Explaining SR ammo costs, and screwing your players royally. Options

[hyzmarca]

http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Re...ead.aspx?ID=178

[Catsnightmare]

I always figured the government taxed ammo. How else are they still making revenue what with Corps becoming law unto themselves.

[Voran]

Heh, just like "The Man" to likely make making your own bullets illegal! If we can't trace it, it's illegal! :)

[Shrike30]

I always figured that "standard" ammo was a pretty cool standard round (like SS109... while it has a "penetrator" design and reportedly fragments when it strikes a meaty target due to a combination of spin, construction, and velocity, it'd still fit the definition of "standard" ammo in SR). The costs were always too high for me, but my houserule that "standard" ammo was bought in boxes of 50, not 10, made life easier.

When you start talking about the exotic ammunition types (flechette, explosive, APDS, or what-have-you), I'm totally cool with those rounds being these frighteningly overengineered, small-batch uberammos. Hell, decent hollowpoints *today* can cost a buck or more per round, paying 5 :nuyen: for an explosive bullet seems pretty reasonable :)

[Austere Emancipa...]

[Shrike30]

[Austere Emancipa...]

There is no way for a firearm to have a rifling twist rate high enough to stabilize a bullet in flesh. This would require a barrel that looks like a corkscrew. For a bullet in flesh, it makes no difference if it's spinning at 1 rotation per 7 inches or 1 rotation per 11 inches, it will yaw just as readily.

It's the design of the bullet and the velocity. The M193 and M855 are very rear-heavy, which means they are unstable and usually yaw in tissue. In practice it seems the M193, while a shorter bullet and by design less rear-heavy, and fired from barrels with slower twist rates (because it requires less spin to be stabilized in flight than the M855) yaws even more readily in flesh than the M855. Since the M193 is also fired at a higher velocity, thanks to being lighter (55gr vs. 62gr), it also fragments more reliably.

[Butterblume]

Just to toss in a number, too:

When I was in the military (in the last millenium :D), they told us one regular shot 7,62*51mm were worth about 1 Deutschmark, which was, depending on the foreign exchange rate. about 0,4$ - 0,5 $, iirc.

[Austere Emancipa...]

That corresponds pretty closely with the figures in the US DoD procurement budgets. They are currently paying a bit over $0.5 for the standard 7.62x51mm FMJs (the M80), but that'd be less when they purchase more of it, and there's the effect of inflation.

[Lindt]

I always explained it as 'clean' ammo, either listed as stolen via its serial #, or its not commercially made, and thus dosent have a serial #.

[Shrike30]

Thanks, AE, that makes sense.

The whole "higher velocity vs heavier slug" thing has always has me thinking about what weight of expanding ammunition I keep around for things other than targets. If only this were simple...:P

[Rock]

I don't think each round is serial numbered, but rather to buy ammunition, you need ID of some sorts. Since Shadowrunners are outside of the system (SINless), they can stroll into their local Stuffer Shack and buy a nukable burrito and a Playboy, but not a box of ammo. The inflated prices are street prices. Figure someone playing by the rules who walks into a Weapons World gets the ammo for 1/2 to 1/4 the listed price.

[nezumi]

Steve, that's what the Street Index is supposed to represent. The increase of cost for buying it on the street.