Iconic Guns from Across the TL

[RyanW]

If you're talking about iconic in terms of pop-culture recognition, I'd say, for US non-military, the closest thing to a definition of TL 6-7 firearms would be the Smith & Wesson revolver.

"The most powerful handgun in the world" types transitioned from .357 revolvers to .44 magnums, then to Desert Eagles. Mostly impractical, unless your goal is to have a visually impressive gun (which is why they are so common in the movies). You might occasionally still see some huge revolver, like .454 Casull.

Holdout pistols (when they're even acknowledged) went from snub nosed .38s to baby Glocks and similar small framed automatics.

The icon of an early TL8 "agent" type (largely due to the imagery of the Secret Service during the Hinkley attack) would be the Uzi. Later TL 8 it transformed to the MP5. The MP5K is the classic gun-in-briefcase for classy assassins and secret agents. The P90 gets a little bit of traction these days, probably because of Stargate SG-1.

With shotguns, it's almost always a basic pump, unless it's a double barrel sawed way down. If it's someone with backing, maybe a SPAS-12, which earned a spot in the public imagination after the first Jurassic Park.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by Boomerang

What is the gun Arnie uses in the same movie?

Originally Posted by Ternas

If you're speaking of Arnie's shotgun used with a one hand flip, that would be a Winchester 1887.

He uses several guns, most prominently a modified M134 minigun and an M79 grenade launcher against the assembled police officers outside of Cyberdyne (0.0 casualties).

Incidentally, there is the Internet Movie Firearms Database just for occasions like this. http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Terminator_2:_Judgment_Day

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Wavefunction

The problem with this is that I basically don't register guns as anything but a tool, I can't really remember any gun from anything I've watched that's stood out to me. Hence why I'm coming to you guys, you can give me ideas, then I can go and read up on them, and get a good idea of some iconic weaponry. This is for my players, not for me, I'm sure they'll chime in on the discussion at some point.

I did sometimes recognize guns that looked like previous guns, when watching movies as a child or early in my teen years.

For instance the distinctive SMG with the drum magazine used in many Prohibition-era gangster movies and TV shows. But what I recognized was specifically the drum magazine look - I would probably not have noticed the difference between two different brands of SMGs both using drum magazines (also I didn't distinguish between SMGs and assault rifles, which is why the use of SMGs in "Where Eagles Dare" confused me, because I originally thought that automatic rifles hadn't been invented before after WWII, or at least come into widespread use).

Likewise I quickly learned to recognize the Uzi (but did not know about even the Mini-Uzi before I read about it in the Danish RPG "Via Prudensiae", which also had the Micro-Uzi).

I don't think I particularly noticed the AK47. Maybe as a "typical bad guy military automatic rifle" because of the magazine shape, but maybe not. It's not all that distictive. Likewise probably not the M16.

More tellingly, despite watching "Die Hard" several times in the early 1990s, I never noticed the "futuristic" look of the Steyr AUG weapons used by Hans Gruber's dudes. Not until much later, when some texts had made me aware of them. Only then was I able to go "yeah, OK, those do look unusual".

And that's not because I have low PER when watching movies. Even as a child I was pretty good at spotting, whenever someone drew a gun in a movie or in a TV show, whether it was a pistol or if it had a revolver-type drum. I did pay attention to guns. They just had to be fairly unusual to stand out in my mind.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

I did sometimes recognize guns that looked like previous guns, when watching movies as a child or early in my teen years.

The other examples include the Luger pistol, with its distinctive round barrel, and the Sten Gun which I think I've seen used in at least two different WWII Resistance movies. But, guns do have to look fairly distinctive to stand out to my mind...

[borithan]

Originally Posted by robkelk

I find it interesting that all the people who mentioned the Thompson Sub-Machine Gun failed to mention its ubiqutious nickname, the "Tommy Gun". Is it really that well-known under its actual name nowadays?

I did initially plan to write it as "Tommy Gun", but then decided to go with the real name. As an aside, I have seen things from the 30s and 40s where "tommy gun" seems to be a general short hand for SMG, regardless of whether it is a Thompson or not.

Originally Posted by Donny Brook

I don't think anyone has mentioned the Walther PPK or the M14 rifle.

While I can see the Walther PPK (thanks to Bond), I don't personally find the M14 that iconic. It may be a cultural thing, but it kind of falls foul of being too late for WW2 films, and while it was used in Vietnam I would argue for the M16 as being the more iconic weapon of that war.

