Okay, here I attempt the impossible, namely to cram everythingyouwantoknow into just a few paragraphs. Please bear in mind that I cannot possibly go into a comprehensive overview of weaponry without writing a book, and that's already been done by people a whole lot more savvy than me. ;-) But I'll try to lay out a few details for the edification of the curious fan fiction writer. Sound good? Okay, here I go, and I'll try not to make too many mistakes. :-)
Everybody has seen movies where somebody shoots a guy and blows him ten feet through a wall or window. Ya know what? Never happen. That's not how it works. If it did ... well, the shooter would have to fly ten feet in the other direction. It's physics. If you've seen cop videos, you often can't tell if the cops really shot the bad guy or not. They don't flip over or cartwheel or do anything dramatic. If the cop is lucky, the bad guy simply falls down. The best that can happen is the bullet or shotgun blast will blow a big messy exit wound and scramble the guy's insides - but he's still going to drop pretty much where he stands. If you shot a projectile powerful enough to throw a human body umpty feet, odds are the body would hit the ground in several of gooey pieces, and your gun would be mounted on a tank. ;-)
So what is knock-down power? Well, as a layman I'd say it's the kinetic energy stored in a projectile that is expended when the projectile hits its target. It seems common-sensical that a .357 is more powerful than a .22. The gun itself does effect how fast that bullet leaves the barrel, depending on barrel length and the twist of the grooves inside. But knock-down, muzzle velocity, feet per second traveled, depend quite heavily on the sort of ammunition used. The amount of gunpowder to propel the projectile plus the type/style of bullet are what dictates your knock-down. To kill an enemy five hundred yards out, you need a destructive bullet with a lot of push behind it, so that it keeps its energy long enough to strike with the desired impact.
But faster is not always better. You want your target to stop, not just spring leaks. A hot, fast bullet that goes 1200 feet per second can travel a long ways, but at closer ranges it may simply over-penetrate. In that case, if your target is big enough, mad enough, drunk or crazy enough, he may just keep coming. For closer work, a slower round that mushrooms or tumbles on impact may give better destructive force to put your target down, or at least so disrupt his vital functions that he ceases to be a threat. Something to think about when a Wendigo is about to rip your head off. ;-)
How much recoil do guns have? Well, it depends. The mass/weight of the gun plus the power of the rounds you're shooting will dictate how much bang you get for your buck. Anybody can figure out that a .40 Smith & Wesson will kick a helluva lot harder than a .22. But even within a single caliber there are variances. For example, a pocket-sized .357 will have more recoil than a big .357 with a 6-inch barrel, simply because the smaller gun cannot absorb the energy as well. Recoil also varies according to the type of cartridges you're shooting in an individual gun. Hotter loads will have heavier recoil than weaker loads in the same caliber. Not all rounds are created equal! There are as many varieties of ammunition out there as there are opinions of those who shoot them, and different rounds are designed for different purposes. You just have to decide what you want for the job at hand.
How Fast Can Sam and Dean Reload?
With semi-automatics, a man in combat should always carry at least one if not more extra pre-loaded magazines. Then reloading is just a matter of releasing the empty magazine - (pocketing it, because the damn things cost money to replace!) - slapping in a full one, and racking the slide to chamber the first round.
For a revolver, first you have to flip open the cylinder and eject the spent cartridges by pushing a little plunger that dumps them out (unlike a semi-auto which self-ejects). Then, there are speed-loaders which enable one to drop 5 or 6 bullets in the cylinder with just the twist of a little knob, but if you don't have speed-loaders, then you have to insert each round individually. Not as fast as a semi-auto, but with practice a guy can get quick, maybe 5-8 seconds.
In barest terms, a semi-automatic is a design in which the gun automatically ejects each spent cartridge when fired. Some semi-autos are single action, which means the shooter must still cock the hammer for each shot. However, many, such as Dean's 199 A1 and Sam's Taurus 9mm, are double-action, which means when the spent cartridge is ejected, the gun's action automatically feeds the next round from the magazine into the chamber for firing. One can cock the hammer on a double-action for lighter trigger pull, but it is not necessary. Full-automatic works much the same, spent cartridges are ejected and the next round automatically chambered, but it is for rifles, in which you can simply hold the trigger down and let 'er rip. (In which instance recoil becomes all sorts of interesting for the uninitiated...) (Special thanks to Evermanella for correcting me on my explanations, here! Spasiba!)
