Grrl Power #111 – Truesight Shmuesight
Writing is an interesting process that I’m still pretty new to. (As evidenced by the fact that I just ended a sentence with a preposition. Which people think is bad, but in fact there is no rule against.) I always had a few notions of how Peggy would behave, and there’s a few critical scenes she’ll be in and I know how she’ll act in those, but there was still a lot of character that needed to be filled in. I have done enough writing to know that you generally don’t have to worry about that stuff though. As long as you keep to the spirit of the character and are mindful of those pivotal scenes, characters will write themselves. I like the direction Peggy has taken already. Despite getting along quite well with many of the supers, she is one of those obscenely skilled humans that is probably a little annoyed at the ones think they’re all that when they haven’t put in nearly the same effort into developing themselves as she has. Apparently she deals with it by calmly taking the wind out of their sails as we see here.
Arc-Aegis by the way, is in charge of security and defense. Once a super containment facility is in place, they’ll be in charge of that as well.
Speaking of Peggy, anyone have any recommendations for what pistols she might use? I’ve drawn her carrying two. I googled “accurate pistol” or something and it looks like semi-auto pistols are generally more accurate than revolvers. In fact I didn’t see any revolvers used for competition shooting, but I didn’t spend a ton of time on it. The one in her shoulder holster is a semi-auto, maybe a .45 ACP or something? The problem is if you google stuff like that and stumble blind into a forum, everyone has their opinions and it’s hard to get a feel for what an actual really good, accurate pistol is. I’m sure there are crazy accurate single shot pistols out there but Peggy would carry something that’s actually practical in a firefight. Her hip holster (which you can just barely see poking out from behind the word bubble in panel 5) I figure should have less emphasis on accuracy and more on stopping power. Nothing like Max’s T-Rex, but maybe a 3-5 round revolver loaded with something that would go through someone who’s face is as tough as an engine block.
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LOL this just made me laugh great as always dave
Got your goat, Sydney. =P
Clearly, Peg is hard to impress.
Is the neck-thingie all the security badge Storm-Lite needs?
It’s a throat mike.
Peggy, don’t piss off the nice people with superpowers. …Or the irritating ones, either. Especially a relative unknown like Sydney who might get irritated enough to test out the PPO on you. (obviously she won’t, but for all Peggy knows she could be the sort of person who might)
But can she see dead people, all the time?
So the Truesight orb will be useless at Halloween?
If she could see through masks and such, she would’ve been able to see what X looked like under His mask. Actually, Sydney knew this already – she just needed to be hit over the head with the fact. Well done, Peggy.
Pity one of the balls doesn’t tone down her ADHD.
What if one of them actually IS, and this is how Sydney acts when she’s “toned down”?
Well, there’s superpowers and then there’s the completely impossible…
:D
More generally, another fine page!! The only problem is that this comic has made Monday my favourite day of the week!!
Noting that we aren’t sure what at least one of the balls actually does …..
Why tone down her ADHD?
I get a feel the balls CURED her ADHD completely — possibly only then they’re “on” (as well as aggressively prevented spicy sauce burns, LOL), and her medication (a form of “crystal meth lite”) is driving her nuts.
The author DID hint Sydney would tone down a smudge at some point — or was he speaking about the swearing only?
For your question on Peggy’s pistols, M1911’s are very reliable and come in all kinda of specialized customizations. You can’t really go wrong with one of those.
Though they’re not usually popular with women since they’re larger and heavier than other models out there.
My brother-in-law spent a few decades in special forces, he likes Glock’s.
Unless she has disproportionally large hands, the Glocks probably won’t be too popular with a petite woman like Peggy – the staggered-column magazines make the grip a bit thick for smaller hands. The 1911 is actually pretty good in that respect, as is the Browning Hi-Power (though the Hi-P is prone to jamming if you break at the wrist instead of at the elbow)
For a revolver competition shooter google Jerry Miculek.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLk1v5bSFPw
August 24, 2012: The U.S. Marine Corps has ordered 12,000 .45 (11.4mm) caliber pistols (for $1,900 each), mainly for use by its SOCOM (Special Operations Command) and recon troops. These MARSOC (Marine Special Operations Command) troops have, like the army, navy, and air force components of SOCOM, quietly replaced most of their 9mm pistols with .45s. For the last few years the marines have been supplying their special operations troops with older M1911 model .45s, refurbished (or built from scrounged up parts) in a marine-run facility. The M1911 .45 caliber ACP is a 1.2 kg (2.45 pound) 210mm (8.25 inch) long weapon with a 127mm (5 inch) barrel and a 7 round magazine. Compared to the current American M9 9mm pistol the .45s have more hitting power, while the M9 is a bit more accurate at up to about 50 meters.
The new marine .45s are not the old M1911A1 model but the more modern Colt CQBP (Close Quarter Battle Pistol), which uses the same ammo as the M1911A1 but has a number of improvements that make the weapon more reliable, flexible, and accurate. The CQBP holds eight rounds, is built to resist salt water corrosion, accept rail mounted accessories, and so on.
