This video is a must-see, if only to understand that some "gun alternatives" exist that in some ways rival the power of firearms:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jOd6r2x-j7I
Even the worst of these (the Chinese pellet-shooting crossbow) is able to drive an 8mm steel ball about 12" into ballistic gel. And loading from an internal mag, it can be fired at a rate of about a shot every five to six seconds if you knew what you were doing. Some have firepower rates in advance of that if you moved...like that slingshot from hell.
A real eye-opener.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jOd6r2x-j7I
Even the worst of these (the Chinese pellet-shooting crossbow) is able to drive an 8mm steel ball about 12" into ballistic gel. And loading from an internal mag, it can be fired at a rate of about a shot every five to six seconds if you knew what you were doing. Some have firepower rates in advance of that if you moved...like that slingshot from hell.
A real eye-opener.