Bad puns aside, I think we can all agree the hand cannon is underwhelming in its current form. Here are my thoughts. The hand cannon is currently in competition with the scout rifle. The scout rifle is more or less outmatching it in every way except one-- the hand cannon deals significantly more crit damage. Right now this is a Pyrrhic victory for the hand cannon, as the previously mentioned scout rifle overwhelms it with superior range, reload speeds, and magazine sizes. In my view, the scout rifle and the hand cannon should be counterparts instead of rivals-- the scout rifle should be better suited to mid/long range, and the hand cannon better suited to mid/short range. Thus, here is my suggestion to give the HC a little more kick. [b] The HC should have a significantly faster reload speed and a shot-per-pull rate of fire, but with a slight reduction of their range.[/b] The hand cannon should be able to benefit from its existing ability to deal more damage per shot by shooting faster and more efficiently in close quarters. With a shot-per-pull rate of fire, a Guardian skilled with the HC could potentially sink a couple quick headshots into an enemy and be on his merry way. Plus, focusing on short/mid-range combat with the HC would provide a nice precision-focused alternative to the assault rifle in close quarters. And there you have it! I'd also like to see some nice HC scopes, but I suspect those might already be in the game as Legendary or Exotic upgrades. Give me your feedback and any suggestions you might have! EDIT: Added link to a video that a helpful redditor put together detailing the disadvantages of the HC. He puts forth that the impact stat doesn't help you in PvP (and I disagree) but there is still a lot of useful information in the video, and I dare say it's worth a watch.