[X] My Assistant

[Siege]

Really? I was under the impression the HK was significantly larger as some troops were grumbling about the size.

Oops, my bad.

-Siege

[Foreigner]

Sorry, my bad.

I should have mentioned that the point scale I was using was the one that the various sanctioning bodies use to determine proficiency in Highpower Rifle competition.

However, I believe, although I am not certain, that the various U.S. Armed Forces follow a similar point scale in their rankings--however, the "Expert" qualification is as high as they go. A soldier/sailor/Marine might score better than 178 points out of 200 (94%), but he or she won't receive any special recognition for it, beyond possibly being recruited for training as a sniper.

In Highpower competition, however, there are two additional rankings:

"Master", who scores between 188 and 194 points out of 200 (94% to 97%);
and

"High Master", who scores better than 194 points (97% or better).

Hope this answers everyone's questions--especially Fortune's. ;)

--Foreigner

[Austere Emancipa...]

[Siege]

[Lindt]

Having only had the oppertunity to fire a .22 long cal browning pistol, and a 12 guage Remmey, I must say that the little tiny gun was more diffucult to fire for long periods of time then the 8 lb shotgun. Just the weight of the .22 (I swear next to nothing compaired to the 7 rounds it carried) was difficult to control. 2 quick shots from the 12 guage are easy, but just a pair are tough to keep in the black with the pistol.

[lodestar]

I always try to play up the gun in our SR games occasionally to the annoyance of the GM. I never just shoot the Super Warhawk - Imagine the camera zoom in, time slows as the hammer comes back and the cylinder rotates another Federal Black Talon into place. BOOM A flash of flame and deafening shock....

Oh sorry where was I. I don't have much experience with pistols just a few .38 and .22 revolvers. I can see the double recoil mods for shotguns though. A buddy of mine once constructed a sawed off scattergun (don't ask) which he thought it would be cool to fire pistol style. The recoil shattered a buch of bones in his wrist and fore arm. You might be a Redneck...

[Siege]

[Fortune]

[Tiralee]

My gunbunny uses the usual Ares Predator/Colt Manhunter combo, but she carries a Ruger Warhawk (EX-Explosive rounds) in/on her bike as the "Anit-carjacking" weapon of choice.

It's not just that it will blow a fist-sized hole through a troll, it's not just that she's got sufficient skill to use it and keep on using it, it's because of the intimidation factor.

Ok, the last thing you want, when trying to mimic all those moves made by your peers in an action like this, is to have the small, pretty woman driving the car suddenly produce a gun bigger than your head and blow off your right leg.

Apart from a short and eventful life, the wanna-be carjacker has just improved the street reputaion of the pretty woman a little further, hoepfully dissuading the less desperate into looking for easier targets.

Not to mention that a gun that big wakes the neigbhours, as do the screams....

Long story short - if it's realism you want, ok. But people come in so many different sizes that it's not that big an ask for the guy behind the counter at "Weapons World" to get you a pair of smaller grips for your Predator.

L:

[Austere Emancipa...]

[Foreigner]

You're right, Fortune.

Sorry about that. :)

BTW: I've edited the original post to correct that error.

--Foreigner

[Kagetenshi]

I typically roleplay out things like this, but that's because I have a tendency to do things that demand it, like give an Otaku a sawed-off shotgun or a 12-year-old kid a Browning Max-Power. For a normal adult runner, I won't usually think to do it, probably a result of the bias of a 5'11" 160lb male with slightly larger-than-average hands.

~J

[Kesh]

Most of my characters are magic types or deckers, and don't get into the front lines. Thus, they usually end up with some combination of these:

1) A shotgun, either a plain ol' Roomsweeper or a rull combat shotgun
2) A heavy pistol, either fully Smartlinked or just with a laser sight
3) A light pistol, like a Fichetti 500a, as a backup weapon
4) If heavy combat is really a problem, an SMG of some type

Most of the time, I just pack a Roomsweeper and a Fichetti for my chars. If they're a mage/shaman, their spells are their primary firepower. If a decker... well, he's a paper target anyway, so he stays out of the line of fire. ;)

[Snow_Fox]

In theory the lighter gun should cause more discomfort because there's less in it to absorb recoil, meaning it has to go somewhere-like into your body. A colt American is going to fire a smaller bullet than a manhunter but the smaller mass of the gun will mean that there's less to absorb recoil.
This can be offset by better craftsmanship
In RL you can see this in comparing Baretta and Taurus .380's The better quality Italian gun is smaller than the Brazillian Taurus, but oddly enough the grip is a little wider. but this is going to a point well beyond the rule's play.