Exotic ammo in DC?

[Alibear]

Pardon my ignorance, perhaps you can help me?

Are the exotic rounds in Dark Champions readily available for normal people in the US.? Would they be available in a Cyberpunk type future? Is there somewhere I could get more commercial info on these bullets?

Thanks in advance.
Al

[Markdoc]

Most of the exotic rounds are not legally available to civilians - but then neither are a lot of the firearms used in DC!

As a rough guide:

Tracer* or Incendiary rounds are legal except in NY City, California, and Florida. Note - contrary to gamer legend, incendiary rounds don't burst into flame unless you fire at a hard target and hit it at relatively high velocity - fired at a squishy target like a human, it'd just be an ordinary bullet. It might ignite on a trauma plate, though.

"sort of" armour piercing ammo is legal (hard points, solid core, etc) but milspec AP rounds are not (as of 1986, when Congress amended the Gun Control Act of 1968. This was tightened up with The Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act of 1994). So, depeted uranium rounds or APDS are out, sorry.

Fragmentation, deforming or tumbling rounds are legal in almost all states but again some of the more extreme versions are specifically outlawed - this varies from state to state. Not that it matters much. Again, to the disappointment of gaming geeks everwhere, the actual difference between frag rounds and normal semi-cap rounds is minimal to non-existant (see for example Dr. M. L. Fackler, "Wounding Patterns for Military Rifle Bullets," International Defense Review, January 1989, pp. 56-64 or "Clinical and legal significance of fragmentation of bullets in relation to size of wounds: retrospective analysis". BMJ. 1999 August 14; 319(7207): 403–406) - basically, most trauma surgeons think the 1899 prohibition against "dum dum" rounds is meaningless with regard to modern ammo.

Flechettes* or darts are illegal in many states but they are (I think) legal in some (not certain: that used to be the case, but may not still be true)

Explosive ammo is illegal anywhere

* means this doesn't always apply to shotguns

cheers, Mark

[BoneDaddy]

There's a bunch of nifty exotic shotgun shells, but you can't get them at S-Mart or anything. Screamers, doorbusters, etc. Try this link (http://www.firequest.com/catalog/12_gauge_ammunition.html)

If that link doesn't scare you even a little, you're a braver man than I.

Just the same, I've bookmarked it.

[Sociotard]

Huh. Those would be fun, provided they work as described. I'm just not sure how well I trust the website.

[Markdoc]

Smart consumer - I've found that sites like this make amazing claims based on precisely zero evidence, and even some of the more sensible ones hype their ammo past the point of reality - after all, they want to sell bullets and the price can range dramatically - some of the so-called exotic rounds cost only a little more than regular ammo to make - but can sell for up to 20-30x the price.

You do the math :D

cheers, Mark

[BlackSword]

Heard about an interesting round on the radio this morning, a taser shotgun round.

http://news.com.com/A+Taser+shotgun+for+long-range+electrifying/2100-1008_3-6039508.html

[gewing]

Most of the exotic rounds are not legally available to civilians - but then neither are a lot of the firearms used in DC!

As a rough guide:

Tracer* or Incendiary rounds are legal except in NY City, California, and Florida. Note - contrary to gamer legend, incendiary rounds don't burst into flame unless you fire at a hard target and hit it at relatively high velocity - fired at a squishy target like a human, it'd just be an ordinary bullet. It might ignite on a trauma plate, though.

"sort of" armour piercing ammo is legal (hard points, solid core, etc) but milspec AP rounds are not (as of 1986, when Congress amended the Gun Control Act of 1968. This was tightened up with The Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act of 1994). So, depeted uranium rounds or APDS are out, sorry.

Fragmentation, deforming or tumbling rounds are legal in almost all states but again some of the more extreme versions are specifically outlawed - this varies from state to state. Not that it matters much. Again, to the disappointment of gaming geeks everwhere, the actual difference between frag rounds and normal semi-cap rounds is minimal to non-existant (see for example Dr. M. L. Fackler, "Wounding Patterns for Military Rifle Bullets," International Defense Review, January 1989, pp. 56-64 or "Clinical and legal significance of fragmentation of bullets in relation to size of wounds: retrospective analysis". BMJ. 1999 August 14; 319(7207): 403–406) - basically, most trauma surgeons think the 1899 prohibition against "dum dum" rounds is meaningless with regard to modern ammo.

Flechettes* or darts are illegal in many states but they are (I think) legal in some (not certain: that used to be the case, but may not still be true)

Explosive ammo is illegal anywhere

* means this doesn't always apply to shotguns

cheers, Mark



I think the federal AP ban only applies to Handgun ammunition. HOwever, since there are now handguns in 5.56, that applies, apparently. The ATF under Clinton also decided that because a manufacturer made 3 PROTOTYPE AR based pistols in 7.62x39, ALL of the cheap steel cored 7.62x39 ammo was banned from importation. The guns weren't even on the market, iirc.

IIRC
Many of the kinds of explosive ammunition can be bought legally with a Class 3 license, though indivdual states may not allow them even then. WA for instance doesn't allow automatic weapons except for police and Military, even with the Federal tax stamp.

As a side issue, If I run a game, i am NOT going to use several of the bullet write-ups from Dark champions. For instance, the Reverse ogive bullets are TOO good. They make pistols as good as or better than rifles, imo.

I have a few quibbles with the accuracy of some guns too. Why are basically NO revolvers as accurate as service grade auto pistols.

oh well.

Relataively minor house rules.

[Alibear]

Steve does suggest giving all handguns Reduced Penetration v armour but not rifles. The theory being that a rifle has so much more penetrating value I suppose.