There are several improved .45s available because of demand from police departments and government agencies (like the FBI). In the 1990s SOCOM adopted the Heckler and Koch Mk 23 SOCOM model. This is a 1.47 kg (3.2 pound) .45 pistol with a 12-round magazine and the ability to carry a silencer. It is expensive, at $2400 each. Loaded with a silencer and laser aiming device the Mk23 weighs 2.29 kg (5 pounds). The Mk23 is a precision weapon, capable of accurate fire at 50 meters (51mm/two inch shot groups). The Mk 23 is for offensive operations while the lighter and cheaper USP Tactical model was later introduced for personal protection and other duties not requiring the heavier Mk 23.
Having posted that from StratPage, I own multiple Springfield XD45s for my kits.
I’m partial to Heckler & Koch’s USP version of the M1911. But I’ve heard from reliable people in the biz that Glock’s are designed a little differently and are usually more accurate. However, given your characters are consummate professionals, what would matter to a novice is instantly adjusted to by them through a lifetime of drilling and training.
I settled on my first H&K after I read the criteria their USP Tactical had to pass in order to be issued to US Special Forces. Incredible.
However, since everything the people we’re seeing roll with is beyond custom, I’d suggest looking into the modified M1911’s by people like Armand Swenson, Frank Pachmayer, Bill Wilson, and Jim Clark.
Or, since google ruined everything, just search images for ‘custom combat m1911’.
I have no clue about weapons, but what would a Gun Smith (Cat) say?
CZ 75 probably: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CZ_75
Given their access and penchant for customization, I’d recommend a custom model that utilizes a high powered round (.44 mag? .50 cal? .454 Casul?) but loads in a fore-mounted magazine (so the size of the bullets doesn’t make the grip too large for a smaller woman’s hands, and also helps mitigate the massive kick such a handgun would produce)
Another possibility is, given Peggy’s focus on accuracy over brute force, a simple 9-mil with custom, high-grain loads and flechette bullets (the old Black Rhino rounds that are now illegal) – worthless against armor, but basically any strike against any exposed flesh results in a life-threatening, bleed-out wound
Peg’s a killjoy.
Well. she probably has to deal with super’s all the time who take their powers way too seriously.
After a while wouldn’t you want to take them down a peg or two?
Remember when we were trying to come up with a codename for Peggy? – I vote for “Killjoy”
Thats a pretty good codename. It’s a name that isn’t used very often as a codename and with her being a sniper is very descriptive of what she does.
What say the rest?
I find that quite suitable for her; what say you, Dave?
Not bad. I have a name for her but she hasn’t brought it up yet cause she’s worried Max won’t like it. :)
I dunno, I’m kinda partial to ‘Deadpan’…
I’ll admit ‘Killjoy’ would probably be funnier to most people though. :D
I like. Sounds vaguely menacing.
She’s a 5’4 sniper. She wants to sound a little menacing.
Exactly.
If you heard that handle would you think the sniper was 5foot4?
As a general rule, a preposition is not something to end a sentence with :) However, most writers agree that flow is more important than what is more a recommendation than a hard rule.
I do like the way Peggy and Sydney are alternating between exasperating each other and palling around. It’s like watching a ping-pong match, but much more fun.
Writing is also an art form which means rules are bent, broken and/or totally ignored in order to convey the artist’s vision. Quite often words are misspelled to create the illusion of accent, education(or lack of) or speech impediment. Any idjet who points out grammah flaws is jus’ a dang fool!
The edict of writing is good, statesmen love it, creative writing demands new bounders which the writer attempting to get into ones head to see beyond the pictures is another.
Putting a preposition at the end of a sentence is often an indication that you are using the passive voice, which is a less desired way to express a sentence. Usually a preposition introduces a prepositional phrase, which is followed by adjectives and a finally a noun. Ending a sentence with the preposition screws up this type of phrase, because the object of the preposition is actually hiding back in the sentence.
Also, back when international communications were done in Latin, putting a preposition on the end of the sentence makes translating to Latin a pain in the neck.
You want to watch an English major have a meltdown? Try out the following statement in their vicinity:
“I’m smarter than you’re”
Heck, I almost had a meltdown with that.
Hah hah.
that is good.
Why not go with a Glock 21 Gen4? https://us.glock.com/products/model/g21gen4
I’d vote for one of these – https://fallout3.nexusmods.com/mods/13141
Unfortunately, I think Peggy (like most people) would probably need a gun carriage for it.
( ;) Yes, I AM kidding)
Or you could go with the Firefly guns https://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/44714/?tab=3&navtag=%2Fajax%2Fmodimages%2F%3Fuser%3D0%26id%3D44714 and yes Vera is included.
I was looking at that sight and then compared the pictures of various Glock models against what I could see of her weapon two pages ago and I think the one that comes closest to my choice of a .40 cal. would be the glock 23.
Thank you for that sight by the way.
Humm. Peggy’s pistol? I would vote for a Metalstorm pistol. It fast, can fire a 3 round burst before recoil hits, has only one moving part, the bullet. And is the most accurate pistol in the world.
and because the barrel is the clip you can change load types quickly. The only down side I see to the entire metal storm line is that they are not field rechargeable. Once you have shot all the rounds. the barrel has to go back to the manufacturer for refill. I do like the ink jet printing capacity for lead down range on their multi-barrel area defense units.
