like Nagant revolvers, Radoms, Steyr-Hahns, etc.
Even 007 himself had some misteaks... A bg had just shot a .45 6 times into a pile of bedclothes on a bed, made up to look like Bond was sleeping. The hidden 007 told him " that's a Smith & Wesson, and you've had your six", and then proceeds to shoot said BG.
In "Live and Let Die", Quarell takes a revolver from a Bond girl and tells her she might have shot him if she'd taken the safety latch off. This was also the only movie I remember where Bond used a revolver. Looked to be a S&W m29, carried in a vertically oriented shoulder holster, a Bianchi perhaps. The story line never told us how he came to be so armed.
Also in "Sudden Impact" there is a scene where Harry Calahan is practicing with his .44 Automag. One scenes show him wearing two different shoulder holsters.
The death squad of cops in "Magnum Force" used silencers mounted to Colt Pythons.
In "Live and Let Die", Quarell takes a revolver from a Bond girl and tells her she might have shot him if she'd taken the safety latch off. This was also the only movie I remember where Bond used a revolver. Looked to be a S&W m29, carried in a vertically oriented shoulder holster, a Bianchi perhaps. The story line never told us how he came to be so armed.
Also in "Sudden Impact" there is a scene where Harry Calahan is practicing with his .44 Automag. One scenes show him wearing two different shoulder holsters.
The death squad of cops in "Magnum Force" used silencers mounted to Colt Pythons.
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neededausername
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I'm currently reading Endangered Species by Nevada Barr and it says something about a shotgun only being effective at up to 15 yards with a slug.
Someone mentioned Stephen Hunter, I second that, one of my favorite authors.
Someone mentioned Stephen Hunter, I second that, one of my favorite authors.
:banghead:
Brian Dale
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I missed the gun mistakes in MHI, SoCalShooter.
I also like Michael Z. Williamson's and Matt Bracken's treatment of weapons.
Rita Mae Brown is generally good; her fox hunting novels are a chance to geek out on a totally different sport-become-lifestyle. I was dismayed as I read her latest in the series to find a character with a revolver taking the safety off. I'd thought that she knew better than that.
I also like Michael Z. Williamson's and Matt Bracken's treatment of weapons.
Rita Mae Brown is generally good; her fox hunting novels are a chance to geek out on a totally different sport-become-lifestyle. I was dismayed as I read her latest in the series to find a character with a revolver taking the safety off. I'd thought that she knew better than that.
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In the book "Shane" jack Schaeffer has Shan break open the cylinder of his SAA Colt's to reload it after shooting Wilson and Fletcher.
I also remember one of those "Executioner" type books in which the hero has twin LAWS rockets ( described as light artillery rockets) mounted on his motorcycle. Would love to see those fired
I also remember one of those "Executioner" type books in which the hero has twin LAWS rockets ( described as light artillery rockets) mounted on his motorcycle. Would love to see those fired
Well, all you can say is that there are the writers who actually care about getting the details correct, and the writers who only care about regular royalty checks. They're easy enough to sort out.
Remember the TV series "Murder, She Wrote"? The ones like that, who are fanatical about detail, will collect a very loyal like-minded audience -- and get regular royalty checks!
Remember the TV series "Murder, She Wrote"? The ones like that, who are fanatical about detail, will collect a very loyal like-minded audience -- and get regular royalty checks!
statelineblues
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Yeah, I'm still wondering what I got wrong. Now keep in mind it is a contemporary fantasy novel, so I do get to tweak reality a bunch, but I'm relatively sure my gun stuff is okay.
Though there is a gun error on the cover, but that's from the artist and Baen marketing department, so that's out of my hands. (and besides that, the cover looks amazingly AWESOME!)
I've got three different novels I'm working on now. MHI:2 has lots of guns. The novelization of the Nightcrawler series is a thriller loaded with guns. And the untitled project I just started on is lousy with guns, but since it is in an alternative world, I'm making a bunch of them up. My main character is armed with a Colt 1921a1 Hammerless .45, and is a big fan of the Lewis gun. There's Solothurn Autorifles in 8mm Kurz, and all sorts of other goodness.
I hate writers who get things wrong, so I try to get stuff right.
