GERHARDT & SONS
Rifle Design: PARVUS PRESERVER '18
7.92x55mm ammunition
Nothing says “reliability” like a revolver – even if it’s a rifle. The PARVUS PRESERVER ’18 (designed and built by Gerhardt and his boys) is a double-action revolving rifle chambered for seven rounds of 7.92x55mm ammo. The ’18 (not to be confused with the G18 or M18) is simple to use and unfamiliar with the concept of “jamming”, and even novice shooters find themselves able to use the weapon quickly and easily. A steel shield is affixed to the stock by a pair of screws. Testers generally agree this is a poor choice, as the thin sheet provides little to no protection from return fire, increases the users profile, and adds unnecessary weight. Gerhardt’s insistence on the shield unfortunately means a modest increase in rifle price.
The gap between the cylinder and the barrel provides an escape route for hot gasses and lead splinters, which testers complain about bitterly. This gap also represents a non-negligible drop in muzzle velocity, but this isn’t a huge issue for most ranges the rifle is accurate at. The wooden stock does not extend past the cylinder, and after repeated use the barrel can grow too hot to hold as a foregrip. Seven rounds at 7.92mm means the cylinder is quite large, adding some weight back to the otherwise light-weight rifle. The gun is without a safety, and the hammer resting above a loaded shell can result in potential misfires if dropped or jostled. The concept of a swappable cylinder is certainly doable, but with design deadlines drawing near the Preserver uses the more common ejector-rod with fixed cylinder design.
The stencils for the Parvus coat of arms is widely approved during testing (most of the tester are, through sheer coincidence, Parvonians themselves).
Cost: $16 per Shipment
Massgraves Incorporated
Heavy Machinegun Design: A1 Holocaust
15x120mm ammunition
Hm.
Despite the rather…unorthodox name, the A1 is a relatively standard large-caliber water-cooled machine gun. None of the users would describe the box-and-cylinder shape as “elegant”, but it would not be out of place in the trenches of the Great War. Recoil and muzzle flash are enormous as it fires 15mm rounds, which could place the A1 vaguely in the realm of “autocannon”. The built-on water tanks and cooling system are absolutely required for use as the gun will quickly seize without them, or worse – begin to cook off.
If one word could be used to describe this weapon, it would be “heavy”. It’s largely immobile due to the cooling system and size, and can not be used in places where fresh water is not largely available. Thermal buildup requires lots of water to be cycled through during use. Impure water (such as sea water or hard water) can cause blockages that take extensive periods of maintenance to clean out of the copper piping. Accuracy is an afterthought, with most rounds landing “vaguely in the vicinity” of the target. Range is impressive however, though with recoil, flash, and accuracy trying to hit anything that far is a distant dream. Maintenance and cleaning is a chore, and many parts can become jammed as the gun cools and fouling works its way inside. Testers describe the weapon as “vehemently unfriendly” to operate in nearly all aspects, though the stopping power is incredible to see in action. The A1 is definitely a weapon you’d prefer to see as a bystander, rather than from either end.
Cost: $33 per Shipment
Módgrozy Heavy Fabrications
Rifle: Lándzsa Önrakodó M.18
6.35x50mm Módgrozy Ammunition
The Lándzsa Önrakodó is a semi-automatic rifle with a significant amount of apostrophes and colons in the name. It fires 6.35x50mm rounds; smaller than most standard rifle rounds at this time. The ammunition required is a specialized smooth-sloped hollow-tip full-jacketed boat-tailed spitzer rounds – effective ammunition, but increasing the cost of the weapon. The internal magazine can hold 6+1 rounds at a time loaded in a double-stack, which increases the width of the action somewhat. The bolt locks open once the last round has exited the barrel to facilitate ease of reloading. The Lándzsa Önrakodó also comes with a cruciform bayonet, which can be hooked below the barrel.
