Unknown Armies:Firearms

For the curious and the damned, here’s a quick look at some common firearms issues likely to come up in your games. These are necessarily brief; if your realworld knowledge supersedes these generalities, by all means go with what you know. In particular, the section on legalities contains baseline assumptions. Local laws vary, but go with these assumptions if you don’t have better information yourself. If you want more details, especially about your local laws, just call a gun store and ask. This information refers to the situation in America; foreign countries have very different laws.

Note that some information in this section falls under the rubric of “how to use firearms illegally and not get caught.” This information is provided because it’s the sort of thing that firearms-using characters in the game are likely to try, and the GM needs to know how to handle such activity. Nothing is provided in this section that cannot be readily inferred from the mass media. As stated later, however, you should understand that nothing draws the attention of law-enforcement authorities faster than illegal usage of firearms. You may think you’re slick and will get away with it, but the fact is that there will be anywhere from a couple to a couple dozen highly trained professionals doing everything they can to put your slick self behind bars.

Legalities

An adult can walk into a gun store and choose from a wide variety of revolvers, semi-automatic handguns, bolt-action rifles, semi-automatic rifles, break-open shotguns, pump-action shotguns, and semi-automatic shotguns. Long arms—rifles and shotguns—can be purchased and taken from the store immediately, but the buyer must fill out a one-page form with his name and vital statistics, describing the firearm and its serial number, and asserting that he is not a felon, is not abusing drugs or alcohol, does not have mental problems, and so forth. Handguns—both revolvers and semi-automatics—can be purchased, but must be left at the store for several days so that local law-enforcement authorities can run a criminal-records check on you; if you’re a felon, you can’t buy a gun. The only identification required is a driver’s license or some other governmental ID. (The waiting period for handgun purchases generally ranges from five to fifteen days, varying by state.)

Many restrictions on the manufacture and importation of specific types of firearms have been passed over the years. They do not restrict the sale or ownership of already-existing firearms of these types, however, and in many cases such a large quantity of these weapons are already in circulation that the various bans merely raise the price, without greatly affecting availability. If you want it, you can buy it, and you can probably afford it.

Note that the above government forms and waiting period are only a factor if you’re buying a weapon from a dealer. Firearm sales between private individuals—buying a weapon from a friend, co-worker, or what have you—are legal and unregulated, with the exception of fully automatic weapons. Fully automatic weapons—machine guns, submachine guns, military assault rifles, and the like—are not legal to buy, sell, or own without special permits. These permits are expensive, are difficult to get, and essentially require you to surrender several of your civil liberties—if you have such a permit, for example, agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms can search your home without a warrant.

Cost

As a rule of thumb, if you need a good handgun, rifle, or shotgun, $500 does the trick. Depending on your needs and budget, you can go a lot cheaper or a lot more expensive.

You can legally buy a cheap .22-caliber semi-automatic handgun for well under $200, making it very popular among street gangs. Low-end medium-caliber handguns (9mm, .38) can be had for $200 or $300. Good-quality handguns in a variety of calibers range from $400–$600. High-quality or specialty models can go for more than $1000.

Long arms tend to fall into similar price ranges. A cheap .22-caliber hunting rifle or double-barrel break-open 12-gauge shotgun can be had for $200 or less. Most good-quality rifles and shotguns—including semi-automatic rifles and pump-action shotguns, popular with movie criminals and player characters—are priced from $400–$600. Again, high-quality or specialty models—or collector pieces that have been banned from new manufacture or import—can go above $1,000. Even among banned weapons, however, the prices may not be outrageous. A typical civilian version of the AK-47 that once sold for $350 was banned in the spring of 1998; after the ban, the price jumped to $520, still well within the typical range of prices. These prices are all for new weapons. For used weapons—offered at gun stores, pawn shops, or by private owners—you can typically expect to pay $100–$200 less than the new price, assuming the weapon isn’t some sort of collector’s piece.

Operation

The mechanics of firearms operation vary widely. Some need to be cocked in some fashion before they work. Others fire from the first squeeze of the trigger. Many have a “safety” of some sort, generally a simple mechanical switch that must be flipped before the weapon functions. Details of which firearms require what sorts of operation are beyond the scope of this game, though again you’re welcome to use these details if you’re aware of them. Otherwise, assume that a character with some sort of firearms skill can safely and reliably operate any civilian firearm. Characters without a firearms skill are subject to the rules found in "Unskilled Actions."

