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  1. #1
    Traveler brightmidnight71 is on a distinguished road

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    Other than the contradictions in the books over his guns being single or double-action, there also seems to be confusion over the cylinders.
    When King talks about Roland's reloading technique in The Gunslinger, you get the impression that the revolvers break or open on a hinge as some old west era pistols did so he could simply drop six rounds in at once.
    However, many illustrations, in the books and graphic novels, show the guns clearly as models that load and empty one shell at a time through a port behind the cylinder--very common for old west guns, especially for black power guns that were converted for use with modern shells.
    This doesn't lend itself well to a fast reload of any kind.
    And, yet again, in Wizard and Glass there is a reference to Roland swinging out the cylinder of his gun, as if it were a modern wheel gun. So...in short, there are no guns that could match all the descriptions of the Big Irons.

  2. #2
    Roont Daghain is on a distinguished road Daghain's Avatar

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    Hey, welcome to the site! I have to confess that I completely missed that in my many readings of the series (although I confess I am not that knowlegable about guns).

    Maybe Gilead has some mythical super weapons.



    "People, especially children, aren't measured by their IQ. What's important about them is whether they're good or bad, and these children are bad." ~ Alan Bernard


    "You needn't die happy when your day comes, but you must die satisfied, for you have lived your life from beginning to end and ka is always served." ~ Roland Deschain

  3. #3
    Traveler tipp-ed off is on a distinguished road

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    I didn't think it was an inconsistancy on King's part more of Roland's understanding of our world. In the Drawing of the Three when Roland/Mort walked in to "Fat Johnny's" and looked at the caliber chart. He pointed at the Winchester .45 ammunition and even thought it wasn't exactly like his own shells...they were close. When he spoke to the police in front of the gun store he said "I went to buy shells for my brother. He has a .45 Winchester Revolver." Since he was getting all his info from the Mortsipedia and Mort didn't know anything about guns, he went with what "Fat Johnny" described the .45 caliber ammo to be.
    It's funny how everyone tries to classify "The Big Revolvers" with a gun manufactured in our world although they were clearly made from Eld's sword. Why couldn't they have slightly different look or mechanics than what guns we know from our own wild west?

  4. #4
    Gunslinger Apprentice lead dealer is on a distinguished road lead dealer's Avatar

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    In a world of homicidal robots, sneeches and atomic water pumps. I think they can manage to make a swinging cylinder.....

    In the drawing of the 3 It mentions Detta pulling the cylinder releice back and swinging out the cylinder to examine the shells.......


    Thanks for the tower pedia entry Matt.... My ramblings over the last few years have not gone un noticed!


    Thank Gan, thought I was going crazy........

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    Roont Daghain is on a distinguished road Daghain's Avatar

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    Hopefully we'll get the new wiki format up soon - that will be supercool.



    "People, especially children, aren't measured by their IQ. What's important about them is whether they're good or bad, and these children are bad." ~ Alan Bernard


    "You needn't die happy when your day comes, but you must die satisfied, for you have lived your life from beginning to end and ka is always served." ~ Roland Deschain

  6. #6
    Traveler brightmidnight71 is on a distinguished road

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    Quote Originally Posted by tipp-ed off View Post
    I didn't think it was an inconsistancy on King's part more of Roland's understanding of our world. In the Drawing of the Three when Roland/Mort walked in to "Fat Johnny's" and looked at the caliber chart. He pointed at the Winchester .45 ammunition and even thought it wasn't exactly like his own shells...they were close. When he spoke to the police in front of the gun store he said "I went to buy shells for my brother. He has a .45 Winchester Revolver." Since he was getting all his info from the Mortsipedia and Mort didn't know anything about guns, he went with what "Fat Johnny" described the .45 caliber ammo to be.
    It's funny how everyone tries to classify "The Big Revolvers" with a gun manufactured in our world although they were clearly made from Eld's sword. Why couldn't they have slightly different look or mechanics than what guns we know from our own wild west?
    I think it might be more that King simply wanted to describe the guns in different ways based on the different contexts, and keeping things consistent throughout seven novels is no easy task. Also, only "gun people" like me would even think about things like this.
    I completely agree with you in that there isn't, and shouldn't be, a directly comparable firearm in our world. The fact that his guns use .45 Winchester, or something very close to it, is telling because that was an extremely common caliber in the old west for pistols and rifles, so it's very fitting.
    We also must remember that, things have a tendency to change a bit when moving from our world to Roland's and vice versa. Roland's gun turns to a rusted hulk when it travels with Susannah. Perhaps the rounds he got while riding Jack Mort changed slightly to accommodate Roland's guns when he brought them back?
    The background of the Big Irons is pretty mysterious too. As you said, it would be absurd to think that a Gilead gunsmith of old forged the blade of Excalibur into pistol barrels and the guns came out to look like a Colt Army model.
    For me, it's more of coming up with a mental picture of what these guns look like...and with the comics and seemingly impending film adaptations, that seems a little more important these days.
    And since we don't exactly know how Arthur Eld brought firearms to his world, whether he traveled to another world we've never seen and brought guns back, or simply returned with the technology, yeah it's very possible that Roland has something that resembles an old west revolver in our world, but with a rolling cylinder.
    But, I will always think of his guns as something that look like a Smith and Wesson Schofields or Walker Colts like Clint had in The Outlaw Josey Wales.

  7. #7
    Wolf Woofer will become famous soon enough Woofer will become famous soon enough Woofer's Avatar

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    Hasn't King admitted that he just didn't care enough to research the information to make the gun references correct?
    It'll take a lot more than words and guns,
    A whole lot more than riches and muscle.

    The hands of the many must join as one.
    And together we'll cross the river.

    Puscifer, "The Humbling River"


  8. #8
    Kingslayer John Blaze is a jewel in the rough John Blaze is a jewel in the rough John Blaze is a jewel in the rough John Blaze's Avatar

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    I read that somewhere too, and although I AM a gun nut, I think it's ok. It's a fantasy series, it doesn't have to be realistically compatible.
    "So many vows. They make you swear and swear. Defend the King, obey the King, obey your father, protect the innocent, defend the weak. But what if your father despises the King? What if the King massacres the innocent? It's too much. No matter what you do, you're forsaking one vow or another."

  9. #9
    Gunslinger Apprentice lead dealer is on a distinguished road lead dealer's Avatar

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    Yet for those of us that are on an insane quest for a replica of one of Roland's revolvers. This quest is made rather difficult by King's vagueness...

    I found mine....

  10. #10
    Roont Brice has much to be proud of Brice has much to be proud of Brice has much to be proud of Brice has much to be proud of Brice has much to be proud of Brice has much to be proud of Brice has much to be proud of Brice has much to be proud of Brice has much to be proud of Brice's Avatar

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    Well, King's never been one for letting research get in the way of story as far as I can tell.
    The Awesomest fled across the desert and The Awesomer followed.

    If you rescue me
    I’ll be your friend forever


    I wish that I could write fiction, but that seems almost an impossibility. -howard phillips lovecraft (1915)




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