This rifle operates via direct impingement system; the gas directly pushes against the bolt to cycle it rather than using a piston. This doesn’t wear out as quickly as a piston-based stroke, but the weapon quickly becomes fouled as the gas deposits exhaust on the internal mechanisms. The weapon can also heat quickly during extended use and burn off essential lubricants keeping the internals running smoothly. Additionally, a curious bug has popped up during production: rifles will occasionally jam on the last round in a failure to feed. The jam requires both hands to clear, will damage the last bullet, and will happen seemingly at random. If the specialized rounds become dirty, damaged, or if debris enters the breech, additional failure-to-feed jams may occur. The Lándzsa Önrakodó is, in short,
not a reliable weapon – despite ease of maintenance, most soldiers will find themselves needing to clean the rifle with exceeding frequency.
The cast-steel housing with minor milling mildly decreases the cost over a fully-milled rifle, but the increased weight and girth makes the rifle noticeably heavy and wide.
Cost: $19 per Shipment
Company Name: Krupp-Allen Family
Heavy Machinegun Design: KAM (Krupp-Allen Machinegun)
20mmX70 ammunition
Machineguns capable of “cutting through tanks like butter” are frequently referred to as “autocannons”, but the Krupp-Allen family insists their KAM is, in fact, a simple “HMG”.
The 20mm KAM requires a dedicated mount to allow the user to use it effectively, beyond a simple tripod or pintle mount. Combined with 200 rounds of ammo the KAM can be prohibitively heavy, and the booming report is a legitimate threat to the user’s long-term hearing. The total volume of fire is limited by the air-cooled barrel, and firing the 200 round belt all at once is ill-advised. Extended use results in the barrel quickly wearing out.
The KAM uses an innovative API blockback system - relying heavily on Reinhold Becker’s Advanced Primer Ignition design in his “Becker Type M2 20mm Cannon” from just a few years prior. This means the bullet is ignited before it is fully seated in the chamber. The gas then not only arrests the forward momentum of the bolt, but cycles it fully in time for the next round to do the same thing. This is an incredibly precise and delicate balancing act to pull off, but can result in a light-weight bolt and lower recoil.
The vast majority of the design is spent on implementing the API design, which still isn’t perfect. Timing variances as the weapon heats up can result in misfires or jams, some of which can actually be damaging to the weapon itself. The weapon wears out quickly in use, and swapping barrels is not a trivial task. The weapon tends to jerk at the start of a burst as well at the end, decreasing accuracy. The gun is long due to the extended chamber, and the ammunition is required to have rebated rims. With the pressures involved, ammunition cartridges have a significant chance to fail and result in dangerous jams and misfires, but…the 20mm KAM
is indeed capable of destroying modern tanks and bringing down aircraft.
Despite Krupp-Allen’s insistence, testers still refer to the weapon as an autocannon rather than an HMG.
Cost: $41 per Shipment
Rohnmohal Armoury
Rifle Design: Rohnmohal G18
6.5x48mm Ammunition
The Rohnmohal G18 (not to be confused with the M18 or ’18) is a semi-automatic rifle with a free-floating barrel and a ten-round internal magazine of 6.5x48mm ammunition. The G18 utilizes a long-stroke piston; though robust, it does make the gun heavier and increase perceived recoil. The barrel and piston float above a wooden stock, which makes testers nervous despite assurances its to increase accuracy. This float decreases the effect of humidity on the weapon’s accuracy, but the smaller ammunition and powder load gives it decreased range and accuracy over most existing bolt-action rifles despite the addition of aperture sights. It’s also not uncommon for the user to bump the barrel with their fingers and be burned.
The ten-round magazine sticks out the bottom of the gun and is fed by two 5-round stripper clips, though keeping the magazine at max capacity will quickly wear out the magazine spring and result in failure to feed. The “large” magazine size and semi-auto fire makes the weapon enjoyable to shoot, at least, and the smaller caliber helps offset the recoil of the long-stroke piston. In fact, were the barrel shorter it might be ideal for closer-range combat than the long-range it’d been designed for. Although some thought has been given to field-stripping, the G18 still requires dedicated tools to access the internal mechanisms. The process of loading, aiming, and maintaining the rifle requires a non-negligible amount of training.
