The problem with the idea that "if I'm not armed they won't hurt me" assumes that the other guy is sane and rational. Sane and rational people aren't generally the ones sticking up people on the street.

Bullies, predators and the like typically go after the prey likely to offer the least resistance. Like the weak, infirm or unarmed.

And bullies with an audience are less likely to back down in the face of strength than they might otherwise.

There are a lot of factors involved in each scenario -- no one perfect answer exists.

Ultimately, I'm less concerned with the reasons why someone is attacking me and more concerned with the fact that they are attacking me. Shoot first, ask questions later.

-Siege

Ok here is a rather large loadout that my current character typically carries.

She's a female Elf Merc type, with pretty high stats due to cyber, bio, and taking Attributes as an A priority

Str 6 allows here to carry some pretty hefty gear.

Typical loadout (low security area)
two heavy pistols 2 clips apiece EX
three hold out pistols
a ceska black scorpion 1 extra clip EX
a Cougar fine blade
cell phone
pocket sec.
smokes

Everything (except the phone , smokes, and ps) is in conceal quickdraw holsters,
and being that I have Ceramic bone lacing she is a deadly weapon , I pretty much have everything covered.

For a run just add SMG/Combat Shotgun and concussion grenades.

For high security areas I usually only carry one hold out, which even if it's detected usually dosn't raise to many problems, hey a girl has to defend herself (especially with a 7 CHR ).

I generally load up with a clip of gel rounds and carry the ex-ex unless I'm expecting trouble. If something shows up that the gel rounds can't handle (and they can handle quite a bit in a fashion less likely to provoke vengance, or vigorous police investigation), it's time to pop in the ex-ex.

For most of my character's day to day weapons I usually carry live ammo. Gel I use only for "work".

My theory being the Police have the right idea. If my character has to throw down, chances are good that the hombre on the recieving end did something to put himself there and is a "threat" not merely an "obstacle"--like sec guards.

For all of you posting "two mags" per weapon, does that include one loaded in the weapon?

-Siege

I'd assume so. You can buy SPARE mags, but I consider myself as having bought mags' worth of bullets, and use that as my primary indicator of how many I have total. I'm used to the Rainbow Six series, so not having a mass bullet pool makes sense.

I know that in CS, your ARs have about 4-4.5 clips-worth of ammo, pistols about 6 clips worth. including the rounds in the weapon, that is. I know that in R6 (and sequels) you can carry extra mags, and have 9 mags or 12 mags instead of only 6 primaries, and you have 3 total secondary mags (or was it 4? Maybe it was...).

The weight of that is absurd though when you try to do that for SR. That's probably why combat types have high strength.

In real life, a soldier will carry 9-12 mags easily into battle. Games tends to greatly diminish this for various reasons, many of them not terribly sensible.

You may not have to worry about getting pinned down for hours, but limiting you to three spare mags in a game where it takes at least three shots to put someone down is always going to be contrived. That's all I was saying. I agree that a runner operates with different demands.

yep one in the weapon and a spare. Live ammo for everyday Gel for runs against corps.

I sure as hell wouldn't. That's something like 12kg/26lbs right there. With good support and all, I think it's pretty silly anyone would. Maybe if someone ran out of belted ammo for an M249 and had to make do with magazines...

Always Carried:

Browning Max-Power: Loaded with 1 Clip Standard Ammo in Concealed Hoslter
2 Spare Clips Standard
2 Spare Clips Gel
Silencer
Survival Knife
Pocket Secretary
Long Coat

Emergency Stashes (at 5K a piece, get a couple at character creation and leave them around town)

Browning Max Power
3 Clips Standard
Survival Knife
2 IR Smoke Grenades
Armored Clothing
Survival Kit
Medkit
Pocket Flashlight
10 Days Ration Bars
Handset Cellphone
Certified Credstick - 1000 nY
Fake ID - Rating 2
Small Civilian Rucksack (To Keep Everything In)

Eyeless Blond: Add in 7.4kg/16.4lbs for a full Interceptor armor set-up, 3.8kg/8.3lbs for the rifle itself and 9kg/20lbs in misc gear on a short mission. I rather carry just the 23kg/50lbs and act that much easier. On an extended operation you're looking at 20-25lbs extra, and I bet in Iraq they'll be carrying a lot of water as well.

