Historical gun help.

[paradoxhorizon]

I'm not very gun-savvy, but yet again I find myself writing gun-wielding characters! I can find info on guns and when they were made and so on, but I'm feeling completely uncertain with this story so I have come seeking the wisdom of the internet

Comments

[rileyc]

A shotgun would likely be your best bet. It's something very likely to be found on a farm, and it packs a good wallop.

Try this link: http://www.guncollectorsclub.com/shotguns_browning.htm

[paradoxhorizon]

Ooh. Thanks for the link!

[alessandriana]

Mayhaps this post will help. The gun he mentions, the Browning Sweet Sixteen, was manufactured between, according to this, 1903 and 1938, so the timeline at least would fit.

[paradoxhorizon]

Thank!. That post also gives a nice sense of the sort of people who would own a Browning Sweet Sixteen.

[sandwichwarrior]

Keep in mind(for google purposes) that the actual model was Browning A-5, "Sweet Sixteen" was a nickname refering to its' 16-Gauge Barrel.

PS: that was a beautiful link, I think there's something in my eye.

[sirriamnis]

22 rimfire rifle, or a shotgun.

A shotgun's a little easier to hit things with, and does some serious damage.

[paradoxhorizon]

Thank you.

[scribefigaro]

A rifle in a light caliber is the sort of gun a younger person on a farm might have for target practice and varmint shooting (or more likely, both at the same time) and coincidentally this is the best firearm against your Romano-style zombie. For example, a Winchester 1892 in .25-20.

[paradoxhorizon]

Thanks! Though now for some reason my brain has combined varmints and zombies and I can't get the image of zombies wandering through the wheat fields moaning, "Graaaains....graaaainsss...." while irritated farmers pick them off one by one with their rifles.

[kiffie]

A shotgun, very likely.

Sears, as well as other department stores, carried double- and single-barrel guns of varying makes and models. Most general stores would have stocked guns of different sorts, as well.

The Remington double-barrel shotgun was very popular, produced in the 1890s, and surviving guns are still used today for hunting. A double-barrel shotgun of this type would have no doubt been kept around the house for weekend hunting trips and defense. (Indeed, my family-- originally from NoDak --has had the same shotgun since the late 1800s and it was in regular use until the 1950s.)

The only downside I can see to a shotgun would be their size. Shotguns are extremely long-barreled, and getting one out quickly to dispatch a zombie would be almost impossible. Sawing the barrels off would be ideal, but would limit the gun's range and its effectiveness for hunting.

As for the upside -- "can fire anything" is a plus.

[paradoxhorizon]

Thank you for the detailed response. Very helpful.
Luckily for my MC, she only has to deal with old-fashioned slow zombies so unless she's caught totally off-guard it sounds like a shotgun will be fine. And a shotgun being able to fire anything could definitely be a good detail to remember!

[sandwichwarrior]

"Anything" is a bit of a missnomer as the shell still has to be the proper diameter, in order to fit the "Gauge" of the barrel. That said, it is true that your average shotgun will far less finnicky when it comes to "feeding it" than any other rifle or pistol.

[paradoxhorizon]

And thank you for the clarification! This has been very helpful info in resolving a detail I was just going handwave away.
(The zombies are actually in another, well, dimension with near-parallel technological development, so I have been worried that even if she could scavenge ammo, she wouldn't realistically be able to use it because of small differences in design. And realism matters so much in alternate world zombie stories! So, if I'm understanding correctly, the average shotgun should be able to handle it so long as it's the right gauge.)