Harry and his friends fight a war against Voldemort, and to do this effectively they require powerful weapons at their disposal. Guns can be highly effective weapons – so why aren’t they used in the books?
Well, it all boils down to some relatively straightforward steps.
Guns are a weapon
Harry Potter is one of the world’s most beloved books and films, so it comes as no surprise that fans want to know why guns don’t appear in any of its stories. After all, this magical world features sorcerers with powers such as gunshots; why wouldn’t their characters have one too?
J.K. Rowling purposely avoided including guns in Harry Potter because they don’t fit with her world building efforts. Magic and spells are frequently employed to assist individuals and solve problems; therefore, guns would disrupt this atmosphere of wonder that is sought to be created in her books.
Notably, most characters in Harry Potter are teenagers and it would be unrealistic for them to acquire guns without prior training – this applies particularly for muggle-born witches and wizards, who likely never witnessed one themselves!
Even if they had weapons, it’s unlikely they’d use them effectively; even if they did manage to find and use one effectively it may take time before it could even start working properly, exposing themselves to shots before healing themselves or getting their bearings again.
Magic can also easily destroy weapons; as evidenced in the first movie by Hagrid when he bent a pistol he held with only one hand to use as proof of its effectiveness.
Furthermore, they would likely find it hard to disarm their weapon of choice; gunshot can kill in one hit.
Problematically, most people in Harry Potter’s world do not associate guns with weapons when they hear “weapon”. Therefore it would likely never come into their possession and learning how to use one would likely prove difficult and unlikely ever happening.
They are a tool
Harry Potter is a children’s book series that avoids using guns as the subject matter; therefore, professional authors would likely avoid including guns within it.
Reason being, that a children’s book targeted towards children would not be an appropriate place for firearms to be discussed or depicted. Furthermore, scientific studies have demonstrated that exposure to situations like these can cause children to engage in behaviors which continue into adulthood with potentially devastating repercussions for themselves and society as a whole.
Harry Potter takes place in Britain, where gun control laws are more stringent than in America; therefore it would be unlikely for Harry and co. to gain access to weapons for use in their story.
Hogwarts students likely lack any comprehension of what constitutes a gun for various reasons; these could include:
One factor cited for their isolation and antipathy towards Muggle technology is their insularity and bigotry against it. Ministry staff often spend so much time away from Muggles that they have no idea how to operate older technology – not to mention an overall lack of knowledge regarding life outside their walls (even purebloods have difficulty understanding modern tech).
Another factor for this could be that wizarding life is fraught with dangerous situations where there’s no safe escape route from harm. A particularly risky example is “Flight of the Hippogriff”, an amazing magical sport in which riders fly hundreds of feet high on broomsticks without safety belts or other measures to protect them against injury or death.
There are other risky activities wizards perform that they have no way of stopping; such as falling from their broomsticks repeatedly.
Potentially, these incidents might have been prevented if the characters had received more effective education regarding the potential dangers associated with guns; however, as children are depicted as protagonists in this novella it would not be fair for them to be exposed to something that may cause them harm.
They are a weapon of war
Guns do not exist in the Harry Potter universe for several reasons, including wizards being more powerful than muggles, and some aspects unique to its magical environment that do not allow its use.
First and foremost, any wizard would find it unlikely that they could use guns to kill someone. Without early training with their weapons from their respective manufacturers, it’s unlikely they’d know how or where to acquire one.
As part of their reason not to use guns, wizards may fear them for legal or safety-related reasons; guns are illegal in England and if one were used illegally to commit murder he or she could either face prison or death penalties themselves. Furthermore, guns can be very dangerous objects that should never be around children or anyone.
As such, it can be extremely challenging for wizards to acquire weapons for self-defence or protection of family and friends in Britain due to government policy which prohibits possession of such arms for such uses.
If a wizard were to attempt killing someone with a gun they would likely feel intimidated and uncomfortable doing it in public. Additionally, due to not being permitted to bring weapons into school or home it’s likely they wouldn’t even have enough ammunition with which to carry out such an act.
Harry Potter universe wizards only ever use guns if someone was very close, since shooting from distance is difficult and therefore does not use guns as weapons to kill.
Voldemort had ensured that they could never use firearms against his Horcruxes; bullets would never penetrate them, while it takes an enormously powerful spell to remove one from a Horcrux.
They are a weapon of self-defense
A group of dedicated fans have decided to switch out Harry Potter’s wands for guns as part of a “parody” of the series – but there may be another more sinister purpose behind their choice.
One reason wizards don’t use guns is due to a fear that guns could become weapons used against them and threaten their life and wellbeing. Wizards don’t want to risk becoming victims of gun violence that could end in injury or death at the hands of gunman, fearing they might end up hurt or dead as a result.
They must also worry about having their weapons taken or used by muggles, who may use them against them without their knowledge or consent. Therefore, it’s crucial that they treat their weapons with great care because there’s no telling where or how mugglers might gain access.
Wizards often do not own guns due to societal norms in their community, particularly Magical Society itself which tends to be extremely insular and contains much bias against Muggles; nevertheless, there may still be some who do own firearms among the ranks of wizards.
In the books, some characters carry guns for protection or as dangerous weapons; it remains unclear exactly why. Some may claim these firearms serve a protective function while others argue otherwise.
Guns can be deadly weapons when not used correctly. Even when not intended as means of protection, guns can still pose a serious threat when handled improperly and used incorrectly; their ammunition may cause injuries when fired upon people and become even more hazardous when carried around with you.
But guns can be very useful in situations where magic is no longer an option, such as war. Guns allow us to shoot those trying to kill us or our loved ones in self-defense and can provide the ability for self-defence and defense of your family members from harm.
However, without magic at your disposal it can be challenging to deal with bullets effectively. Although there are various techniques that might work against them there may also be ways to use magic more efficiently to address them.
Cast expelliarmus on any bullet that would hit you to disarm it and prevent its impact from reaching its target, or to disarm someone holding weapons against you – or simply to scare away an adversary from you.