However, the TOS ones were accurate enough - you only had to hit any part of the organic mass you wanted. Still, a sight, and shooting from eye level rather than the hip would admittedly be smarter.
Or, a laser sighting, then just switch to actual phaser when you’re on target.
I must respond to the recoil comment, too- recoil affects accuracy a lot in a standing position. Even the extra half-second it takes to buttress one hand against the other to counteract recoil can make a time difference.
Just wondering … if you have transporter technology reduced to small arm scale … and you can use sensors to target someone you can’t even see … why don’t you just program the projectile to materialize inside your target, preferably taking out a vital organ in the process?
Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas both have mini-nukes which appear to be about the size of a football. They are launched from a bazooka-ish weapon called The Fat Man. The designers do give a perfunctory nod to reality in that they are difficult to use without injuring yourself and getting irradiated because the blast radius is pretty close to the maximum range the Fat Man will lob the bomb. Still, the mushroom cloud is cool and, on those rare occasions when you manage to target a cluster of enemies at a safe distance, using it can be very satisfying.
The Fallout minis bear a family resemblance to (and may indeed have been inspired by) a man-portable nuclear weapon called the Davy Crockett. Whenever I first heard of it, I also heard the story that the first step in using it was to dig yourself a trench, as the effective range was such that you faced significant risk in using it. This seems to have been an exaggeration, but not too much of one.
Folks have made .223 semi-auto pistols. They’re kind of unwieldy.
What can you tell me about this red button on the underside of the gun, though?
I think a faster weapon beats a more powerful one. I remember one story where the firearm was actually built into the helmet and was activated by thought. You can shoot the guy with a phaser before he evens draws. I seem to recall that the recoil could cause some headaches.
I don’t think anyone mentioned the Weapon Shop guns that emitted a force shield to protect the owner. At least from attacks from the front.
I also like stories where armor is thin and flexible, but becomes super stiff and hard under impact.
In terms of phaser-like flexibility, there’s also the zat’nik’tel from SG-1. One shot incapacitates most targets, the second shot within a relatively short period kills, and a third shot disintegrates. Like most Goa’uld weapons, it has terrible ergonomics, but precise aim doesn’t seem to be much of an issue; peripheral hits are effective, and even near-misses can conduct through other materials to affect the target. It can also be used to destroy electronics and disintegrate small objects.
I’m not sure it’s a contender for “best”, but between its flexible effects, forgiving aim, ability to bypass limited armor and cover, it’s probably worth considering as a personal protection weapon. As a mass-issue military weapon, not so much.
A FORCE assault weapon, from the Hyperion books. With “an 18-mm plasma rifle, variable-beam coherent-energy weapon, grenade launcher, a bhee-keeper (beams of high energy electrons), flechette launcher, a wideband blinder, [and] heat seeking dart flinger” it’s a classic Swiss Army Gun.
I interpreted it as the strength of the blade’s hunger for souls. A weaker one will kill just as effectively, but will be easier for the wielder to control. A strong one will try just as hard to take the wielder’s soul as it would an opponent’s.
Wait, I thought that the weapon still had to kill you conventionally; it’s just that, once it’s done that, resurrection is impossible. I don’t remember anything about them working on any mere injury.