And where the hell does your little brother go to school anyway? 26lbs of books is the equivalent of 6 1800-page hard-cover Websters.

Is it really? I was just estimating myself. I've no idea if his books come out to 26 pounds or not; all I know is I picked his backpack up once and nearly fell over in surprise.

I checked with my Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language and an electronic scale. 1664 pages of words + US presidents, the US constitution, a Manual of Style, Declaration of Independence, huge tables of different measurement systems, language tables, pronunciation guides, etc, weighed in at 1.908kg.

I'd just like to point out that dictionaries are actually often lighter than textbooks due to being printed with much lighter materials. The backpack I carried through my first three years of high school just might've gotten near the 26 lb mark.

Heh. We're arguing about the weight of textbooks in a shadowrun concealed carry thread. There's WAY too much irony in this. I love this game.

You shoulda seen my Webster's measurements in a "How Much Is 1 MegaPulse" thread way back when I started measuring how many Websters you can fit into a cubic meter.

[Edit]0707hrs local time. Must GM in 9 hours. Gonna have me a nap.[/Edit]

What about a weapon-textbook? Some sort of pistol built into a textbook (similar idea to briefcase SMG). Maybe some resin/polymer (don't know what I'm talking about) materials built into the thick spine and a few bullets?

Personally, I've always been a fan of the flintlock pistol in bible combo.

Gun in the book is easy - cut a hole in the pages that is the right shape to hide the gun.

Ok, the fact that we're talking about textbooks on this thread is suddenly believable again...

What's the conceal of a bible?

Depends on whether or not you want to send that message A bonus to using gel rounds, if nothing else, is that you don't leave a slug with your gun's ballistic fingerprints all over it in someone's steaming corpse. When you use that gun on a run, all of a sudden they've got a pattern along with locations you've been...

Who's going to bother to look at a gel round, though?

Besides, I'm not talking about the Barrens, I'm talking "around town". In the barrens you pack ex-ex or APDS if you have it. Friggin' troll gangers don't feel much else.

If you want to send a really weird message, kill the guy with gel rounds. That'll show 'em. Besides, if you're that worried about ballistics, just carry different guns on runs than you do for day to day stuff.

Heh, true, true. That's just humiliating.

There are a lot of questions that have to go into the choice. How good are you? A street sam with wired reflexes and a likely TN < 4 probably doesn't need real ammo to get the point across (that D stun is a pretty good message). If you're suffering from twitch factor, it's a good idea to make sure you don't kill anyone by accident when you act without thinking, too.

If you're only a descent shot, you probably do want to go with the real ammo. Or get a taser. If you're looking at street crime, you'll be well within 15m of your assailant usually. 10S stun + shock effects should be more than enough for you to get away or finish the job, as your choice may be.

Sorry guys, I know this is a little off topic (and I'll post it to the Shadowrun Comedy thread too) but since we were talking about guns (and concealability?) then take a look at this link a chummer sent to me:

http://www.hoardmag.com/riello/Riello_1.htm

Now THESE are what the aforementioned lady assassins should utilise!!!!

For my current gun-toting character, the self-styled Cowboy wannabe, bipolar hick mercenary, his typical loadout consists of:

Sprawl life (low-security, high-threat area)

2 Ruger Super Warhawks (for that "cowboy" look")
Ares Predator, with spare clip, in SOB (small of back) holster
1 Defensive grenade
Dikoted Bowie knife (in cowboy boot)
Lined coat (brown "cowboy duster" style), FFBA full suit, jeans, cowboy boots, toothpick, cowboy hat, five o'clock shadow and a sneer.

Johnson meets/social situations:

Dallas Line for Men suit.
FFBA suit underneath.
Remington Roomsweeper in concealable holster OR Cezka vZ/120 in concealable holster depending on what he assesses the threat potential could be.
No extra ammo.

Work/Field loadout varies depending on job.

maybe more to the popint, if you've seen "Kill Bill Vol 1" There's a gun hidden in a box of cereal.