Don’t those have very significant variation in characteristics as you work through the ‘magazine’? If the bullets are stacked tip-to-tail along the barrel, the first one’s going to have significantly less barrel to traverse than the later ones, potentially reducing accuracy (assuming single-fire, so no bonus for beating the recoil). Also, losing the mass of fired bullets from the barrel end means a large difference in static torque on the hand (as opposed to all of the change being in the handgrip) and therefore on the feel of it while aiming.
I don’t have personal experience of MetalStorm munitions, but basic physics would suggest that conventional guns are far more predictable and practical for human users. While it’s true that a MetalStorm system can give rates of fire beyond the reach of mechanical systems, I’d only expect it to be of use at vehicle speed – the human body just isn’t fast enough for the bullets to have significantly different paths (i.e. if the first misses, the rest will also miss; if the first hits, the rest will go down the same hole).
As far as weapons go, most semi automatic pistols look a lot alike. My suspicion is that she and any other “normal” arc troops would end up with non standard pistols specially designed and built for them so except for using some well known and respected name as a base design and ending up with a pistol “designed by a specialist team from some of the best custom designers out there”, “based on the X series of pistols made by…”, or “as a cross between the dependability of X and the penetration/stopping power of Y”. Peggy especially would probably have these already special designs customized from here to eternity. After all, they’re likely to be shooting at stuff with power armor, super powers, flight, force fields, sharp-pointy-teeth etc so an off the shelf anything could be pretty useless. They’ve probably got a huge armory of weapons so you could swap in anything you wanted, real or imaginary, as needed. Heck, it could even be weapons that they admit are “based on ideas from that videogame or TV show.” Star Trek is still inspiring real world stuff regularly.
As these discussions have shown, fiction and its fans can often come up with a problem and its solution before it ever shows up in the real world. I doubt military R&D would have too much hesitation in ‘borrowing’ an interesting idea from a discussion such as ours, particularly if they’ve got implicit Government backing. Of course, referring to this process explicitly in the comic might be a bit too meta for the setting.
I always pictured Peggy as packing a couple of fully-automatic TEC-9’s, like Lana Kane from “Archer”, which would still count as handguns.
Add in specialized ammo, such as Kinetic Energy Ammo or Modified Explosive Rounds, and Peggy will turn their engine block into ground beef.
You don’t know how bad I have wanted to have a pistol that would take out a car with a single shot, but all the rounds I have discovered that have that capability for anything other than a lucky shot (since I would be shooting essentially blind into the hood or through the fender) was too heavy to fire from a handgun unless you were built like the Hulk. Also I had to consider that I would have to fire from the weak hand (most cars come at me from my left when I’m riding my bicycle) and have to be firing behind me (most motor vehicle “attacks” come from behind) and I have just come to the conclusion that I’m facing a light armored vehicle with a Nerf bat. And if you think “light armored vehicle” is a bit of hyperbole Google “1959 Chevy hit by 2009 Chevy” for a video of a crash test between a 59 Impala and a 2009 Impala. The front bumper of the 2009 ended up in the back seat of the ’59…
I’m waiting on a handheld magnetic pulse beam weapon. Basically fries all the circuitry in the car with an electromagnetic pulse. They end up with a brick on wheels. :)
Well with a steel body you probably wouldn’t be able to carry enough juce to do the trick. If you could generate a small scale EMP of some kind then you might be able to disable all devices in an area. I’ve wanted a device like that for a long time to shut off SUV boom boxes on wheels. there was a technology for vehicle stopping that delivered a HV pulse to the bottom. The idea was to fry the computer and disable the car safely. You can see how effective it was in that spike strips and tire sticks are the method that most police organizations use. Plastic under body is an effective insulator.
On the wrong end of a car vs. on the wrong end of a brick with wheels. Sure that’s a weapon you want to be firing from a bike? Personally, I’d see whether I could get some sort of gas grenade through the windscreen – even a prototype that couldn’t do toughened glass would also come in useful for so many other situations, and a system that can deliver a gas grenade safely would probably also work for less delicate munitions.
Don’t want to kill people, and anything that can penetrate safety-glass probably will just from the frags, but to render their vehicle useless. To me that would be justice and fair trade for homicidal idiocy. They would become an instant pedestrian.
BTW there is now in development a 12-gauge taser round so no so maybe a mod of that would do the trick.
FN Five-seven for accuracy and armor piercing. One of the Colt 1911 variants for stopping power
I think the FN Five-seveN is what Sydney will start off with, once they have assurances from her that she won’t use it to turn off the lights or casually threaten people. I assume the 5.7×28mm ammo would produce a minimal kick compared to a lot of other guns and would be easier for a rookie shooter to control.
I don’t know, having now seen the dynamic between Peggy and Sydney, I wouldn’t be to very surprised if Peggy tried to give her a Derringer on her first visit to the armory.
My FiveseveN is not a small pistol. It’s not as big as my H&K USP Tactical in a .45, but it’s not exactly a small frame. Since Dave’s concerned with realism, I don’t know if someone with hands as small as Sidney would be able to hold the FN 5.7 safely.
Piss her off, give her a suppressed Sig Mosquito as a starter. That might be a little too MIB though.