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

For instance the distinctive SMG with the drum magazine used in many Prohibition-era gangster movies and TV shows. But what I recognized was specifically the drum magazine look - I would probably not have noticed the difference between two different brands of SMGs both using drum magazines

While other SMGs do have drum magazines (the Russian PPSh being the main one I can think of at the moment), if it is gangster films and Tv you are talking about it was probably always the Thompson. Most other guns are either too late, too obscure (you have the MP18 with its weird "snail" drum), or not iconic enough to feature in films. I believe one of the famous bank robbers from the period primarily used a BAR, but I have yet to see one of those feature in a 30s gangster film. The Germans used a picture of Churchill holding a Thompson to paint him as a "gangster," so the association is a long established one.

(also I didn't distinguish between SMGs and assault rifles, which is why the use of SMGs in "Where Eagles Dare" confused me, because I originally thought that automatic rifles hadn't been invented before after WWII, or at least come into widespread use).

Quite a difference in perspective then. The MP40 is probably what I would consider the most iconic German WW2 weapon. Helped by the fact that they are often over used in films even when the soldiers shouldn't have them (most soldiers would have bolt action rifles, and some films have them anachronistically, such as Raiders of the Lost Ark which is set in 1936).

I don't think I particularly noticed the AK47. Maybe as a "typical bad guy military automatic rifle" because of the magazine shape, but maybe not. It's not all that distictive.

Only gun to feature on a national flag.

More tellingly, despite watching "Die Hard" several times in the early 1990s, I never noticed the "futuristic" look of the Steyr AUG weapons used by Hans Gruber's dudes. Not until much later, when some texts had made me aware of them. Only then was I able to go "yeah, OK, those do look unusual".

To be fair, I didn't remember this until you mentioned it. I mostly remember Bruce Willis running around with an MP5, rather than the Steyr AUGs. I think the MP5 much more iconic than the Steyr AUG (even though the latter is a lot more visually distinctive), which probably partly explains that. I don't think it helps that they are so... spindly and weird looking. They don't really look "gun-ish" enough.

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

The other examples include the Luger pistol, with its distinctive round barrel,

I used to think of all automatic pistols as looking like that. Probably had to do with them featuring quite prominently in Tintin books (he also has what I presume is a Browning at some point in one of the books).

and the Sten Gun which I think I've seen used in at least two different WWII Resistance movies. But, guns do have to look fairly distinctive to stand out to my mind...

I think the Sten has the same problem the Steyr AUG does. It doesn't quite look enough like a gun should (however you might determine such a thing) to quite make it onto my "iconic" list. It was considered an ugly piece of kit at the time, which alongside its cheapness and reliability issues resulted in its unflattering nicknames (plumber's nightmare, woolworth's gun, stench gun being the ones I can currently remember).

[acrosome]

If you want iconic guns I guess I'd have to ask "In what setting?" Iconic TL6 guns differ significantly between, say, North America and Europe or the British Commonwealth. In one the revolver is the SAA Colt, whereas in another it's a Webley.

In general, any gun you see in High-Tech, Pulp Guns, or Adventure guns is in some way iconic. Or I guess some are just historic or interesting or odd, but most are iconic.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Donny Brook

I don't think anyone has mentioned the Walther PPK or the M14 rifle.

The Walther is James Bond's gun. However the M14 isn't all that well known. It basically looks like a Garand with a tiny magazine jutting out the bottom. The M16 has a more distinctive look.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by borithan

I believe one of the famous bank robbers from the period primarily used a BAR, but I have yet to see one of those feature in a 30s gangster film.

I know Clyde Barrow favored the BAR. A long list of fields featuring the BAR.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

The Walther is James Bond's gun. However the M14 isn't all that well known. It basically looks like a Garand with a tiny magazine jutting out the bottom. The M16 has a more distinctive look.

I'd say, for the US involvement in Vietnam, the M16 and M60 are definitely part of the image. The M14 is on the periphery, but it's there. Along with the M79 and M72 (though the later possibly just as gear to make the squad look more Vietnam-y, since you almost never see NVA tanks in a movie). The earlier in the war, the more the M14 gets to be in the image.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by RyanW

I'd say, for the US involvement in Vietnam, the M16 and M60 are definitely part of the image.

This I agree with. The two weapons have a very distinctive look, particularly the M60 with its bipod folded up under the barrel.

Also, since the 1960s, the iconic weapons of insurrectionists and communists around the world - regardless of their actual usage or designation in a given conflict - are the AK-47 (and AK-74, AKM, and other variants) and the RPG-7.

IMO, the Tommy Gun, Uzi, MP5, and P90 are all distinctive sub-guns, easily spotted and recognized as "the" sub-machine gun of their respective eras.

Derringers are distinctive, too. It's not "any concealable weapon", but a specific twin barrel over-and-under design easily concealed up a sleeve, in a garter, or in a coat pocket.