By Peggy Tartaro,
Executive Editor

Imagine you are in a room full of people, sitting around three long U-shaped tables in a seminar format. Now imagine that a man is standing at the top of the "U" holding his "students" spellbound with a recitation of the plot of Macbeth, complete with quotes-and not just the easy, "Out, out damn spot" ones.

Got that image firmly fixed in your mind? For some people, the yawn is already forming. But, let's add a few items to the plot of this story.

The man is using Shakespeare's Macbeth as a way of explaining the mindset of law enforcement officers who go bad, and become criminals themselves. He's explaining it to an audience composed of mystery writers. And the guy shooting Shakespearean quotes as fast and as accurately as an IPSC champion is Massad Ayoob, one of the best- known names in the firearms world.

Ayoob's tour de force was part of the third annual Firearms & Fiction Seminar hosted by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF-parent of Women & Guns) and Academics for the Second Amendment (A2A) with help from the folks at the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).

The rationale behind the seminars is to provide published fiction writers with the tools to more accurately represent firearms in popular fiction. The format allows for a day and a half of classroom instruction and a full day at the range, where participants get a chance to fire a variety of guns.

Participants must have published work. At this seminar, all of the writers work in the mystery/thriller genre. At past events, participants have also included those working in the science fiction and fantasy genre and television screenwriters. Before attending, participants are asked to self-evaluate their firearms knowledge. At the 2002 event, no one identified themselves as more knowledgeable than "intermediate," with most identifying themselves as "novices," and one cheerfully responding that her firearms knowledge was "zip."

As in prior years, the seminar was held in Las Vegas, with shooting done at the Desert Sportsmen's Club, on the edge of town (the edge of Las Vegas keeps getting closer and closer to Desert Sportsmen's). Firearms instruction chores are handled by the crew from T-CATT in Martha, Oklahoma. Returning instructors Trey Minton, Clovis Oyler and Dave Swanson were assisted this time by Larry Locke, Charla Locke and Mary Ann Oyler. For the first time in the seminar's history, the T-CATT group provided a full Simunitions demonstration at the range, in which several of the writers got to enact a hostage rescue situation.

Before going to the range on the second day, the class took a full day's instruction from presenters who covered a lot of ground. SAF President Joseph Tartaro began the day by taking the participants on a historical tour of firearms and projectiles, starting with what is arguably the first such instance in literature-David's confrontation with the Philistine Goliath.

A2A's Professor Joe Olson and the Independence Institute's David Kopel offered a presentation on Constitutional issues and the legal use of deadly force to give the authors some idea of what happens in real life when citizens or policeuse a gun to defend themselves.

Next up, Mas Ayoob and I held forth on some examples of how writers get guns wrong in their books. Our purpose is not to pick on anyone, but to allow the writers present to see the decision process and often quite basic knowledge that would go into building a realistically armed character.

One example I use is the petite female private eye who lives in an artist's loft in Boston. She keeps a 10-gauge shotgun in her front hall closet! Now, as I explain to the writers, a 10-ga. isn't "wrong"-it will function and it could save your character's life. But it isn't a realistic choice for someone who has already been described as small-statured and living in an urban loft.

Ayoob had a few bad examples of his own. Whereas your humble editor merely shakes her head at some of the common mistakes in books, Ayoob confessed to throwing books across the room when the "10-foot flames start shooting out of ordinary rifles."

A lunch break provided a stretch of the legs and the opportunity for everyone to digest not just the meal but the morning's information. It was also an opportunity to ask more questions and to network with each other-many of the writers knew one or two others, but no one knew everyone.

After lunch the seminar resumed with a fascinating look at the real world of forensics, courtesy of Las Vegas Police Department criminalist Torrey Johnson. Using slides, props and his own vast knowledge, Johnson showed the writers what was possible, what was probable, and what was just plain wrong in the world of ballistics, stopping power, gun tracing and ballistic imaging. He drew a big laugh when he confessed his wife won't let him watch the popular TV show, "CSI," because it upsets him so much.

Kopel was up next with T-CATT's Trey Minton. Both are attorneys, and their segment focused on guns, self-defense, criminals and the differences between the US and other countries when it comes to law and order and individual rights.

The writers were receptive to a presentation by NSSF's Gary Mehalik, vice president of communications for the group, and Michael Bane, an author who consults with NSSF. Both were able to explain some of the many varieties of shooting sports and the ways in which they could be employed in books to show a character's competence with firearms, or just to add authenticity. Not surprisingly, many were fascinated by Cowboy Action Shooting, but they were also startled to learn that the shooting sports are not just a young person's game, and that the oldest Olympic competitors are typically shooters. For those writing about characters on the gray side of 40, that was welcome news.

