Prykanbul Manufacturing 6x50mm Light Rifle Cartridge
A fairly standard-shaped rifle cartridge that has a 6mm diameter lead-cored and fully metal-jacketed bullet with a 50mm long steel case. The case is slightly tapered to aid in extraction even in adverse conditions. A carefully designed propellant mixture is used, that generates higher than usual pressures so that the bullet is accelerated completely in a short barrel while also gaining a high velocity. Naturally, this requires the case to be strong, which is to be achieved by making the case out of steel and carefully fitting the breech and bolt to prevent gas leakage. The Spitzer bullet is approximately 130 grains, moving at around 2500 feet per second, and is boat-tailed and aerodynamically refined to maximize accurate range. Due to the cartridge's small size, it is very light and easy to carry, allowing more ammunition to be loaded into a given size of magazine or stripper clip and more to be carried by an individual soldier. The steel used is much less expensive than brass ammunition, and accusations of steel cases being difficult to reload are clearly false.
As far as I can tell, nothing makes this especially "small size" as rifle cartridges go. It's similar to Lee Navy which is a
long boi and the bullet mass is between that of LN and full size rounds such as 7.62x54r or 8mm lebel. Basically it has a similar base diameter and you're not going to get more rounds than normal in the same space, really. It does have a lot of shoulder and some taper so expect curvy magazines.
Also, although you "buy dice" for cartridges, I don't think I'm actually going to roll dice for ammo. You get your ammo, then it's a question of whether it's suitable to the gun and the client's desires or not.
Prykanbul Manufacturing 6x50mm Light Rifle Cartridge: A 6mm FMJ cartridge with a 50mm tapered and shouldered case. The case is semi rimmed, having both a small rim and an inset for the extractor to grab. The bullet itself is long and has a pointed shape, with a boat tail. The case is made of steel. It's a fairly high velocity round. -1 cost to guns using this.
Like I said, the 6mm already exists and various nations have and will continue looking at it. Right now the first contract is to the revolutionary group so the cheaper rifles and cartridges it allows for should appeal to them, and the greater volume of fire you can employ from infantrymen carrying more bullets also ought to convince them since revolutionary troops tend to be less accurate than disciplined professionals. I originally thought about 7mm but decided that I wanted to push it a bit further. 6mm Lee Navy is decades old at this point, 6.5 Arisaka (the standard rifle cartridge of the Japanese through WWII) is over a decade old and in full service with the Japanese, this isn't that revolutionary. The trick might be convincing various groups that they don't need the size of the rifle cartridge because, well, that stopped a lot of adoptions. But with a revolutionary group our first customer, that should be an excellent inroads into sales and a great testbed for convincing other customers.
Prykanbul Manufacturing SR-6-10 6mm Short Rifle Model 1910
In accompaniment with the recent development of the compact and quick-burning 6mm LRC, we have produced a new rifle firing the new cartridge with intent to sell it to everyone and anyone willing to purchase it.
The rifle has a 22-inch (560mm) barrel, slightly longer than a carbine with a 17-20 inch barrel, but much shorter than a full-length rifle, which might have 30-32 inch long barrel.
Our metallurgical expertise is used to lighten the barrel while reinforcing the breech to fire the high-pressure 6mm cartridges. The bolt and breech are designed to ensure a good gas seal to prevent leakage out of the breech, to offset the principle downside of the steel cased ammunition.
Due to the unusually small size of the 6mm rounds, we've made a compact and lightweight 10-round internal and nonremovable double-stack (more bullets, less magazine) single-feed (fewer bullets, much simpler bolt design) magazine fed by full 10-round reusable stripper clips which are heavier than, say, an equivalent size of Enfield clip, but cheaper overall AND they tend to have a better grip on cartridges so that cavalry can use them reliably even on horseback.
The sights are of the aperture type gaining popularity amongst certain groups, with an aperture adjustable from 200 to 1500 yards in distance and likewise adjustable for windage.
The handguard ends after the point where a soldier would typically grip the rifle, so as not to add additional weight, leaving the front of the weapon much lighter. The bayonet lug is a solid attachment point for a proprietary optional fighting bayonet, of a knife type.
Roll: 6
Difficulty: -1The biggest challenge here is going straight to a double-stack magazine. Even single stack magazines are a little difficult. Gas seal around steel cartridges is also an issue, and while your machining isn't remarkably precise, you can overcome it by having the bolt hold the cartridge in under a lot of pressure. Luckily, your superior metallurgy should prevent bolts from cracking. Adjustable sights are another advanced somewhat advanced feature.
Prykanbul Manufacturing SR-6-10 6mm Short Rifle Model 1910: This is a bolt action rifle with a 22-inch barrel, making it between the typical length of a rifle or a carbine, and a full wooden stock. It has an internal magazine with a double-stack, single feed arrangement, which holds 7 rounds. It can be loaded from 7-round stripper clips, although these are slightly large and unwieldy. The bolt hand sits upward when the bolt is open and 90 degrees to the right when closed. The last notable feature is an aperture sight. The rear sight about 2cm in diameter, and a couple inches from where the user's cheek should sit. It is adjustable for elevation and windage with large thumb screws on the left, and top right. There is also a bayonet lug where a knife-type bayonet can be secured with another thumbscrew. Both the front and rear sight posts are tall, the front is 5cm above the barrel. The workmanship of the barrel and moving parts is average, it's reasonably accurate and feeds consistently. Costs 21 credits per batch.
Note that the price listed accounts for the steel cartridges.
Edit: added bayonet. It is not an en-bloc clip (clip goes into the gun) but a stripper clip, I had a confusion of terms.