It is illegal to carry a concealed handgun on your body without a permit. (Long arms are generally unconcealable.) Permits vary in cost and restrictions, but in general you can assume that a concealed-weapons permit may be issued to any adult who can pass a stringent criminal-records check. Expect to wait up to thirty days to receive the permit. Once you have it, however, you can carry your handgun almost anywhere. It’s often illegal to carry even otherwise legally concealed handguns into places like banks, bars, schools, court houses and police stations, though this varies by locale. A given permit is only legal within the state where it was issued. You must keep the permit with you if you’re armed and show it to police when requested.

It’s generally not illegal to carry unconcealed long arms or handguns. You can walk into a gun store, buy a shotgun, and immediately wander all over town on foot, your shotgun cocked and loaded at your side, as long as you don’t brandish it in anything resembling a threatening fashion. However, police usually take a dim view of such activity, and will certainly ask you a few questions, decide if you’re drunk or on drugs, check your record, and maybe cite you for something like disturbing the peace or being a nuisance. You’ll also probably end up causing a panic and showing up on the local news, given the spate of disgruntled mailmen/employees/schoolchildren shootings in recent years.

Rifles and shotguns must have a barrel length of at least eighteen inches. You can saw the end off your shotgun if you want with no problem, as long as the barrel doesn’t go below that limit. This generally makes it impractical to conceal long arms.

Transport

It is illegal to ship firearms through the mail across state lines without dispensation to do so—such as if you’re a legitimate gun dealer. You can bring firearms on airplanes, but they must go with your checked baggage, and you cannot bring ammunition with you. You must also inform the airline that you’re be flying with a firearm.

If you’re traveling in a car, any firearm you have with you should be unloaded, in the trunk, and preferably wrapped in a blanket or stored in a firearms case. Carrying a handgun in your glove compartment or under your seat is generally considered the same as illegally carrying a concealed weapon, with big penalties. This varies, however—in some states, you can have the gun lying on the seat next to you as long as it’s not loaded.

Repercussions

The presence of a firearm of any sort at the commission of a crime—even if the crime is jaywalking, or being drunk & disorderly—immediately puts up a red flag for law enforcement. Should a police officer realize you have a gun, no matter what the circumstances, he’s going to take the situation very seriously and will, first and foremost, attempt to neutralize the threat of the gun. Preferably, he asks you to put it down, and then finds out what the hell you were doing with it. If you refuse to surrender the firearm and cannot be reasoned with, he may shoot you outright, if you pose an immediate threat to him or anyone else.

If you’ve been charged with a crime of some sort, and you had a gun with you—even if you weren’t using it in the crime—it’s safe to assume that the legal consequences are graver than if you hadn’t had the gun, owing to the implied threat and level of malicious intent this suggests. In some places, there are additional, mandated penalties for having a firearm during a crime. In many places, claiming to have a firearm during a crime is considered the same as having a firearm during the crime, even if you were lying.

If you show up at a hospital or doctor’s office with a gunshot wound, medical personnel are typically required to notify the police immediately.

Forensics

Every rifle and handgun leaves unique marks on bullets, enabling a gun and a fired bullet to be matched up conclusively. The spent cartridge casing left in the weapon (or ejected to the side) also carries a unique mark from the firing pin that can be matched up as well.

Shotguns are a bit different, however, if you’re using pellets (also known as “shot” such as birdshot or buckshot). The pellets cannot be matched with a particular shotgun, but the metal and plastic cartridge casing that contained the pellets can. Semi-automatic and pump-action shotguns kick these used shells out to the side when fired, but break-open shotguns (such as the familiar double-barrel style) keep the shells inside until manually removed. If you want to kill someone and minimize the evidence, use a break-open shotgun and don’t remove the spent shells until you’re safely away, or use a pump-action or semi-automatic shotgun and pick up the shells before you leave.

When a firearm is used, it gains a distinctive smell and residue that indicates recent use. Cleaning a used firearm thoroughly can make such determinations much harder. However, residue is also left on the shooter. Tiny particles thrown off by the detonation can easily become lodged in your skin, giving away your recent firearms usage. The more time that passes since the firearm was used, the harder it is to obtain useful forensic evidence from the shooter.

Likewise, shooting someone at close range leaves evidence on their body that shows how close you were when the gun went off. The explosion from the end of the barrel actually tattoos the victim’s skin permanently with powder burns, if it’s within a few feet or so. If this evidence contradicts the story you tell the police, you’re in trouble.