Busted Myths

Gripes About Guns in Movies from a Retired Law Enforcement Officer

/ Ben / 5 Comments

Scattergun Joe HefferonThis guest blog post is by Joe Hefferon, the author of Scattergun: A Reckoning in Two Acts, the forthcoming Alice and other crime fiction works you can check out here. He also served 25 years in law enforcement, which flavors his fiction with a heavy dose of realism.

Hefferon originally commented on my post about guns over at Jane Friedman’s blog, where he offered some interesting insights. I invited him to flesh them out with a proper post. Although he tells me he doesn’t want to be seen as a guy you can’t watch movies with, I think his gripes about guns in movies are worth the risk. Enjoy!

~Ben

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As Seen in The Godfather: Does a Towel Really Work as a DIY Silencer/Suppressor?

/ Ben / 6 Comments

TLDR: No, a towel does not make for a good DIY silencer/suppressor.

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Assault Weapons vs. Assault Rifles vs. What You’ve Heard

/ Ben / 8 Comments
m16 vs ar15

When it comes to researching firearms for a story, don’t go by looks. One of these is a genuine assault rifle, and it’s limited to military use. The other is a model any U.S. civilian with a clean record could own, and is not an assault rifle. Can you tell the difference? Leave a comment with your guesses. (Photos via Colt and Gun Digest)

One of my favorite crime writers, Benjamin Whitmer, author of my pick for the best crime novel of 2014, Cry Father, made a post on his website today that caught my eye. It mentions a bit about politics and the president, two subjects I try to avoid on this blog, but I couldn’t ignore his excellent point about the terms “assault weapons” and “assault rifles.”

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What’s that Smell? Cordite vs. Gunpowder vs. Propellant

/ Ben / 64 Comments

TLDR: Avoid depicting cordite, use gunpowder as a default, reference propellant to look like a smarty pants.

Gunpowder propellant cordite fiction writing

Modern gunpowder (aka propellant) doesn’t always look like a powder. It’s still OK to call it gunpowder when writing, though.

When articles debunk common firearm tropes in fiction, they usually mention how the “smell of cordite” isn’t in the air after a gunfight. Cordite’s heyday as the substance that makes a gun go bang started in the late 1800s and ended with the close of World War II. That means scenes set after 1945 wouldn’t include cordite.

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Can a Pillow be Used Like a Silencer for a Gun?

/ Ben / 4 Comments

Silencers (aka suppressors) usually receive some goosing up in the physics department when they’re used in fiction. But what about the old pillow-as-silencer trope? Is there any truth to that?

Short answer: no. Pillows do a bad job of containing the explosive gases released by a gunshot. Hell, they can barely contain snoring.

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