Yes, the Five-seveN is a good deal larger than a Derringer
Here is a picture of a .38 Derringer next to a .38 Smith and Wesson snub nose revolver for comparison
Still not entirely sure what your comment had to do with mine but it’s a good point either way.
Course if Derringers weren’t so small we never would have had a character like her.
Speaking of weaponry Dave, I have a 3D model that I’ve been working on that I have been wanting to put into TF2 (various reasons prevent me from finishing it) but I think it’d be a…unique addition to Peggy’s arsenal if you haven’t decided on her complete load out yet. And before you say anything, I started this before Borderlands 1 came out :P. Speaking of BL, Dave, how do you choose to play it? Console, or PC? Anyway, weapon ahoy.
https://solbet.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d31910b
I do all my gaming on the PC. I’ve owned every major console released in the US but honestly I might skip the next gen stuff. The last game I bought for the Xbox was Super Street Fighter IV. Oh actually I got the latest SSX game on PS3 but I’ve only put 4 or 5 hours into it.
Hmm, now how do I get your steam ID so we can co-op some BL2? :P Private message over twatter perhaps?
I’d love to but I’m still on my first play through with my wife. I think we’ve managed to hit level… 26? Unfortunately I’ve only found a few hours to play each week. It’s fun but even when I’m playing after having spent all day coloring the comic, I still feel a little guilty taking a break when I probably should be coloring the Dabbler v. Zintiel pic or working on an ad banner or something.
Maybe once I get my new tablet (won’t be till next year, unfortunately), I can give you a hand on coloring backgrounds and such for ya, to help speed things up so you won’t feel so guilty. It’d be sooner, but since this will be the first time I will have any excess amount of cash near the holidays, I’m going to do something nice for the female parental unit and get her that kindle fire HD she’s been pining for.
I think Peggy will start Sydney with a Nerf gun, possibly a SuperSoaker…
At least until she’s demonstrated some control/restraint.
I wouldn’t even trust her with a nerf gun, lol. I can in fact say, if timed correctly, you could kill with a nerf “bullet”. Nephew caught me when I was yawning and I nearly choked on one of those damn things. Heck, I wouldn’t trust her with a pillow. You can kill someone with a pillow, and I don’t mean the smothering type of kill either. All it depends on is angle and force. Catch someone on the face and with enough force, you can snap their neck that way, lol. Almost did it to my brother when I was younger >.>.
I’ve never shot a 5.7 so I have no idea what it kicks like, but recoil has far more to do with competant gun design than it does with the round shot. I’ve shot .380s that kicked like a mule with a toothache and .45s that were pussycats. All things being equal a smaller cartridge will kick less than a bigger (or more powerful) one. All things being equal a bigger gun will offer less felt recoil than a smaller, lighter one. All things are never equal.
Oh, and revolvers will always kick more than a semi-sutomatic because the action does not absorb any of that energy.
I am surprised to hear she’ll be offered a sidearm though. For situations that call for lethal force, but not the PPO I assume. I’m not sure how many scenarios that covers.
Wait, Sydney… with a gun? I think maybe you should start her off with a paper clip gun instead… they sting like hell, and they won’t go right through the wall and hit someone minding thier own business on the other side of the wall.
Seriously, this is Sydney we’re talking about. What happens if she’s all ready to bust into a building filled with hostages and the sun decides to come out from behind a cloud and shine on her? What if someone hands her a bottle of tabasco sauce and claims it’s the hottest stuf she’s ever tasted. What if someone kicks a puppy? OK sure that last one deserves it… but the point stands…
She already has a rediculously powerful one handed perpetual Phaser with unlimited ammo….giving her a loaded hand gun could be seen as a safety measure….
Actually I can see it. They take Sydney to the gun range, hand her a 9mm, and immediately, everyone who has met Sydney and isn’t bulletproof hides. She fires at the target but misses, the bullet ricochets of something and comes back to hit someone that IS bulletproof right between the eyes. S they switch her to a nerf gun, and against all odds managed to get it to ricochet and lodge the nerf bullet in someones mouth. So they give her a paperclip gun, the paperclip ricochets and lands in someones coffee. And before anyone can warm the th person drinks thier coffee and starts choking on the paperclip. So they hand her a water gun instead. She actually manages to hit the target, but the splashback manages to hit the lights and blow the breaker putting the entire range into total darkness. After they get the lights back on, they hand her a straw and a sheet of paper. She lands every spitball on the target, and none ricochet due to thier sticky nature. Everyone comes out from hiding (by now EVERYONE hides, even the bullet proof supers), Sydney pushes the button to call the target board closer to check her marksmanship, and when the board comes to a sudden stop a large number of the spitballs are launched at the crowd.
i can see that happening can i take this for a story that i’m writing?
I am not a gun nut by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ll take a shot.
It’s not as fancy as I think you would be going for, but honestly the Glock 18 is crazy accurate close and medium range, can be equipped with a relatively large magazine for a pistol, and can be flipped over to fully automatic with an absurd rate of fire just in case you really wanted to put that whole 31 rounds into somebody in less than a second. (Like any firearm, a high rate of fire costs you in accuracy, but it’s nice to have the option.)
