This may have been talked about before, but what if the hand cannons weren't just hand cannons... what if they actually took abilities and gun types from other weapons. For instance, one hand cannon could have some sniper elements (i.e. a scope/longer barrel) whereas a different hand cannon has shotgun elements (i.e. buckshot, and single bullet reload). These are just a few examples. but doing this would not only affect the hand cannons' usage, but also allow for more creativity. This is just one idea I came up with on the spot, and seemed like a good one. :P