Guns in Literature

M

Minnesota Joe

Inactive
I'm doing some research on the subject. I'm seeking references in fictional literature to specific, real-world, firearms used by characters. I'm talking books -- not movies. As most firearms owners know, there aren't a lot of authors who seem to know a lot about firearms. Even fewer identify their characters using specific guns, instead opting to refer only in the vaguest of terms to a revolver, rifle, or shotgun. Rarely is the make, model, or even calibre identified. So, can anyone out there cite specific references in fictional literature wherein the author went the extra distance to identify their character's weapon of choice?
 
I'm no literary expert but there have been quite a number of such references discussed on this forum over the years. Overall, I come away with the impression that most authors are doing themselves a favor by being vague. A great many of the "specifics" are specifically incorrect.
 
Authors....

There are a few novel writers & authors who are not quite "gun experts". :rolleyes:

One novel I read(from a top selling author with a legal background) had a PI character using a Glock pistol, in the late 1970s, :confused: .

As for gun-savvy writers Id offer; Richard Marcinko, John Wiseman, Steven Hunter(Point of Impact, Soft Target), David Merell(check spelling).
Merell wrote First Blood. He created the John J Rambo character. ;)
I may think of a few more later.
Clyde
 
alot of it is all junk. Sure some have some idea but the general problem is...

to many are using wikipedia and websites built for role playing games.
As a result alot of interesting guns have been created.

For example, one series of books sold at walmart crappy book section feature a 1867 cowboy using a peacemaker with grip safety. a frontiersman circa 1840 using what can only be a semi automatic singleshot muzzleloading flintlock..
 
Len Deighton and Adam Hall seemed to use correct terms and identification consistently, in their spy novels.

Mickey Spillane made sure we knew what Mike Hammer carried.

You did say 'literature', right?
 
Spillane...

I believe Spillane was a real WWII combat veteran. He knew what a 1911a1 .45acp was. :rolleyes:
According to the stories, PI Mike Hammer took "Betsy" home with him after the war since it saved his life so many times.
 
Tom Clancy had it for a bit, but in Rainbow Six when he said that the operators rarely trained on the range with their primary weapons because the UMP 10 was so easy to shoot that anyone could if they weren't blind.... I decided that he'd better just stick to submarines.
 
Old West

I like William Johnstone novels. It seems like he did quite a bit of research in some of his books to get historical facts correct. There is a lot of gun play in most of his books, but I haven't really looked to see how specific or accurate the descriptions are. The preacher series is a good place to look I would say.
 
cite specific references in fictional literature wherein the author went the extra distance to identify their character's weapon of choice?
Click to expand...

Unintended Consequences - John Ross
If you haven't read this one, you really, really should, ASAP

The Survivalist (series) -Jerry Ahern
(JTR carried a pair of Detonics Combat Masters in Alessi shoulder holsters, with a Milt Sparks 6 pack....)

You didn't say classic, or well known literature... :D

And then there is also The Executioner (series) -Don Pendelton

The author goes to great lengths to identify weapons used. He just doesn't get the use right, sometimes...

In more classic lit, the gun used to kill Miles Archer in the Maltese Falcon -Dashiel Hammet, is specifically identified as a .45 caliber Webley Fosberry....

I believe True Grit identifies the Walker Colt and Sharps rifle by name...
I'm sure there are many others...
 
Right here in MN John Sandford (real name John Camp) had his hero Lucus Davenport carry an HK P7 squeeze cocker in several of his early books but he moved on to carry different firearms in later books so maybe that doesn't count.

Sandford took some flak once for having a character snap the safety off his Glock but Sandford has a Glock with a safety on it. They were made for some foreign countries and 3rd party after market saftey kits are available in the US.

I believe he used to shoot with some of the police officers when he worked as a reporter in St. Paul.

Shrug. If he did make a mistake or two his books are, IMhO, very much worth reading.
 
Pendleton....

I wasn't a big fan of author Don Pendelton's Executioner series.
:mad:
In a novel I read, he made a few insulting remarks about MPs(military police).

In the 1970s/1980s/1990s(pre-internet) action novels & paperbacks were more common. In the federal agency I worked for briefly, many of the 083 police officers read adventure/action novels or westerns. ;)
Former SEAL officer Richard Marcinko's novels with author John Wiseman were fast-paced & very detailed. They explained weapons & tradecraft too.

Clyde
 
The only reason I slogged through the Executioner series was because Mack Bolan and I share a Christian name.

Stephen Hunter is the author who really gets it, in my opinion.

Clancy does okay, but should stick to submarines and geo-political intrigue. That being said, he does like the 10mm, so got to give him credit there.

Unintended Consequenses is a fun read, especially concerning big bore rifles and small crew served cannons, but as I've learned here, John Ross takes a liberty or two with history. And I could do without all the gratuitous sex.

WEB Griffin is pretty good, but has the most annoying little screw ups, like refering to an M-4A1 as a Car-4, or the CAR-15 of Vietnam era usage as the CAR-16. And the FN-FAL as a 7mm FAL. Just irksome.
 
Stephen King occasionally makes references to firearms (in his non-Gunslinger books), and almost always they have been incoherently wrong...
 
As I understand the question, its about literature (books) where the author identifies the guns being used specifically. Not about whether the author get it right, or whether the work is a paragon of literary value or complete trash...

Ian Fleming's Bond series is iconic for identifying certain guns, and legendary (in the gun community, at least) for not getting things quite "right"....

Some authors take the approach of what might a real character use, and be able to do with it. Others don't. That may be ignorance on their part, or they might claim literary license.

One (bad) author of action novels (don't recall the name anymore) knew all right names for things but when he used them, it was like he just put them all in a hat and picked a "gun term" when he needed one.

I found the Executioner series back in the early 70s, when I was still riding my bicycle 11 miles to get to a bookstore. And I freely admit what attracted me at first was the Auto Mag on the cover. Soon after I began reading them I realized that while the author knew names and data, he didn't know real shooting, or Mack Bolan was superhuman. :D

A 600yd shot, from a boat on lake Michigan, with a .460 Weatherby with a 20x scope ("riding out the recoil" so he never loses sight of the target) taking a golf ball off the tee as the mob boss makes his backswing? Really?

Well, it is fiction...after all...
 
Lee Child, WEB Griffin....

Both "Lee Child" & "WEB Griffin" are pen names. :rolleyes:
I've read novels from both writers. As a former MP(four years, active duty, US Army) I think the "Jack Reacher" character has many flaws & errors but it's only fiction. :rolleyes:
I enjoyed WEB Griffin's great The Presidents Agent line. Most of the action & weapons/armory points were well done.
Griffin was way off on a few guns. He described a S&W model 27 as a ".44magnum". Any gunner or casual shooter could tell you the difference between a .357magnum & a .44.
He also had the character(a ex-US secret service agent) using the S&W revolver for defense in a major urban area. In the modern era, most veterans or ex-cops would use a semi-auto pistol or a compact version of what they were trained with. Even if Griffin wanted to bring up a good carry revolver, the K frame .357magnum with a 2.5" barrel was around for decades.

He also mentions Uzi SMGs when, in reality I doubt any working EP agent or bodyguard(outside of Israel maybe) would still be carrying a Uzi sub-gun.
A HK MP5/MP5K, P90 5.7mm, SIG Sauer MPX, etc would be common today.
 
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