If you really want Peggy to be packing a hand cannon, the nastiest thing I can think of that comes direct from a manufacturer (not custom) would be the Smith and Wesson Model 500. The thing is a five shot beast that I am quite convinced could punch a hole through a diesel engine block with the correct ammunition. That said, this thing is BIG. Seriously. Peggy does look like a large person, this would be difficult or impossible for her to conceal on her person. Also, if you really want to go with a handcannon style firearm like this used regularly by a normal type human, it might be prudent to cludge together some manner of wrist brace into her combat gear. Not being sexist here, I am a 350 pound guy and firing that thing would put me in a hurt locker if it was more than very occasionally, weekend warrior type crap. Spending the hours at a firing range trying to get even passably accurate with something like that past the first shot would be the equivalent of trying to use a jackhammer one handed while you were doing a hand stand on it.
Does NOT look like a large person. Also, I get ahead of myself when I type sometimes.
…Only Maxima and Anvil could possibly wield the S&M 500 “Wristbreaker” without…well…having their wrists snapped. It has slightly less recoil than a 50. cal Desert Eagle shot but just slightly less. Now the weapon that’s standard across most military branches is the M1911. It’s a great gun, not much recoil, and has a good punch to it.
Apparently I am not alone in my assessment. :P
Although, you are incorrect in one sense. It isn’t just Maxima and Anvil, Achilles could use it easily. In fact, he could easily be a more-than-a-single-use suicide bomber. Which is kinda ridiculously cool when you really think about it.
I would go so far as to say that anybody in the lineup with a single pip in strength would probably be fine using any weapon that has ever been devised to be used by a normal human. So you can add all the boys, (though it seems unlikely that Math ever would) and theoretically Harem, though I would be willing to believe she gets her strength pip because she can through more than one body at a problem, something that wouldn’t help much here.
SIG Sauer P226 or a Beretta 92. Both can be chambered for the .40 S&W which was designed from the 10mm Auto cartridge and is superior to both the 9mm and the .45 ACP. Both guns are equally accurate, robust, and reliable. In addition, they both sport a large clip (about 15 rounds). Personally, I’d take either of those guns over any other out there.
However, if you want a revolver and insist on flexibility of cartridge I’d take a look at the Phillips & Rodgers Medusa 47. It was a prototype revolve designed to accept pretty much any cartridge you can stuff in it. That is to say you can have a 9mm, a .45 ACP, a .40 S&W, all loaded into the same cylinder. So if you need a large round you can just dump out your ammo of 9mm and shove some magnum rounds in there via speed loader or something.
The Medusa sounds like a good gun to have in a post apocalypse world where you never know what ammo you’ll find, but Peggy usually won’t have to worry about scrounging for ammo.
Based on this recently-started web-comic, “Failure To Fire”:
[https://ftf-comics.com/comic/so-it-begins]
…I’m guessing that James L.Grant may have some informed (& opinionated) suggestions to offer.
He very well might indeed!
Gimme a few, catching up on comments here.
Hm. Ok, after checking out this Peggy character (and this comic), she looks like a pragmatist in a gunfight. Although a multi-caliber weapon is a nice sci-fi type of thing, Peggy would likely find one caliber, and stick to it.
Although I normally wouldn’t recommend them for action types, she does hit me as the kind of character who’d carry a revolver. The plus of a revolver is that they rarely, if ever, jam or fail to fire, they’re rugged and durable, and they come in a variety of calibers in larger sizes. (The downside is they get about 6-8 shots, and reloading without intense practice gets tricky in a firefight.) I think she’d probably be the type to go for the best of both words, with a Mateba in a 4″ barrel, .357 magnum.
Perhaps an auto-loading cartridge (or 3-or-4) might help her with the speed-load issue…?
My take on her is that she’s of a “Quality Over-rides Quantity”-mindset. If so, then she would accomplish with precise placement what others might attempt with a “hailstorm” of bullets.
OK, after my last post, I could feel the “Accuracy Gremlins” breathing down my neck, so I did a “Wiki” search…
… the word I wanted was “Speedloader” – not “Magazine”, & not “cartridge”, sorry.
The Medusa will only chamber rounds in the .38/.357/.380/9mm family. It’s more suited for the zombie apocalypse/survivalist crowd.
Does that have the capacity to change out the entire ‘revolver’ block? That would allow for multiple types of special ammo, each semi-auto, with fairly fast changes between them – simply swap the current block for a block pre-loaded with appropriate specials. Or of course, swap an empty block of standard for another of the same.
The downside would be the greater dead weight per round of the reloads compared to standard semi-auto magazines, and the potential to accidentally swap-in with an empty chamber under the hammer (or deliberately, if you want to do a Dirty Harry-type ‘enhanced interrogation’). The former might be avoidable with good material choice; the latter might also be avoidable with an appropriate mechanism.
That’s what speedloaders are for. It’s actually faster than trying to change out a whole cylinder.
Six episodes of Captain Kremmen and a new Grrlpower comic. What better way to start a Monday?
On your pistol question, i have a reasonable amount of experience. I would think this is a pretty elite unit and would recommend showing Peggy with an H&K USP USP or or the new P30. Alternately, a Sig Sauer P226 Tactical. An expert like Peggy would not carry a hand cannon and would likely be concerned with accuracy, reliability and ease of access. Both these brands & models are pretty well regarded in law enforcement & military. Hope that is helpful.
