# What will guns look like in 100 years?



## AndrenikYSergoyan (Feb 23, 2016)

I'm working on a sci-fi short story that takes place 100 years from now in the US. This world is far from dystopian, however crime and violence still exists (as it always will). I'd like to accurately portray the kind of technology law enforcement will likely employ in 2117. Perhaps combustible propulsion will still be used, but for the sake of my story, I'm leaning toward magnetic or some other propulsion system more like rail or coil guns, lasers, or even guns that fire nanobots.

What do you guys think will be plausible in 100 years? Creative yet grounded in reality.


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## WaylanderToo (Feb 23, 2016)

try a range of non-lethal arms... maybe some sort of glue-gun? Targeted sound weapons (shades of Hawkwind there )?


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## Dennis E. Taylor (Feb 23, 2016)

Law enforcement? Sedative-firing flechette guns. Darts are coated in something like cobra venom, but non-lethal. You can fire if someone is holding a hostage without worrying about hitting the hostage, any shot that hits the target will take them out, you can stop them from doing something without killing them, and you always get to drag them off to jail.


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## J Riff (Feb 23, 2016)

Rusty.


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## Jaxx (Feb 23, 2016)

J Riff said:


> Rusty.



Made me chuckle.







The future of humanity will probably print them for next to nothing and it'll be like Minecraft, crazy designs, but alot more anarchistic.


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## Ajid (Feb 24, 2016)

It will depend on the requirement of the weapon. What has happened between now and then in yoyr story? What would drive a change, if there was a drive for change, in your weapon. It's up to you. The weapons in most crimes tend to be what's at hand, war has more of an influence on the advancement of weapons. I think rail guns in 100 years, for more than a one time use, would still require an energy level beyond what we will be able to achieve to make it a reliable re-usable weapon. However a brief war or reason for an organisation to create a nanobot gun, maybe as an assination weapon would be enough to make it an interesting part of the story. How hard sci fi do you want to go?

Honestly the fact you are thinking about this is making me want to read it asap.


I like the idea of non lethal for law enforcement though. Sick Stick anyone?


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## hopewrites (Feb 24, 2016)

Smaller.
 Easier to pack around, for beat-cops.

Larger, more intimidating, for SWAT response units.

Can we get a mobile-ap that manages ammo types? Dispatch sends you on a domestic dispute call, and you swipe over to rubber bullets and sedative spray. Dispatch sends you on a rabid animal call, tranc-darts and weighted nets. Your walking down your street and you see what looks like suspicious activity, swipe over to launchable listening device and fire that over to hear if you need to respond or let the gossipers go unhindered...


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## Alex The G and T (Feb 24, 2016)

The mention of law enforcement, in the top post, brought to my mind mob control.

Like Waylander, my first thought were sonic weapons; because I've been catching stray articles about them for several years.

Currently, the equipment tends to be bulky and heavy.  It won't take a hundred years until they become handheld, I think.

New World War: Sonic Weapons


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## Mirannan (Feb 24, 2016)

I think one possibility would be the spread of binary liquid propellant and caseless projectiles; the inherent problems with cooling ought to be soluble - perhaps with radiator fins around the barrel, making the gun look a bit sci-fi-ish. Another possibility for some uses might be homing ammo, maybe even with limited AI in the bullets. (Fire-and-forget missiles already exist, and one of the strongest technological trends is miniaturisation.)

Try this one: The XM25 grenade launcher already exists, with a capability for airburst at a defined range. (A suggested use is against people hiding behind a wall.) I don't see why some sort of nonlethal ammo for this couldn't be developed - maybe a spray of fast-setting glue, for example.


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## Vince W (Feb 24, 2016)

Guns are so last millennium. Cops will be trailed by swarms of weaponised drones. Guns, stunners, gas, drugs, all at easy disposal.


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## logan_run (Mar 2, 2016)

like the one  on spacee 1999


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## Kieran Song (Jun 5, 2016)

Maybe they'll fit like gloves and we can blast people like iron man?


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## Ray McCarthy (Jun 5, 2016)

They will look much like now.

Most stuff on TV/Cinema SF is actually purely for appearance, cosmetic with no thought to function, or actually modified copies of 50 to 100 year old weapons.

You might have an electronic viewfinder/scope, a rotating miniature camera on the end of the barrel and interchangeable types of projectiles and additional security. But we have all that today.
It might be able to switch between chemically propelled bullets, compress gas propelled hypo darts (unlikely to be ever quick) and compress gas propelled dual high voltage corded dart (Taser), but likely like today for efficiency and weight these will still be three classes of weapon. All the stressed parts and barrel will be metal. Plastic & Ceramic based weapons are always going to be inferior and only exist to defeat government sponsored security check points.


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## Stephen Palmer (Jun 5, 2016)

More importantly, what will peace look like?


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## BAYLOR (Jun 5, 2016)

Stephen Palmer said:


> More importantly, what will peace look like?



Like A dead planet Earth.


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## Stephen Palmer (Jun 6, 2016)

BAYLOR said:


> Like A dead planet Earth.



I think that may be a tad pessimistic. Human understanding - including of ourselves - is a one-way process. That gives us hope for the future.


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## BAYLOR (Jun 6, 2016)

Stephen Palmer said:


> I think that may be a tad pessimistic. Human understanding - including of ourselves - is a one-way process. That gives us hope for the future.



Many years ago, I had a dream that I was in a ship over the Earth. The world below was dead, blasted , burn't waterless and cratered . There was nothing alive on the surface.


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## Stephen Palmer (Jun 7, 2016)

That's definitely not going to happen. How could any species, even us, destroy all bacteria, archaea, etc etc. There's archaea living miles underground; some scientists think the great majority of life on Earth ('by weight,' as it were) is beneath the surface. Even plants are fantastically strong.

Most people discussing this issue assume by "life on Earth" they're talking about "human life on Earth." We may destroy our species, but no way are all the bacteria, archaea, sponges, jellyfish, etc going to go... not to mention the tardigrades!


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## Vince W (Jun 7, 2016)

That's exactly what the jellyfish are waiting for... those evil, silent, inscrutable buggers.


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## WaylanderToo (Jun 8, 2016)

Vince W said:


> That's exactly what the jellyfish are waiting for... those evil, silent, inscrutable buggers.




already started...


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