The Scribblings of Samuel Baughn

Trailblazer Lifecard, .22 WMR (USA, 2019-) A single-shot derringer, which can be folded into a rectangular block roughly the length and width of a credit card (Holdout +0). It cannot be cocked or fired while folded (or folded while cocked) and has no extractor. A groove in the top surface serves as a rudimentary sight. A small compartment in the grip holds three spare rounds of ammunition (weight of these not included in the listed weights on the table). A version in .22 LR is also available, and the grip compartment can hold four of the smaller rounds. A barrel to convert between the two is $70. GUNS (SPECIALITY) (DX-4 or most other Guns at -2) Weapon Damage Acc Range Weight RoF Shots ST Bulk Rcl Trailblazer Lifecard, .22 WMR 1d+1 pi− 0 100/1,300 0.45/0.012 1 1(3) 6 −1 2 Trailblazer Lifecard, .22 LR 1d pi− 0 80/1,100 ...

A more unusual gun this time, ideal for an After the End game. Information about this weapon is hard to find, so more guesswork than usual went into the numbers. Don't try to build one of these things yourself; they are not only illegal almost everywhere, but also probably unsafe to both build and shoot. Luty 9mm SMG, 9×19mm (UK, 1998-) Philip Luty designed this extremely simple weapon as an act of protest against restrictive gun laws in the UK. Unsurprisingly, the protest resulted in him spending much of the rest of his life in prison, but the instruction manual he wrote for constructing it was published and distributed widely enough that copies have been made around the world, mostly by criminal groups. The design was intended to be built from commonly available materials with only an angle grinder, blowtorch, electric drill, and some hand tools. It is a straight blowback operated smoothbore weapon, firing from an open bolt, with neither sights or stock, so accuracy is ...

Kel-Tec SU16, 5.56×45mm NATO (USA, 2003-) The original Sport Utility rifle (later named SU16A) uses an AR-15 ( GURPS High-Tech , p. 117) derived upper (with an 18.5″ barrel and piston mechanism) on a ‘take-down’ lower, allowing it to be folded into a compact package (about 2′ long; −3 Holdout) and quickly turned back into a functional rifle by folding it out again. It can not be fired or loaded while folded, as the trigger goes into the magazine well. The hand-guard can be folded out into a bipod ( GURPS High-Tech , p. 160), the upper receiver has a Picatinny accessory rail ( GURPS High-Tech , p. 161), and the stock can hold two of the standard 10 round magazines or one metal 20 or 30 round AR-15 style one (polymer magazines are too wide to fit). It can use any AR-15 style STANAG magazine, but the magazines it comes with will not work in other AR-15 style weapons. The SU16B is similar, but has a light-weight 16″ barrel. Treat it as ‘unreliable’ for ...

"He's an outlaw loose and running" Came the whisper from each lip "And he's here to do some business, with the big iron on his hip" Marty Robbins Big Iron Continuing the theme of impractically large pistols. Smith & Wesson Model 500, .500 Magnum (USA, 2003-) Apparently built just so that S&W could once again claim to produce ‘the most powerful handgun in the world’, this huge SA/DA revolver has rubber grips and a built-in compensator ( GURPS Gun-Fu , p. 41) to try and tame the ridiculous recoil of the .500 Magnum round. It also shoots the slightly less crazy .500 Special (Dmg 3d+2 pi+, Rcl 4). A long-barrel performance center version with a muzzle brake, accessory rail for mounting a scope, and swing swivels is also available (with .500 Special; Dmg. 4d−1 pi+, Rcl 3). The Model 500ES (2003-2009) is an ‘emergency survival’ version with orange grips and a 2.75″ barrel (with .500 Special; Dmg 3d−1 pi+, Rcl 4). GUNS (PISTOL)...

Here's another set of hand-cannons. Auto Mag Model 180, .44 AMP (USA, 1971-1972) The original Auto Mag Pistol is an over-engineered beauty, mostly cast from stainless steel. It is single action and uses a rotating-bolt short-recoil mechanism to manage the power of its unique cartridge. The barrel has a large rib running along the top, which combined with the guide rods running along the sides and an elegantly curved trigger-guard, gives the pistol a very distinctive appearance. With a cost of manufacture well below the retail price, the Auto Mag Corporation was only able to build around 3,000 before declaring bankruptcy, six months after shipping the first one. Owner Harry Sanford went on to produce it under several different brands (TDE, OMC, Thomas Oil Company, High Standard, and AMT) between 1973 and 1984, raising the price to $6,000 to actually turn a profit. Despite the cost, he managed to sell around 6,000 more guns. Since 2018 AutoMag Ltd. has sold a copy for $2,5...

As you may have guessed from recent posts, I've been statting up some guns for GURPS. I've also switched theme, so hopefully large tables should display reasonably well on most devices. Here's the first one: Ruger Blackhawk, .44 Magnum (USA, 1956-1962) Thanks to some corporate espionage (the apocryphal story says a Ruger employee found a spent case in a dumpster) Sturm, Ruger & Co. were able to bring a version of their popular single-action Blackhawk revolver chambered in the new .44 Magnum round to market at almost the same time as the Smith & Wesson Model 29 ( GURPS High-Tech , p. 96) for two-thirds the price. The Blackhawk was essentially a modernized version of the Colt M1873 Single-Action Army ( GURPS High-Tech , p. 95) and suffered similar safety issues to early revolvers when the hammer was left over a loaded chamber (See "Unsafe" Revolvers, GURPS High-Tech , p. 93). The original Blackhawk (1955-1973) is chambered in .357 Magnum. From 196...

When writing up rules for unusual firearms in GURPS, I often find that it is really difficult to get a good estimate of how much the ammunition weighs. For some reason, although people love to post numbers related to guns on the internet, they very rarely include the weight of the cartridges they fire. Obviously different loadings vary quite a bit; the bullet is often two-thirds of the weight of a round, and the heaviest bullets might weigh twice what the lightest ones do. GURPS simplifies that into a single WPS, which leaves a bit of 'wiggle room', which is fortunate because any simple formula is only going to give a crude approximation, given the massive number of variables. Anyway, here's the math: A = B + ( ( C ^ (5/6) ) / 100 ) Where A is the weight of a complete round of ammunition in lbs. (i.e. WPS in GURPS), B is the weight of the bullet, also in lbs. (divide weight in grains by 7,000, or weight in grams by 454), and C is the case capacity in ...