Cost: $18 per Shipment
Vaux and leander Manufacturing
Rifle design: VL M18
7x50mm Ammunition
The Vaux and Leander Manufacturing’s VL M18 (not to be confused with the ’18 or the G18 or the
other M18) is a ten-round straight-pull bolt action rifle for standard infantry use. In order to fit a ten round internal magazine, it extends vertically through the bottom of the rifle next to the trigger guard. The magazine is prone to mis-alignment, resulting in an internal jam if dropped or jostled.
The M18 uses a straight-pull action. This means the user does not need to lift the bolt or lock it back down, simplifying the action and increasing firing speed. The M18’s straight pull action does leave a little to be desired, however – the user must be certain the action is all the way forward before firing or the rifle may experience an out-of-battery fire. In this case, the rifle can be damaged or even wound the user, and the stiff nature of the M18’s bolt makes it difficult to be certain it’s fully forward without visually checking. The accuracy of the M18 is sub-par, though the reason is as-of-yet unclear. Though it won’t be winning any sharp-shooting awards, the VL M18 can reliably hit a man-sized target at up to 300m or so. The rifle can be field stripped with some difficulty, as the straight-pull bolt is reluctant to leave its housing and testers often resort to using leverage to pull it free.
Cost: $16 per Shipment
Sandblaster Inc.
Pistol Design: Commie Crusher '18
.38 caliber Ammunition
The Commie Crusher ’18 (whether it’s disparaging communism or supporting it is unclear) is a double-action revolver chambered for six .38 rounds (not to be confused with .38 Special) with a sexy blued finish.
The CC ’18 uses an ejector rod to eject spent brass after use. The above-average caliber results in a substantial kick, as well as a larger cylinder than most similar revolvers. The double-action makes the trigger quite stiff, to the point where users actively complain about it. The cylinder notably wears out after several dozen rounds, causing the loaded shells to be seated loosely inside – initial analysis rules out a bad batch of steel or manufacturing defects, so it’s an actual design flaw somehow. Even worse, acquisition of Maple Wood is extremely difficult in Occassio, and a number of CC’18s have actually had their handles crafted with inferior
pine wood. Accuracy is neither exceptional nor terrible, allowing the revolver to sit as a mediocre weapon for a sharpshooter.
It is worth noting that the CC’18 functions perfectly well when pointed downward at a 45 degree angle.
Cost: $4 per Shipment
Singular Design
Exemplar Semi-Auto Pistol
7.5mmx20mm Shortstop Cartridge
8 round 7.5x20mm (singlestack)
Blow-forward, shrouded
Cocked via back tab/sight/safety
The Exemplar is a blow-forward handgun with an eight-round 7.5x20mm detachable magazine. The weapon’s barrel slides forward after firing to eject the spent brass before scooping a fresh round out of the magazine. The tab on the back of the barrel pulls triple duty as both sights, cocking handle, and a forward stop for the barrel’s recoil.
The shroud covering the barrel helps to keep moving parts from catching on debris, but tends to redirect fouling from the brass ejection back into the slide. The trigger disconnector can break or become faulty (especially if enough fouling is present) and multiple rounds can fire with one trigger pull - or even a catastrophic mag-dump could occur. The locking pin for the shroud can come lose or be broken during use, and in one particular case the shroud was propelled off the gun by the recoil spring when broken. The curved handle within which the magazine sits has very little wiggle room, and a sufficiently dirty weapon will see it stick in place.
The blow-forward design increases perceived recoil, which makes rapid fire difficult. The barrel also has a tendency to “float” if tolerances are poor or the mechanisms become worn - which isn’t a terrible issue as the weapon isn’t meant for sniping to begin with, but is something to consider. Testers report the trigger pull is nice and easy, but there’s a significant chance of an accidental discharge when attempting to cock the barrel with a round already chambered.
Cost: $7 per Shipment
Cancer Felicitus
Pistol Design: Cancer Adreptus
8.5mm Margaritae
Warning: Attempting to bribe the GM may result in penalties.
Chambered in 8.5x20mm, the Cancer Adreptus is a toggle-lock handgun with a very pretty finish. Unlike the Luger (a particularly infamous toggle-lock handgun), the toggle is below the barrel in order to reduce recoil. The toggle and most all moving parts are contained within a rounded shroud for protection, which gives the gun a bulky shape. When fired, the barrel slides back in the gun, breaking the toggle-lock to eject the shell. A spring closes the toggle, feeding a fresh bullet into the barrel.