BTW – love the work so far.
The revolver is really a fallback in case she’s facing someone who is bullet resistant. I imagine by the time that information becomes relevant the target will be withing 100 feet so tremendous accuracy wouldn’t be necessary.
Depends what you mean by accuracy, probably. Single-shot placement probably is different than shot grouping at speed, depending on the size of the ammo. Many revolvers tend to chamber larger calibers, thus the shot grouping is probably inherently going to go down versus automatics. Longer barrels also aid in accuracy, and I think the physical construction of most revolvers is going to mean that for a common total gun length, the barrels of automatics are going to be a bit longer. However, a longer barrel makes a gun harder to draw or conceal. I think if folks go hunting with handguns, the weapons are more likely to be revolvers, but that doesn’t mean it’s exactly what you’d chose for the gun you’d carry every day, when it seems like Peggy would likely be using some sort of a rifle for the real serious shooting.
I suppose an unrelated issue is jams. Misfired bullets in a semiautomatic are likely going to shut down the whole clip and be moderately awkward to get past. A misfire in a revolver is going to prevent that one bullet from firing, but you’ll usually be able to move on to the next one.
Of course, you can just make up almost whatever you want with a gun. It’s a superhero world, so just draw whatever basically-normal gun looks coolest and fits the character design most, and don’t worry too much about hair-splitting. Major things, sure, but hair-splitting?
actualy for a misfire or jam a semi auto is quick to deal with just S.P.O.R.T.S. or slap (seat mag properly) pull (retract bolt from chamber removing misfire round or opening ejection port to misloaded round) observe (insure pull resulted in intended effect) release (let bolt go forward loading fresh round)tap (provide forward assist to insure bolt full forward) squeze (put rounds down range)
At a guess, she’d use whatever the USAF trained her on, right? According to Wikipedia, that’d be a SIG Sauer P266 or a Glock 19. Maybe give her specialized ammo.
Dave, you just opened one HELL of a can of worms…
The fist thing you need to know is this – ALL handguns SUCK, Even the big shiny ones like the S&W500 or the Desert Eagle. (On the flip side, those are COOL… Unless you’re a purist, but screw them, I want one!)
For dealing any real level of damage, you want a rifle.
Any major brand of semi-auto pistol is likely accurate and reliable enough for combat use. Pistols to look at include the Sig Sauer P22X series, the Glock 17/19/20, the Beretta 92fs, and the Springfeild XD series, among others. You may also consider some variant of the 1911. All of these are good guns, generally speaking, and all are used by various law enforcement, military and other government agencies.
My advice? Pick one you like the look of, and draw that. Likewise for the big gun. There are some fairly awesome revolvers out there, and hey, revolvers are cool.
Oh, and revolvers aren’t inherently any less accurate than autos, but they tend to carry less ammo, and reloading slows you down in competition.
I wouldn’t sweat the details too much. After all, Maxima is made of metal, Dabbler is a Thingy, and there’s 5 of Harem – I think I can forgive you arming someone with a Desert Eagle. :D
Sure her primary weapon of choice is big honking rifle, but that’s awkward to carry around if she’s not actually in the field. And I figure if I’m going to say what her sidearms are, I may as well choose something that is generally accepted as a decent pistol.
I can’t believe you actually started a muzzle philosophy debate…
Come on now, folks.
We all know we want a P90;D
Honestly? I think it’s an interesting concept, and also unfortunately fugly. But I do like the bullpup idea. Or something the size and shape of a steyr tmp or the h&k mp7; there’s Russian things that may be even better. But those would be pretty hard to get in the US AND people’d look askance.
Bullpup also works pretty decently for rifles (kel-tec rfb, or those m14 convo kits for example) or sniper rifles (amp dsr-1) these days. The shortest barreled version rfb is even classified as a handgun under some laws.
I’ll take my old Ruger P90 any old day.
Oh, wait. You meant the other P90. :P
Right, got a bit sidetracked there, that with the mentions of the Five-seveN and all that.
I suspect she is actualy versitial willing to adjust weapon set for mission requirements bolt action for advanced snipe activity moded assault rifle or carbine for speed sniping/short range combat fights an automatic weapon for mass fire engagements and a set of pistols for confined space operations one high stoping power another precision and payload. actualy have we got a clear view of if she has an ankle holster?
forgot to mention probly has a non wire / multi fire tazer for flight duty limited risk to bird while allowing reasonably effective neutralization of threats alting a trank pistol (most tank supers still soft in eye, mouth, or ear canal to recieve injection)
Peggy is a woman, and on the smaller side. If she is going to carry something in 45 ACP, she may well want to go with a 1911. Their single stack magazine makes for a smaller overall grip. It also makes it more easily concealable. The only down side is the lower ammo count. On the plus side, they are one of the most beautiful handguns out there.
“Well, it sounds crazy if you say it like that… ” XD
And Sydney finds *another* way to tell Peggy of her powers.
When is the white-haired super going to be properly introduced to us? This isn’t her first appearance: https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/389.
