Pulsers, bullets, plasma, energy weapons...

saber964 wrote:

cthia wrote:With Honorverse tech, I wonder if the old preferred concealable woman's weapon, a Derringer has been engineered to have more killing power? And perhaps a few more shots?

"I'd sure like to see what you got under your skirt."

"No you wouldn't."

The problem with a Derringer is it combat range sucks unless you are having a gunfight in a elevator or a broom closet.

Range and its a single shot weapon. Range isn't a problem for the type of woman who wears it and the situation she wears it for. The type of woman who chooses them generally aren't duelists. And they're last resort weapons. When a woman draws a Derringer, range isn't a problem. The range is even closer than in an elevator or a broom closet. The perp is on top of her.

cthia wrote:Range and its a single shot weapon. Range isn't a problem for the type of woman who wears it and the situation she wears it for. The type of woman who chooses them generally aren't duelists. And they're last resort weapons. When a woman draws a Derringer, range isn't a problem. The range is even closer than in an elevator or a broom closet. The perp is on top of her.

The problem with guns at knife fighting ranges is that they suck. It's extremely difficult to deploy them before someone is on top of you. And they are not stupid, they have some idea what you are doing and will have a plan to stop you, and are probably bigger, stronger, and more experienced at this whole hurting people thing. It's certainly better than nothing, but may well be less successful than you imagine.

The other problem is that pistols of all sorts are really pretty terrible weapons for making people promptly stop doing whatever it is that made you shoot them. They are just a lot more convenient to carry around than semi-auto shotguns. So while you might eventually kill them from blood loss, the part between then and now is kind of in doubt.

Ranged weapon are best used at range. And as an instructor once told me, once you decide to start shooting you should keep shooting until they are not longer a threat.

kzt wrote:

cthia wrote:Range and its a single shot weapon. Range isn't a problem for the type of woman who wears it and the situation she wears it for. The type of woman who chooses them generally aren't duelists. And they're last resort weapons. When a woman draws a Derringer, range isn't a problem. The range is even closer than in an elevator or a broom closet. The perp is on top of her.

The problem with guns at knife fighting ranges is that they suck. It's extremely difficult to deploy them before someone is on top of you. And they are not stupid, they have some idea what you are doing and will have a plan to stop you, and are probably bigger, stronger, and more experienced at this whole hurting people thing. It's certainly better than nothing, but may well be less successful than you imagine.

The other problem is that pistols of all sorts are really pretty terrible weapons for making people promptly stop doing whatever it is that made you shoot them. They are just a lot more convenient to carry around than semi-auto shotguns. So while you might eventually kill them from blood loss, the part between then and now is kind of in doubt.

Ranged weapon are best used at range. And as an instructor once told me, once you decide to start shooting you should keep shooting until they are not longer a threat.

Which highlights the other problem of Derringers. Stopping power.

I was hoping that Honorverse weapons would solve that problem. Something along the lines of the Derringer-like weapon in Men In Black - the Noisy Cricket.

https://youtu.be/fTqxFIpc1j4

More stopping power? You mean like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv4ZsFTwbwM

A pulser derringer or equivalent would have a fair amount of stopping power. It would probably also be loaded with anti-personnel darts, probably of the fragmenting variety, rather than solid darts.

Actually, it's probably not so much a derringer as a subcompact or holdout pulser pistol.
Think Honor's arm/finger gun. Only, y'know, as an actual standalone gun, not part of a cybernetic arm.

not quite the same thing but Victor chachet uses a very small pulsar, which he often hides up his sleeve, so in theory it is doable

Dauntless wrote:not quite the same thing but Victor chachet uses a very small pulsar, which he often hides up his sleeve, so in theory it is doable

"Holy Black holes batman"

Couldn't resist

kzt wrote:Ranged weapon are best used at range. And as an instructor once told me, once you decide to start shooting you should keep shooting until they are not longer a threat.

And as I was taught:

The enemy shouldn't even know you have a gun until about two seconds before you shoot them.

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At my house, the "things that go bump in the night" are cats.

saber964 wrote:The problem with a Derringer is it combat range sucks unless you are having a gunfight in a elevator or a broom closet.

Which is more or less the range they where intend for. A Derringer is meant more for intimidation then stopping power. Most crooks are not going to risk injury to commit their crime.

Guys, lethal pulsers can be made small enough to fit inside a cybernetic hand without interfering with the primary function of that hand. I'm going to guess that Derringer-style weapons are definitely a thing, and that they're far more dangerous than they ever could be in our world.