# Why is everyone such a bad shot with a Phaser? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 22, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762 "2005-03-22T19:49:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/1 "2005-03-22T19:49:52Z")
This has always bugged me. There’s no recoil on those things. You can see the path of the beam. Yet every time there’s a shootout, everybody hits rocks, girders, etc. You should be able to snipe people with ease. And we’ve seen that the burst can last for a long time (don’t remember which episodes, something where they were heating some rocks or something). Why don’t they just leave the beam running and wave it back and forth in the path of the target? Oh, and here, let me take care of this up front: > [@Smarmy Threadshitter](#): > > Because it’s just a TV show, people! It doesn’t have to make sense! Har! Har! Har! ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/2 "2005-03-22T19:52:52Z")
They don’t have gun sights, for one thing! What I want to know is, since it is established that you can fire a sustained beam with a phaser, why don’t we see people sweep rooms with a constant beam, slicing up anything in their path? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/3 "2005-03-22T19:56:39Z")
I have to side with Smarmy on this one. In a third-season episode of _Enterprise_ one of the MACOS (i.e. marines/red shirts) picks off a distant enemy using the nifty-cool-gee-whiz scope on her phase rifle but strangely she never uses it again, nor has anyone in the history of _Star Trek_. Heck, I’d’ve thought that once handheld energy weapons became practical, and computers got small and fast enough, you could just _tell_ your weapon what to shoot and it’d aim itself. Warning: Do not aim Amaz’n Lazer at the President… ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/4 "2005-03-22T20:07:18Z")
Dammit, Jim, I’m a doctor, not a marksman! ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/5 "2005-03-22T20:20:01Z")
> [@Smarmy Threadshitter](#): > > Because it’s just a TV show, people! Really? Which one? ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/6 "2005-03-22T20:29:14Z")
Yeah, you’d think that someone could come up with some kind of TV show about space. Some kind of trip. A voyage through the stars, if you will. Huh. Oh well, back to plantin’ crops. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/7 "2005-03-22T20:38:43Z")
> [@vibrotronica](#): > > What I want to know is, since it is established that you can fire a sustained beam with a phaser, why don’t we see people sweep rooms with a constant beam, slicing up anything in their path? Pls. see the OP, paragraph three. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/8 "2005-03-22T20:56:56Z")
Well, I half suspect that it’s because the average redshirt gets less training then the average mall security guard. Probably because anyone who flunks or can’t attend Starfleet academy has to become a redshirt(I’m guessing here, but it would explain why you never see anything but officers in Star Trek). That still doesn’t explain why the officers don’t use better tactics though. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/9 "2005-03-22T20:59:56Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > And we’ve seen that the burst can last for a long time (don’t remember which episodes, something where they were heating some rocks or something). Why don’t they just leave the beam running and wave it back and forth in the path of the target? Exactly. There is no need to aim a phaser, any more than there’s a need to aim a machine gun. Point it in the general direction of the enemy and move it back and forth. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/10 "2005-03-22T21:30:22Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > Pls. see the OP, paragraph three. Uh yeah. I, uhh, totally saw that the first time I read the OP and merely composed my post to…uhhh…test you. Congratulations! You passed the test! Yes. A test. That’s the ticket! ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/11 "2005-03-22T21:35:18Z")
> [@](#): > > There is no need to aim a phaser, any more than there’s a need to aim a machine gun. Point it in the general direction of the enemy and move it back and forth. The point is that they still miss. All the time. And the Type 2 phasers from TNG are weirdly designed so it’d be nearly impossible to hit something with a human arm. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/12 "2005-03-22T21:43:00Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > And the Type 2 phasers from TNG are weirdly designed so it’d be nearly impossible to hit something with a human arm. They bought them from a Ferenghi flashlight salesman who was unloading them from a UniverseMart Blue Nova Special. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/13 "2005-03-22T21:53:36Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Exactly. There is no need to aim a phaser, any more than there’s a need to aim a machine gun. Point it in the general direction of the enemy and move it back and forth. You’ve never played Counter Strike, have you? Spray and pray is not a good strategy. I’m always amazed at how often I can miss with an automatic weapon at point blank range. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/14 "2005-03-22T22:12:46Z")
If both sides of the fight are using the sweep my phaser back and forth stategy, it would be a draw nearly everytime. So to actually have a chance to win the battle, you would have to adapt the shot quick, then duck behind cover stategy. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/15 "2005-03-22T22:40:26Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > …so it’d be nearly impossible to hit something with a human arm. I dunno, I once managed to hit a guy with a human arm. The leg worked even better. The torso, though, was a waste of time. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/16 "2005-03-22T22:52:34Z")
I just don’t think there is any reason other than **Smarmy** ’s. From what we’ve seen of how phasers work, the strategy should just be to point in the general direction, fire a sustained blast, and sweep around until you hit something. But people on the shows don’t do this for no reason that’s ever been explained on camera, and it’d be very tough to come up with a convincing rationalization. (I guess maybe a sustained blast eats up the charge really fast, but that’s not particularly consistent with what we’ve seen when people are trapped somewhere cold.) –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/17 "2005-03-22T23:04:25Z")
This didn’t stop TNG from having Picard and Riker taking target practice in the holodeck a time or two. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/18 "2005-03-22T23:13:52Z")
One of the main plot devices for Star Trek has always been “give them cool toys, then take them away.” They don’t use their phasers like laser hoses for the same reason they don’t teleport their enemies 500 feet into the air, or into a transporter buffer, or have the Enterprise stun the entire block on a regular basis, or call for evac at the first sign of trouble: It’d stop the fight too soon. Same sort of reason why they don’t have seatbelts: if they had seatbelts, they wouldn’t fall out of their seats. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/19 "2005-03-22T23:25:26Z")
Bah. If any of you had been paying attention, you’d have noticed that an unremarked effect of firing a phaser is that the shooter apparently becomes temporarily paralysed: they can’t sweep the beam, because they’re locked up tighter than Spock’s sphincter until they somehow manage to release the trigger. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762/20 "2005-03-23T00:10:35Z")
_Ahem_ The “sustained” beam settings are all “kill” settings, or “cutting” settings. Starfleet uses deadly force only as a last result. Therefore, when we see Starfleet officers in skirmishes, their phasers are set on “stun”. Stun settings generate a quick burst, not a sustained beam. For example, from the _Star Trek: The Next Generation - Technical Manual_: > [@](#): > > Setting 1: Light Stun; discharge energy index 15.75 for 0.25 seconds… Now, none of the 16 settings listed seems to have a “sustained beam” component - the longest “burst” is listed as 1.75 seconds (for settings 6, 7 and 8: Disruption Effects) However… > [@](#): > > Setting 4: Thermal Effects; discharge energy 515.75 for 1.5 seconds, SEM:NDF ratio not applicable. Base humanoids experience extensive CNS damgage and epidemal EM trauma. Structural material exhibit visible thermal shock. **Discharges of longer than five seconds produce deep heat storage effects within metal alloys** (Bolding mine.) So there is clearly a way to produce a sustained beam, though the _Technical Manual_ doesn’t seem to spell it out. I suspect that a sustained beam would have the result of depleting the weapon’s energy stores very quickly. That would explain why the standard settings produce a quick burst. It appears that there is a brief period of time required between shots for the emitters to recharge. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everyone-such-a-bad-shot-with-a-phaser/295762.md?page=2)