The Science of Judge Dredd

[pauljholden]

BPP posted this else where:

Genuine question - does the lawgiver only eject casings on covers? I'm sure I've seen it before om covers but not that I've seen it in stripwork.

And I took a stab at a legit answer on my blog https://www.pauljholden.com/2021/07/17/the-science-of-judge-dredd/ (where I also talk about how I think Dredd's helmet far from being vision obscuring, probably gives him close to 360 degree vision...)

But basically:

Here's how I see it: Dredd's gun is essentially a super sophisticated 3d printer. It holds multiple ingredients for building multiple types of bullet.

The device is primed (usually through spoken command, though it will default to smartly identifying the type of bullet) theory: maybe cadets are trained to shout out the bullet type so other Judges can have a better situational awareness. Dredd shouts "Armour piercing"? everyone else goes with Armour Piercing.

(Again, this is very much fan wank – the real reason Dredd shouts out the bullet type is so the reader knows what Dredd has fired...)

Why the shells? Well, the real reason is: they look cool. The in-my-head reason is that some of the raw material (but not all) is held in cartridges, and so they eject after they're spent.

The question I have is, is it like my colour printer : where if you don't have yellow ink you can't (for some reason) print black and white. If you lack ingredient X can you still use bullet Y that doesn't use it, or is the gun out of ammo?

I suspect some ingredients are common to all bullet types (projectile types? is bullet the right word?)

[Dog Deever]

...the real reason Dredd shouts out the bullet type is so the reader knows what Dredd has fired...)

and

Why the shells? Well, the real reason is: they look cool.

Perfectly good reasons. It's a comic- fantasy entertainment and as such there is no requirement for 'realism'. 'Disseminating Important Information to the Reader' and 'the Rule of Cool' wins every time.

[GoGilesGo]

maybe cadets are trained to shout out the bullet type so other Judges can have a better situational awareness.

love this explanation, makes total tactical sense and is way more satisfying than the (probably true) expositional reason. Further afield, does this also apply to Strontium Dog? When Johnny delivers "Number Four Catridge" in hushed tone, is it solely to give Wulf a heads up of what's coming?

[Richard]

In a hushed tone? I thought he was shouting.

Maybe the gun is voice-activated. Maybe he's just a gobshite.

[The Legendary Shark]

When I write Dredd for Zarjaz, I have it in my head canon that Lawgiver clips contain only standard execution bullets but they are capable of having their molecules almost instantly reconfigured into other types. I imagine that the number of possible configurations is greater than the usual six but more "exotic" types take longer to configure and so are rarely used.

I also try to limit the vocalisations of judges to two syllables for situational speed. Hence I use stand-ex, ar-pee and seeker to fit in with the already canon hi-ex, hot-shot and dodgem.

I'll get me anorak...

[pauljholden]

six seems mad low!

I'd have put the number upwards of 20...

-PJ

[The Legendary Shark]

Indeed.

Six basic (under half a second to configure), twenty advanced (three to five seconds), and practically limitless exotic (ten seconds to several minutes). Maybe. Lawgiver MK III?

I'd also have the holster stuck magnetically (?) to the boot and easily transferable to the hip.

[Funt Solo]

The JD RPG (from Games Workshop) used the diagram from prog 34 (repeated in the first JD Annual) as the basis for its rules, and so had six types of shell (not manufactured in-gun, but loaded into the top and bottom magazines, each split into two sections for a maximum four shell-types at any one time, without changing out a mag).

The six types were: General Purpose, Rubber Ricochet, Incendiary, Armour Piercing, Grenade and High Explosive. (I don't recall seeing "grenade" used in-comic, but in-game it was like a shotgun blast - hit a wider area for less damage per target.)

The Heat Seeker was a special attachment you had to strap over the end of the barrel prior to firing, and these were carried in the belt pouch.

This was quite a cool in-game system, as it meant you had to make an interesting choice of which ammo types to load up with - if you came up against a droid and you didn't have AP in-gun you'd waste precious time reloading from a spare clip (if you'd brought one) or have to think of something else. In-comic, Dredd either always has what he needs ... or doesn't. Because: story. Obviously.

I don't like the use of "stun shots" in the comic, because it's far too Beano / Dandy / Lawman of the Future. If Dredd wants to stun someone, he should punch 'em or daystick 'em, not use a magic bullet. (Mind you, the RPG had a stun shot that was basically a syringe-on-a-bullet thing.)

Edit: this version (prog 995) rethinks the design of the mags but still limits the gun to four types at once:

[The Legendary Shark]

Maybe that's why Ron Smith's Dredd always had two Lawgivers, so he needn't waste precious seconds faffing about changing clips all the time.

[Funt Solo]

Meg 3.50 has a diagram of the Mark II, but I don't have a scan to hand.

I did find this:

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

With regards to Judges declaring ammo types, I never took that as voice commands to the lawgiver. They never said please or thank-you and that's just rude.

[Funt Solo]

"One chance - boot knife! ... Please."

[IndigoPrime]

I like the 3D printing idea. This is the future, after all.

[norton canes]

Did anyone ever buy the idea that heat seeker shells had to be clamped to the end of the barrel and were propelled by firing a regular bullet into them? Surely a bullet emerging from the barrel is just going to destroy anything that's stuck to the end?

Plus, heat seeking may have been hot tech back in the late 70's but nowadays I'm sure a manoeuvrable projectile would be better off locking onto its target through shape/face recognition.

[Dash Decent]

maybe cadets are trained to shout out the bullet type so other Judges can have a better situational awareness. Dredd shouts "Armour piercing"? everyone else goes with Armour Piercing.

This has always been my take on it, pretty much - but not so others follow suit, but more a workplace health & safety type thing, along the lines of "FORE!" or even "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"  After all, if you're in a fire fight and suddenly switch to heat seeker, you do not want your partner unexpectedly advancing cover three steps in front of you at the very moment you pull the trigger.  So it's more "Hey, watch out, here comes a high explosive" rather than "Do as I do, Simon says we all switch to hi-ex."