Semi-Automatics vs Revolvers:
Semi-automatic pistols have safeties but revolvers do not. With a revolver you load the bullets into the 'cylinder', while for a semi-automatic you load the 'magazine' which is inserted into the grip. The thing you cock is the "hammer" while the thing you pull is the "trigger". (Most modern handguns, revolver or semi-auto, are double-action, meaning you do not have to cock them first to shoot, unless you feel like it.) And no matter what the movies show, you never, ever spin the cylinder on a revolver then slap it closed. That's a good way to bend the little crane that holds it and render the pistol useless.
On an automatic, the sequence to load is: insert the magazine (firmly), rack the slide (briskly) to chamber the first bullet, and set the safety until you are ready to shoot. If you decide to unload, you push the magazine release which drops the magazine (catch it, please, they're not disposable), and rack the slide again to eject the bullet seated in the chamber.
"Finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot."
"Never aim at anything you are not prepared to destroy."
"B. R. A. S. S. - Breathe, relax, aim, slack, squeeze." - That's how the Marines taught John Winchester to shoot, and that's how he would have taught his boys. No jerk and flinch, no turning the gun sideways (like, the sights are on top, hello?), no spray-and-pray. BRASS.
What we see Dean Winchester do when he spreads their arsenal all over a motel bed and breaks them down to their innermost bits is pure Marine Corps training. (Good boy, Dean, have a cookie.) That complete strip-down clean is not necessary on a daily basis, but if your guns are in regular use, it should be done as often as needed. However, every time a weapon is fired, it should be given a thorough scrubbing without the disassembly. Gunpowder is corrosive and if left uncleaned, it will begin to eat the metal. Also, shotguns that regulary shoot rock salt will need especial care, because salt and steel is an evil, evil mix. Hot water, a good scrub, then a liberal coat of oil is the cure. Oh, and the smell that will linger on Dean's clothes and hands? Not gunpowder, but cleaning solvent. Pungent stuff, unforgettable. ;-)
A 'cartridge' is the metal casing in which the gunpowder propellent is placed. A 'bullet' is the projectile fired out of the gun. A 'round' is a catch-all phrase for the entire package of cartridge and bullet.
When you read a triple-digit caliber such as .223 or .308, it is never pronounced "two hundred twenty three" or "three hundred eight". It is always, always spoken as "two-twenty-three", "three-oh-eight" and etc. The 0 in calibers is pronounced "oh" or "ought", never "zero".
Just as a helpful note to writers, here are a couple details.
Silver Bullets: know that bullets made of 100% silver are pretty much a myth. The melting point for silver (961.78°C or 1763.20°F) is almost three times higher than lead (327.46°C or 621.43°F), and conventional bullet molds would melt in the attempt. I did find an article where someone made a silver bullet using a custom lathe and a graphite bullet mold. But at the author's estimated $7 cost of a pop, well, the Winchesters would have to know someone who makes the darned things as a specialty. Bullets jacketed in silver plating would seem to be plenty efficient - not to mention cost a lot less! ;-)
Rock Salt Rounds: shotgun shells can be loaded with salt because the casings are either a plastic or cardboard tube that is designed to be filled with small multiple projectiles. Rifle shells, however, are simply a metal casing filled with gunpowder and topped with a solid projectile bullet, which renders it so there is simply no place to put rock salt in a rifle round. (Spasiba again to Evermanella for her suggestions for this section!)
There ain't no such thing, and I want to slap the words right out of Dean Winchester's clever little mouth. ;-) It's "former Marine", thankyouverymuch, because there's no such thing as an "ex" Marine. You can take the boy out of the Corps, but you can't take the Corps out of the boy. Semper Fi! ;-)
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