What make’s you think the dark skinned, white haired girl eating with Goth-Harem is a super? She may be part of the support staff.
The neck choker. Supers have them, support staff don’t.
Her name is Jiggawhat. It was discussed on the forum on the last time she appeared.
Sorry, my mistake. It’s Jiggawatt.
And with a name like that I’m sure you canguess what her powers are. ZAP!
The white haired pony tailed character eating lunch with Harem is Harem. From the comic you referenced, one harem is getting a wedgie, one is teleporting, two are eating lunch and one is now intimate with the kitchen cupboards.
Wrong neck choker for being another Harem.
Harem changes her hair colour, not her skin colour. That is not Harem.
Harem has a max of 5 bodies, in order of appearance:
Goth Harem
Pink-Haired Harem (on the couch, had a confrontation with Heatwave)
Blonde Harem (the one who ‘ported to the ambulance)
Military Harem
Schoolgirl Harem (has glasses, got punched by Syd)
So along with what Snowyowl, Lukkai and David Nutall pointed out, that’s not Harem but another super.
From what I’ve heard from some people who actualy know thier weapons a 40 calaber Glock is one of the better handguns to use when you want speed, accrtacy, and stoping power.
I hope this helps you in your story telling.
Glock 34 would be her choice. Accurate with a nice mag capacity.
well,, first things first,, great page as always
about the pistols,, for precisin,, dont go for anuything over 9mm,, like maybe a sig sauer P210 or newer models,, or s glock
for penetration and stoping power,, specialy at shorter range,, go for something like a .50 or.45,, or .44,,
a;tough i would still recomend smaller caliber with modified bullets,,, as they are generaly more reliable
and for those,, since its shorted range anyway,, a good old reliable revelver would be perfect,,
or maybe one of the new Rhino revelver,, if she also value accuracy,, they are pretty much the most acurate revelver around
https://mkschiappa.com/MKS_Chiappa_pistols/Chiappa_rhino.html
I think her hip pistol should possibly be something designed by Dabbler. Since her shoulder side-arms are projectile weapons, the weapon on her hip might be energy-based.
This is an idea. Weapon or specialty ammunition designed by dabbler for use against just super types.
First things first, NEVER mistake a magazine for a clip (I’m looking at you fellow commentators). Clips hold ammunition for insertion into an internal magazine (Think WWII games, where they hold the clip of ammunition up to the top of their rifle and shove it in), but no way to feed the ammunition into the action. Compare a magazine is a self contained unit that you put into the gun and forces the ammunition into the action. A bit of a pet peeve of mine.
I will have to say that it would be personal choice for Peggy, probably custom made. Pick any Sig, Glock, the H&K HK45, most any 1911, or a Beretta M9 and ‘custom design’ it from there.
Most accuracy comes from being used to your pistol. I would call myself fairly accurate with my Sig, but if I picked up a Glock lets say I would have to spend time learning that particular gun before being as accurate. This is more true with handguns than with rifles.
THANK you for saying that, every time someone says “clip” instead of “magazine” is like a brick to the face.
I apologise for the clip/magazine misnaming, and plead ignorance. Thanks for pointing out the difference.
No worries! :)
It’s something that comes up all the time on the internet, and gets quite irritating after a while.
For the guns, I would recommend something over the top custom. Maybe a mini-railgun disc throwing type of thing. Otherwise, you can always go with a stock .357 with Magnum rounds.
Well you could always design your own and say Dabbler built it for her. This would simplify any problems with “It can’t do that” and of course it would use widely available ammo of many types to ensure she can find ammo in the field if she runs out.
A very sensible idea. Considering all the weirdness that Peggy would expect to deal with as part of her job, it makes sense that she would carry something …. special.
Her weapon(s) may LOOK fairly normal, but would undoubtedly incorporate a variety of tweaks and enhancements from various sources – some from the US military and associates thereof, some from Dabbler, some from ARC, and, very likely a few things that Peggy came up wirh by herself (given that she supposedly knows a thing or three about guns)
you reference the idea for kusenagi’s apperance in GitS military grade custom designed to look mass produced to help her blend in to general scociety making opponents underestimate the danger they face
As previously stated, your pistol question is a can of worms. Many, many firearms out there, many, many different opinions. Personally, I’m with the 1911 crowd for accuracy. Old design, still popular. Why? Necause it’s a tough, accurate, reliable machine that’s kicked ASS for 101 years. As for power, I’m with the revolver crowd. Revolvers allow for a larger round because of fewer moving parts and the only limit to how much you can beef one up is weight. I’ve never fired 500 Smith&Wesson, but I have fired .44, .41, and .357 magnum(lots of fun!). The main concern(imo) with high caliber firearms is weight and grip. A .44 can be easier to shoot than a .357 simply because the grip scales fit the hand better. If you want all out power, you’ll only find 500 S&W, .50 Beowulf, and. 454 Cassul in revolvers. Hope this helps, I’ll go consult my ring of Gheezed Gun Nuts and see what that brings up for you. GGNs know flickin’ everything…
Scratch the. 50 Beowulf, it’s a rifle round. I also forgot to mention that the heavier a firearm, the less felt recoil there is. Simple physics, exploding powder pushes against bullet and firearm, lighter bullet flies out of firearm, firearm recoils from forces projecting bullet. Heavier objects move less than lighter ones from the same force applied. Hope this helps.
