Guns

Power ultimately comes from the ability to project force at people, and whether you like it or not, eventually you will have to deal with it. Guns come in a variety of types and each serves a unique purpose. Below is a comparison of the different types.

Big guns are almost always more accurate and function better at their purpose than little guns. It’s quite possible to make a gun of any size, even a six inch machine gun. So why don’t people do it? Because the smaller a gun is, the worse it is at being accurate and doing its job. In a polite First World society, people tend to be uncomfortable around those who carry heavy ordinance while grocery shopping, so that’s why concealment is important. When choosing a gun, generally you want a gun that is as big as possible while still being small enough to be concealable.

Precision guns tend to have longer barrels. Hunting rifles, sniper rifles, and even revolvers are examples of precision weapons of varying sizes. They are designed for use against large slow-moving targets, like people. If you want to kill somebody, use a precision gun.

Scatter guns fire a round of shot that spreads out over an area, rather than a single well-centered projectile. The advantage of this is that you are likelier to hit, especially against small fast-moving targets (such as animals or weaponized drones). The disadvantage is that each individual pellet has less mass and so is likely to be less damaging. Scatter guns excel as drone-killing weaponry since even a single pellet can punch through the lightweight plastic that most modern drones are made of. Weapons such as shotguns, sawed off shotguns, or even derringers are examples of scatter guns.

There are two types of loading mechanisms for a gun, the spring (which is far more common) and the cylinder (now used almost exclusively in revolvers). Most people opt for springs because the loading action is simpler and does not require you to cock the hammer of the gun before firing. However, spring loaded weapons have a lot of disadvantages. They require frequent maintenance to ensure that the spring doesn’t get rusty. If you hold the weapon sideways (a mistake commonly made by gangsters who are trying to look tough) the spring may jam at the worst moment. And finding the right spring for a fun and then taking it apart to replace the loading mechanism is a lot of work.

Cylinder-loaded weapons like revolvers, by contrast, are survivalist’s weapons. They almost never jam, they are easy to clean, and very reliable. They are also much easier for a non-professional to take apart and put back together. If you want a gun that is operational for long periods of time with very little maintenance, you can’t do better than a revolver.

While violence is seldom fun and should be minimized wherever possible, it is always good to be prepared. Understand which situations you are most likely to find yourself in, and plan accordingly.