I'm the kind of guy that does a lot of research, and I still manage to butcher a lot of stuff. I do an average of 2 hours of research for every 1 of writing. I've spent 40 hours this week reading about everything from the Dust Bowl to Tesla to the history of the dirigable, and I'm positive that I'll screw up some fact.
But when that happens, just remember that it is FICTION!
I had somebody who knows a lot about helicopters e-mail when they started reading MHI to correct me on something I did, and then he e-mailed me back the next day to say, nevermind, you explained that with magic. And that's the cool thing about being a writer!
Though there is a gun error on the cover, but that's from the artist and Baen marketing department, so that's out of my hands. (and besides that, the cover looks amazingly AWESOME!)
I've got three different novels I'm working on now. MHI:2 has lots of guns. The novelization of the Nightcrawler series is a thriller loaded with guns. And the untitled project I just started on is lousy with guns, but since it is in an alternative world, I'm making a bunch of them up. My main character is armed with a Colt 1921a1 Hammerless .45, and is a big fan of the Lewis gun. There's Solothurn Autorifles in 8mm Kurz, and all sorts of other goodness.
I hate writers who get things wrong, so I try to get stuff right.
I'm the kind of guy that does a lot of research, and I still manage to butcher a lot of stuff. I do an average of 2 hours of research for every 1 of writing. I've spent 40 hours this week reading about everything from the Dust Bowl to Tesla to the history of the dirigable, and I'm positive that I'll screw up some fact.
But when that happens, just remember that it is FICTION!
I had somebody who knows a lot about helicopters e-mail when they started reading MHI to correct me on something I did, and then he e-mailed me back the next day to say, nevermind, you explained that with magic. And that's the cool thing about being a writer!
NoirFan
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I don't think Hachett was pointing it out as an error, just as a cool Marlowe gun moment.
That does remind me of a Chandler gun error though. Very often Marlowe will take a Mauser, Luger, or Colt automatic out of a desk drawer and drop it into his front pants pocket, whereupon it becomes invisible!
Duke of Doubt
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Rockwell 1: "In the book "Shane" jack Schaeffer has Shan break open the cylinder of his SAA Colt's to reload it after shooting Wilson and Fletcher."
I probably would overlook this, excusing it as non-standard terminology for breaking open the loading gate.
Rockwell1: "I also remember one of those "Executioner" type books in which the hero has twin LAWS rockets ( described as light artillery rockets) mounted on his motorcycle. Would love to see those fired."
Now THIS would be cool. Do I see a "J'Accuse" episode? Enough speed = momentum, a heavy cycle with low center of gravity, and trued launchers with simultaneous fire keyed triggers (or else stacked, single fire), and I think it would work. If the rider, I'd want a blast screen welded to the roll bars ...
I probably would overlook this, excusing it as non-standard terminology for breaking open the loading gate.
Rockwell1: "I also remember one of those "Executioner" type books in which the hero has twin LAWS rockets ( described as light artillery rockets) mounted on his motorcycle. Would love to see those fired."
Now THIS would be cool. Do I see a "J'Accuse" episode? Enough speed = momentum, a heavy cycle with low center of gravity, and trued launchers with simultaneous fire keyed triggers (or else stacked, single fire), and I think it would work. If the rider, I'd want a blast screen welded to the roll bars ...
Brian Dale
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So that's why men in those days wore those wide, pleated trousers!NoirFan said:
Duke of Doubt
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"Is that a Mauser in your trousers, or are you just happy to see me?" - Mae West
Yoda
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I seem to recall...
Some years back, there was a website that chronicled all the firearms errors in the movies. I lost the link, and I haven't been able to find it again. I recall it mentioning that Indiana Jones, during the gunfight in the bar the Himalayas, had a revolver one moment and a semi-auto the next. Obviously an editing issue. Anyway, it was a fun website.
For realism, not in a book but in a movie, I appreciated the scene in "Fargo," where the father-in-law of the main character is shot multiple times by one of the bad guys, and instead of dramatic "Hollywood" effects, the bullets just seem to make small tears in the guy's jacket. It looks like the people who set that scene up realized that it's often not very obvious that you've actually hit your target. In fact, the father-in-law had just taken a shot at the bad guy at point blank range and just wounded him in the jaw... again illustrating that in real life, people do miss, even at close range.
