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[a1s]

This is the thread in which to ask for worldbuilding help.
I'm planning on running an X-Com like game (in the sense that there will be a technologically advanced adversary and reverse engineering of their tech to progress. Oh, and combat of course) but instead of laser/plasma weapons which function like +1 firearms, I plan to run the players through the 18-19 century tech (from fire-locks all the way to the bolt-action rifle) which are all mechanically different in some way.
Here's my problem: why don't the native protagonists just use the captured rifles? It's not like they get disintegrated upon a soldier's death (like in X-Com.) I would prefer to avoid magic.

[Magmacube_tr]

add big titty elves

The natives may be very superstitous and do not use the guns as they believe they bring damnation? I don't know. Even what I said is a stretch because humans usually just adapt to what is best, beliefs be damned.

[EuchreJack]

Well, it takes time to figure out how to use the advanced equipment, especially if nobody is telling you how to do it.
I mean, we all understand the basics of modern firearms enough to understand that the trigger fires the gun, but modern firearms are designed for ease of use, and we all have that basic knowledge.

Contrast that with the mechanics behind firing a black powder musket.

I generally disagreed with X-Com's insistence that ammo and guns needed to both be researched, but reloading does require additional knowledge.

[Maximum Spin]

What's the enemy and how technologically advanced is it? When you said "X-Com like" my instinctive thought was that the weapons might not be operable with the players' biology, but of course if everyone's human (or whatever) that won't work.

I suppose the simplest answer might be that the enemy soldiers are very well-trained to break their weapons to keep them out of enemy hands, since that's the kind of thing that really gets done sometimes... it'd be a little hard to swallow that this would work as a complete embargo, but it could keep numbers low enough that the occasional captured weapon would be a valuable find to be sent for study immediately instead of used.

[Devastator]

Since they're energy powered, maybe the enemy uses some kind of artificial radioisotope as a power source for the rifles, one that lasts only a few days or a week or so before no longer outputting enough energy to be useable.  You could substitute a native power source, but it'd take some significant engineering.

If you don't want them usable in that same battle, I'd suggest some kind of implant-based biometric lockout system.  Alien soldiers have one, which allows the gun to function.

[Shazial]

If the opponents are aliens or alien-like humanoids, maybe the rifles have a design that is cumbersome or difficult for humans to use, thus making them unviable, if not e.g. bolted to a building or something?

Maybe they use a rare energy source as ammo, that is expensive and/or hard to get by? Or share an energy source as ammo that's more viable to use in something else, like powering up a vital building or refined into medicine, so using it as ammo would be a complete waste? Maybe the rifles themselves are made of a material that's best up-cycled into something else? Or maybe they're made of a material that's radio active or poisonous to humans so using the rifle would come with the added bonus of cancer, radiation poisoning, and other friends. Alien tech, so lets add in parasites..

Them having a biometric or other locking mechanism is also a good idea, something complex that's hard to crack, or something outright dangerous - make them booby trapped? Maybe the enemy knows the home civilization is greedy for their things so they use it as tactical advantag. If one in two rifles explodes in your face for high damage the risk of trying to make them usable is too high. Or they could be equipped with trackers, so taking the weapons with you would be a sure fire way to reveal your location to the enemy.

Or a combination of many factors?

[a1s]

What's the enemy and how technologically advanced is it?

The Enemy and the protagonists are supposed to be human (or at least the same humanoid species*). Enemy technology is late XIX century to WWI era, though perhaps not as high in terms of seafaring (since this is supposed to be a first contact.)

Since they're energy powered

They are chemically powered. By gunpowder, cordite, or some other slowly-exploding chemical.
(Also, everything is "energy powered", but I know what you meant.)

(*)At least that's what I was initially thinking. While it's extremely unlikely that 2 species would develop sentience at the same time, it's not impossible.

[EuchreJack]

I'm reminded of Mysterious Island by Jules Verne.  It goes into detail about how hard it is to actually get working firearms.  You need gunpowder, metal for the bullets, metal for the barrels, etc.  Any one thing missing means you need to manufacture a substitute.

It could be something as simple as Nation A has abundant Lead which they use to manufacture bullets and invade Nation B, where Lead is scarce.  Nation B can use Steel, but it's more expensive and dependent on Nation B both figuring this out and having the capacity to make Steel.
Iron is almost never used