TLDR: Using sugar is old school, but it can be effective for minor injuries. Modern characters would likely use a commercial coagulent and antibiotics.
A trick from back in the day involved packing a wound with sugar. Apparently, this came up in the movie Shooter, where an injured character dumped sugar into a wound. (I only have the gist of what happened, I haven’t actually seen Shooter.)
The recent posts about characters “digging out” gunshot wounds and using sugar to treat injuries drew quite a few pageviews, which was nice to see, although I wonder about your guys’s safety. You do know this is for writing fiction, right? Or are your weekends really that rough?
Anything look a little unusual in this screen grab from my Writer’s Digest book’s page on Amazon?
There are two titles listed. As it turns out, Writer’s Digest will be changing the title from Weapons for Writers to The Writer’s Guide to Weapons. A lot of thought went into that decision, and I’m positive it’s a step in the right direction. The subtitle, A Practical Reference for Using Firearms and Knives in Fiction, will remain the same.
Psssst…here’s a sneak peek at the table of contents for The Writer’s Guide to Weapons: A Practical Reference for Using Firearms and Knives in Fiction, coming in July from Writer’s Digest Books. Remember: You can get the best pre-order price when you buy the book directly from the publisher here.
image via Smith & Wesson
TLDR: There isn’t one “cop gun,” but a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol is a solid default choice for modern settings.
One of the most common questions about assigning firearms to characters I’ve received through e-mail is, “What’s a good cop gun?” Although law enforcement officers use many types of firearms, this question usually refers to semi-automatic pistols. This post will cover those.
The Writer's Guide to Weapons 