- - - Yoda
===================
Some years back, there was a website that chronicled all the firearms errors in the movies. I lost the link, and I haven't been able to find it again. I recall it mentioning that Indiana Jones, during the gunfight in the bar the Himalayas, had a revolver one moment and a semi-auto the next. Obviously an editing issue. Anyway, it was a fun website.
For realism, not in a book but in a movie, I appreciated the scene in "Fargo," where the father-in-law of the main character is shot multiple times by one of the bad guys, and instead of dramatic "Hollywood" effects, the bullets just seem to make small tears in the guy's jacket. It looks like the people who set that scene up realized that it's often not very obvious that you've actually hit your target. In fact, the father-in-law had just taken a shot at the bad guy at point blank range and just wounded him in the jaw... again illustrating that in real life, people do miss, even at close range.
- - - Yoda
===================
svtruth
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Just finishe
Widow's Walk by Robert B. Parker. First, it is set in Boston, bt there are guns everywhere. But, more specifically, they recover a gun, an auto in .40 cal and comment that it is an "unusual caliber".
Widow's Walk by Robert B. Parker. First, it is set in Boston, bt there are guns everywhere. But, more specifically, they recover a gun, an auto in .40 cal and comment that it is an "unusual caliber".
servantofinari
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I have a new one. Anyone here ever seen an anime called Elfin Leid? In the beginning they are shooting H&K 53A3’s which shoots a 5.56x 45mm, the casings where 9mm parabellum’s and so where the bullets that the creature stopped dead in the air about a foot in front of itself. I find this annoying because they specifically state that a bullet has to be “high velocity” (think .50 BMG speed [3,000 ft/sec]) to penetrate its shield. Had they been using the correct ammunition it would have been killed because the 5.56 travels as fast or faster.
Oh and Schofield...
Oh and Schofield...
WRONG!!!
Hatchett
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Re: Marlowe.
Yeah, I meant that as a cool moment. The Super Match was a real gun, the hand-honed "National Match" version of the Super .38 automatic. Of even greater note is that he actually has a holster for it. The complete passage reads:
"I opened my desk and took out a Colt .38 automatic of the type known as Super Match. I hadn’t worn it to visit Mrs. Lewin Lockridge Grayle. I stripped my coat off and strapped the leather harness on and tucked the automatic down inside it and strapped the lower strap and put my coat back on again.
This meant as much to the Indian as if I had scratched my neck."
Yeah, I meant that as a cool moment. The Super Match was a real gun, the hand-honed "National Match" version of the Super .38 automatic. Of even greater note is that he actually has a holster for it. The complete passage reads:
"I opened my desk and took out a Colt .38 automatic of the type known as Super Match. I hadn’t worn it to visit Mrs. Lewin Lockridge Grayle. I stripped my coat off and strapped the leather harness on and tucked the automatic down inside it and strapped the lower strap and put my coat back on again.
This meant as much to the Indian as if I had scratched my neck."
earlthegoat2
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one series of books I read has the characters, good and bad, always cocking the hammers on their pistols. Not necissarily wrong since the makes or models of the said pistol are never discussed but it is still Hollywood fantasy.
Duke of Doubt
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earlthegoat: "one series of books I read has the characters, good and bad, always cocking the hammers on their pistols. Not necissarily wrong since the makes or models of the said pistol are never discussed but it is still Hollywood fantasy."
Not sure I see why. Shooting single action beats shooting double action.
Not sure I see why. Shooting single action beats shooting double action.
Brian Dale
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People used to do action jobs on revolvers that would leave the single-action pull at dangerously light weights...just the kind of thing that Hunter Thompson would have loved.
6_gunner
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Amen to that! The Dark Tower series was terrible. One would think that, in a book where firearms play a central role, King would have done a little bit of research.
There were the the revolvers which constantly switched from SAAs to double-action hand-ejectors; the 8-shot .40 caliber SAA; the .44 magnum Ruger automatic; and (my favorite) the Schmeisser .40 submachine gun.
Disregarding the gun errors, that series started out very cool, and then steadily declined to the point of being laughable. I couldn't believe when King actually wrote himself into the story as a kind of god-like character.
Even if he got his gun info straight, I would never read another of his books. There are too many good authors out there to waste any time on Stephen King.
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