Technical-speak weapons primer for writers

By Charles K. Bush
Feb. 27, 2005

As a writer and avid reader for at least 50 years, I am continually chagrined by the lack of knowledge in certain areas by many writers.

Several best-selling novelists--all of whose works I enjoy very much--sometimes make blatant errors in a variety of fields. This I attribute to the writer first; then to his/her agent; then to the publishers' readers...then back to the writer whose responsibility it is to proof his or her work. In short, if a writer, agent, or publisher's reader doesn't know the subject, an error will be printed...in 50,000 copies or more.

As a technical editor and consultant, I feel it is vital for me to know exactly what I am working with; to that extent, I research every questionable word in a manuscript.

One of the prevailing ailments in the fiction business is the lack of technical knowledge regarding weaponry. As a Marine, I was thoroughly indoctrinated in small arms, and later pursued arms as one of my hobbies. So let's begin with that:

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