Projectile weapons are relatively primitive devices which accelerate and direct solid objects toward a target to achieve damaging effects by direct application of kinetic energy. Such weapons have been used by most species prior to their development of directed energy technologies.
Examples of projectile weapons include their most primitive forms, the sling or the bow and arrow. More advanced projectile weapons, flintlocks for instance, propel their projectiles by means of an explosive chemical reaction, such as that provided in igniting gunpowder. There have been numerous occasions where holographic recreations of these weapons were used, many times with the safety protocols off.
In 2063, Lily Sloane attempted to kill Lieutenant Commander Data with a Calico 9mm submachinegun in Montana. Also in that same year, Captain Jean-Luc Picard enjoyed mowing down two Borg drones with a holographic .45 caliber Thompson sub-machine gun. (Star Trek: First Contact)
On the USS Voyager in 2374, the crew fought in a holodeck recreation of World War II using various American projectile weapons of the period (M1 Garands & Colt 1911A1s) and captured German weapons (Mauser Karabiner 98ks & MP40s).
Captain Kathryn Janeway threatened to kill Seven of Nine with a holographic Colt .45 when she believed seven was a Nazi spy. She also killed the lead Hirogen with a holographic Mauser Kar 98k (after he had killed the original leader Karr, and hunted Janeway with it). (VOY: "The Killing Game, Part I & Part II")
Starfleet experimented with projectile weapons for possible use in areas where energy weapons were subject to the effects of dampening fields. One such weapon, the TR-116 rifle, could be modified with a miniature transporter and exographic targeting sensor to allow use from longer distances and through walls. (DS9: "Field of Fire")
After a book on gangs in Chicago during the 1920s was left on Sigma Iotia II, it became a blueprint for the natives' culture. Virtually everyone carried a gun, known as "heaters" and resembling "Tommy guns" of Earth's history, when they travelled. One brand of firearms was called Bang Bang. (TOS: "A Piece of the Action")
In the mirror universe, Zefram Cochrane used a projectile weapon (shotgun) to kill the first Vulcan who set foot on Earth. Commander Jonathan Archer kept this weapon in his quarters aboard the ISS Enterprise (NX-01). (ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly")
Other References
- TOS:
- "Shore Leave"
- "Arena"
- "A Private Little War"
- "Patterns of Force"
- Star Trek Movies:
- TNG:
- DS9:
- VOY:
- ENT: "