Simply put, maintenance and cleaning is a nightmare. The shroud must be removed before the gun can be disassembled, and the internal mechanisms were not designed with maintenance in mind. Feeding jams are relatively common, and both the magazine release and safety are described as “sticky” by testers. The Cancer Adreptus also does not hold up to damage very well, as a drop can cause the toggle to come out of alignment. Furthermore, though the covered toggle keeps it away from stray fingers, it also means it cannot be directly cocked and relies on the user pushing on a tab in the ejection port.
Recoil is surprisingly low, but the accuracy is not particularly impressive for a handgun. The gun is, however,
very pretty with its nickel plating, though the extra work to do so increases manufacturing cost. Rimless cased ammo with bottlenecking allows the bullets to feed smoothly (when all other parts are operating correctly), but further increases cost a small amount.
Cost: $8 per Shipment
Korsgaard Armoury
HMG Design: TM-18-1A "Buzzard"
13.5x120mm Korsgaard
A heavy (though smallest caliber submitted this turn) machinegun chambered in 13.5mm, the Korsgaard “Buzzard” is a water-cooled, double-barrel, high ROF weapon.
The Buzzard’s barrels operate on a duplex system, meaning that the operation of one charges the other. Though each barrel can only manage 750 rounds per minute, together they have a combined rate of fire at around 1500 rpm. Two belts are required to feed the Buzzard, with shells being ejected below the weapon after firing.
The high rate of fire comes with some trade-offs, however. Two operating barrels means twice the rate of failure and double the machining required. The vibrations coming off the weapon can literally shake parts lose, and despite being mounted to a carriage it’s not uncommon for the gun to jitter side to side during use. The water cooling system, carriage requirement, twin belts, and shaking issues mean the gun can not be used outside of emplacements. The water system also leaks frequently as cavitation stress can work apart weld seams. There is also a mysterious issue where the duplex system will occasionally fail to charge the next barrel, though preliminary analysis has yet to come up with an explanation as to why. The barrels will also quickly wear out after extended use, and the finicky water cooling makes replacement a laborious chore. It can certainly take down airplanes, and if it
can’t punch through a tanks armor then it will certainly deafen the crew inside.
Cost: $39 per Shipment
NOPE LLC
NOPE M18 Repeater
7.65×40mm NOPE "Light Rifle"
The NOPE M18 Repeater (not to be confused with the ’18, G18, or the
other M18) is a carbine chambered in proprietary 7.65x40mm NOPE ammunition.
Initial documentation described the repeater as 1000 meters long, but this was quickly recognized as a typo and relegated to a much more reasonable 1 meter in length. It features a double-stack internal box magazine. Though designs also included an optional swap between 5 round and 15 round capacities, the finished version solely includes 5+1 max capacity.
The M18 is a little on the heavier side with lots of metal components, long barrel, and wide housing. A heat shield around the barrel prevents the user from obtaining accidental burns at the cost of additional weight, and a bayonet lug for a sword enables close-quarters combat. The lever-delay action is fairly atypical; the bolt and bolt carriage are linked via lever, resulting in an increased amount of force required to open the breech after firing, thus keeping the cartridge seated until the propellant is finished burning. After significant fouling, the bolt can become stuck and require manual cycling, but this requires negligence on the users part. Maintenance operates on the “don’t worry about it” principle, in which the gun (or at least the majority of it) is expected to be handed over to the armory for cleaning and refurbishing. One tester (who served in the Great War as an armorer) become physically violent at learning this and needed to be escorted off the premises. The weapon is relatively low-power compared to existing rifles, and accuracy is poor as the sights are based off the heat shield. The M18 does fire quickly however, but shells are ejected upwards through the user’s sightlines. To this end the flip-up sights are off-set to the side of the gun, further decreasing accuracy.
Testers report that the NOPE M18 is quite enjoyable to fire – smaller powder load and a heavier frame means recoil is not a significant issue.
Cost: $19 per Shipment
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Topic: RISKY ARMS VENTURE - Spring, 1930 (ENDING SOON!) (Read 34035 times)