To finish off the first day, participants got their first safety briefing from the T-CATT group, followed by individual sessions for those who would take part in the Simunitions demonstration the following day.

The full day at the range for the writers was divided into two chapters. In the first, five of the participants went through the Siminutions experience in which functioning handguns fire a special cartridge. The cartridge can sting, and if misused cause injury, so protective gear including a mask and padded vest, is used.

Each participant's gun was triple checked and then he or she given a scenario in which a loved one had not returned from outside after parking the car or investigating a noise. Participants were instructed to visualize the face of a real loved one before setting out on their mission. Those who would follow the first Simunitions role player were kept sequestered so that they could not learn anything from someone else's actions.

All of the Simunitions users were confronted with a similar situation, in which a loved one was physically restrained by a hostage taker. In some situations the hostage was on the ground, with the criminal hovering above, armed, and hurling curses. In others, the criminal held the hostage as a shield in front of him. In some cases, the "bad guy" had a gun only; in others, a knife was visible and a gun held back behind the hostage.

In normal practice, Simunitions drills would not be run with novices with whom the instructors had only worked for a short time. Also unusual was the opportunity for those not participating to view the exercises. Here again, safety was stressed, and anyone watching the drills was sequestered in a closed van with an instructor in each van. Even those observing from the vans were issued safety glasses.

As might be expected, because of the low level of practical firearms knowledge, most Simunitions participants failed to "win" their scenario. Only two managed to hit the bad guy and several hit the hostage. One participant experienced a gun jam because of an imporper gun grip, ending his scenario.

After each Simunitions run, the actor was taken away, sequestered, and "debriefed" in much the same way a civilian who was involved in a real shooting would interact with police.

When all the Simunitions drills were completed, the entire group returned to the main range and discussed the morning's activities over lunch. Both the actors and the observers of the Simunitions experience agreed that it had been valuable to come as close as possible to a real life situation involving a firearm.

After lunch, and another safety briefing, the writers observed a demonstration of energy transferance in which gallon jugs of water dyed red were placed downrange. Literally exploding some movie and television myths, the water jugs were shot with a handgun, rifle and shotgun to show the actual damage done by these guns at fairly close ranges. Only the shotgun provided the visual impact that people are used to seeing on the screen.

Another safety lecture followed and, guided by the T-CATT group, with assistance from Ayoob and Washington state firearms instructor Linda Pendleton, participants took one-on-one instruction and tried a variety of firearms, ranging from .22 revolvers to a .50 Barrett. The writers were encouraged to try as many as they would be comfortable with, with most taking at least one shot with each gun. As usual, many writers stuck literally to their guns, determined to master a particular firearm before moving on to another one.

As they came off the line they were able to discuss their experiences with the other seminar presenters and many asked questions related to character-why a particular person might choose the gun they had just used.

After a long day at the range under beautiful fall desert conditions, participants returned to the hotel for a group dinner in which the discussions most often centered on the day's experiences.

Wrapping up the program on the final day with a half day of classroom activity, Bane, Ayoob and I began by returning to the theme of character. Because the writers had now experienced the use of firearms and witnessed the Simunitions demonstration, they were better able to understand some of the points concerning why a particular character would realistically act in particular ways with firearms. It was here Ayoob used Macbeth as his jumping off point. I've known Mas a long time and believe him capable, confident and competent in any number of fields, but I wouldn't have thought to put Shakespearean scholar on the list before!

Minton, Oyler, Swanson and Locke then led the class through a discussion of the Simunitions experience with those who had participated reporting on their feelings and actions.

Alan Gottlieb, founder of SAF and NSSF's Mehalik then discussed a variety of current topics in the firearms rights movement, including waiting periods, ballistic imaging, accident statistics and so-called smart guns. This allowed the writers to get an overview of some issues which appear in public from time to time and to understand the reality behind the headlines.

All of the presenters then took part in an open question-and-answer session with the writers, which also included details on finding and using references, experts and other resources in their work.

The main reason for this program, and for similar programs NSSF runs for journalists, is to provide the opportunity for those who write about guns to have actual hands-on experience, demystifying the process for many and to provide a continuing resource for the writers.

In the three years SAF and A2A have been running the program, we've found the writers come to us with some skeptism-and in some cases trepidation-but end up with a positive experience as well as a resource to return to for further exploration of firearms and the issues surrounding them.