If you’re going for accuracy, and assuming Peggy is that much of a gun bunny, then the CZ75 old model would be ideal, it even has a less chunky grip generally preferred by those without “man hands”. It’s a 9mm but accuracy over stopping power balances somewhat. They aren’t cheap and are something of a collector’s piece.
For raw “BOOM” then the Super Redhawk may be the answer, it can handle .454 Casull rounds, one of the biggest pistol cartridge types around. Peggy hauling around a hand cannon like a Redhawk probably has some mileage in Dabbler’s “oh no she didn’t!” humour department.
I have to agree with Jacknife: the CZ75 is Gunsmith Cats approved! :)
I support the use of the .454 Casull in fiction.
But not in reality?
Peggy’s a gun nut and could build a very good custom out of a decent stock pistol. Pretty much any pistol with a decent caliber, extended barrel or longslide and maybe a small scope (or adjustable iron sights) will do.
If you want something that looks good and unusual but is accurate, you could go with a Hammerli 280 or Walther GSP. Draw the magazine a little longer and a thicker, wider, slightly longer barrel and say it’s a 10mm Auto custom. 10mm Auto has a flat trajectory some power and fired from a target type pistol should be plenty accurate.
Another option is a 1911A1 type, which looks a lot more common, but many IPSC competition pistols are 1911 pattern types. These can be very conservative like a stock 1911A1 or tricked out like Angelina Jolie’s pistol in “Wanted” or the Punisher’s .45 ACP.
There’s also Glock 17’s, M9s and USP if you want a more contemporary looking “plastic gun”. It will look somewhat generic because they’re both popular with LE/Military (and FPS players).
If you want something that could hurt someone in heavy armor or has superpowers (or to destroy machines), and it must be pistol sized, chances are you need special ammo (like the M903 SLAP), not so much a bigger gun. Barring “Pistols” like the Maadi-Griffin in .50 BMG or those made out of AK and AR-15 pattern rifles.
Hah! I’m loving Peggy. Looks like Sydney has met her match. :D
As far as pistols go, anything really. Any decent modern pistol is far more accurate than most shooters. Since Peggy is one of the rare individuals for whom this is not true you bring the pistol up to spec with a bunch of finicky internal changes which are invisible until you take the gun apart.
I’d go by thinking about it’s role, which would be as short range back-up for her primary weapon. If she thinks she needs firepower then a .45 acp, .40 or 10mm would be best. If she’s expecting to need a lot of bullets then a 9mm like a glock as several have suggested.
And if you want something just cool looking you could always go for the “two boxes of ammo in one magazine” Calico. Which just looks like a ray-gun anyway.
Huh, apparently they are coming out with a .40 later this year, damnit! Now I want one.
Calico arms are awesome, even though they look like sci-fi movie props rather than real guns. Especially because of that.
My suggestion assuming that arc-aegis is close enough to a government agency to have standard issue weapons a 9mm sign sauer or glock as they are a rate and he ammo is very standard in modern pistols though if she carries her own personal preference my a.357 Peggy seems like more of a revolver person they actually tend to have a smudge more accuracy andbpower .
I dislike guns as a rule but I have a certain fondness for the FN Five-seveN. I don’t know why I just do. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FN_Five-seven
For accuracy go with the glocks.
For intimidation and reasonable stopping power go with the IMI Desert Eagle .50 loaded with hydro-shok ammunition. =~_^=
DaveB I guess you wanted to break your reckord of postson this page.
Because asking people what type of handgun Peggy should be using is going to have people arguing what would be the best gun for her will do the job of getting at least 600 posts in three or four days.
Hah it wasn’t calculated. I just figured that asking for some options is better than just googling stuff, and probably most of those opinions are better informed than me, since really my only firearm experience comes from movies of video games. I’d like to go down to a range at some point, but I don’t have a lot of time to spare on the weekends. I’m more interested in rifles than pistols and most ranges around here don’t have 500M ranges.
DaveB, if you REALLY want to generate a lot of heat ask what caliber of ammo Peggy should use, and what brand. As a owner of handguns and a visitor to gun forums there is nothing that creates “discussion” like what handgun, what caliber, and what brand of ammo.
If you want size, pick anything from this list. https://www.toptenz.net/top-10-huge-personal-firearms.php Peggy might end up using the Desert Eagle in this case. Personally, I think she might use something remarkably effective for a handgun at close range – a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun. Yes, it only has two shots but usually one is all you’d need. Being a government girl, she can do just about anything she wants to it, so a rifled barrel for accuracy and saboted slugs means she can punch things in the face from a distance with an assortment of fun ammunition types.
It certainly seems (at second hand) that 12-gauge is king when it comes to pre-existing armoury fun. However, I don’t know whether you’d want to limit yourself to a standard double-barrel mechanism – I’m fairly sure there are some semi-auto shotgun variants out there, and rate of fire might be important against multiple close targets. You never know, Q Branch might be able to zweiling a semi-auto barrel for slug next to a one-at-a-time (bolt-action?) barrel for specials!