This is in F&F, but I thought I'd field this here. I'm at work now, so don't want to be seen going to websites about weapons. Big Brother might get the wrong idea...
The character uses a dart gun, the dart contains poison. Is there a better, less inane term than dart gun?
[This message has been edited by ChrisOwens (edited April 19, 2005).]
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
airgun? describe the propellant rather than the projectile?
Posted by Jeraliey (Member # 2147) on :
You could make up a kind of proper name for it. If it's a common tool, that might be even more believable.
I guess it depends on how familiar the weapon is to the person naming it. If it's awkward for him and he's not comfortable with it, I think the term "dart gun" is appropriate in its clumsiness. If your character is more familiar with it, he should call it something that better reflects that familiarity.
[This message has been edited by Jeraliey (edited April 19, 2005).]
Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :
I still fail to understand why dart gun is inane. I like Jeraliey's idea of making up a proper name for it, like Magnum, but if you do that, you'll probably wind up creating exposition for yourself.
"He pulled his Lector 47, the smallest dartgun on the market, from his pocket."
Posted by Elan (Member # 2442) on :
The term "blowgun" is also appropriate.
Posted by benskia (Member # 2422) on :
What about a blowpipe? That would be a great choice of weapon if you didn't need massive range, but wanted something poisonous.
Posted by Pyre Dynasty (Member # 1947) on :
Is it a blowgun or a spring propelled gun? (Or I think that there are ones that take Co2 cartriges.) You could call it a pointy projectile accelerator, but that might be more inain.
Posted by Robyn_Hood (Member # 2083) on :
Is it a tranquilizer gun that is being used to shoot a poisoned dart instead of a tranquilizer dart?
If so you could call it a tranq gun or tranquilizer gun. However that could cause some confusion about the nature of the dart.
Given the context you presented over in F&F, I thought dart gun was perfectly fine. I don't think it sounds hokey or inane. Since you only use the ter once anyways, I don't think there is any need to get creative over it. The goal should be to be as simple and direct in your use of language as possible. Creating or using a term that needs to be explained does not meet that goal.
Dart gun is simple, concise and says what you need it to say. If you have one word in your story that feels inane to you, oh well. It's one word!
Posted by ChrisOwens (Member # 1955) on :
>Is it a tranquilizer gun that is being used to shoot a poisoned dart instead of a tranquilizer dart? Yes, most likely. But a handgun, not rifle-like.
>Is it a blowgun or a spring propelled gun? (Or I think that there are ones that take Co2 cartriges.) Definitly not a blowgun, and I don't think a spring would have a good enough range, would it? CO2, sounds better...
Posted by Josh Leone (Member # 2365) on :
MI6 employed a wide selection of air powered weapons for short range engagement. Ricin (I think that's how it's spelled) was a popular poison for use with air weapons.
I've heard them called Gas Guns, CO2 Weapons, Air Guns, but I'm with MaryR on this one. I see nothing wrong with Dart Gun.
Josh L
Posted by Doc Brown (Member # 1118) on :
If it needs to be quiet, you might consider electromagnetic propulsion. Given very precise engineering, a good power supply, and a long enough barrel, this could be almost silent. Actually, if the gun has room for a centrifuge, it doesn't need the long barrel.
And the poison might be curare, depending on the role this gun plays. It's the paralytic used in surgical anaesthesia to keep patients immobile. In my previous job I observed lots of patients under anaesthesia, and the effect of curare is amazing and creepy. It makes a living, breathing, even conscious person into a paralyzed slab of meat.
I'm using various forms of curare in several of my stories. For dramatic putrposes, the stuff is too good to be true.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
If you have a good power supply, you don't need a long barrel, a high powered solinoid can accelerate a dart up to a pretty good speed all by itself.
"Needler" is a common term for any SF weapon that uses darts or something similar. You could call it a flechetter or flechette gun, but that usually implies a very high speed projectile with small fins which both stabilize the projectile and inflict additional damage on personel, and it would be atypical for them to need poison.
"Dart gun" is probably fine, unless you're really unhappy with it.
It's one word! 