Firing while laying on ones back does indeed feature among the many recommended firing positions for 18th and 19th century Riflemen. The idea is that it is the most stable position for a long range shot. The Rifleman lays down, tucks the stock into the shoulder, crosses his ankles and rest the barrel between his feet to take the shot.
I'm not too sure if any of that is of benefit with the Aliens steady gun mount. By the way as the illustration in the Colonial Marines Manual it looks like many Marine machine gunners would blow their own toes off.
The main problem I see with the whole steady rig concept is being able to throw the gun away quickly. The gun is attached to the rig, and the rig is attached to you. What happens when you really *have* to get through that mousehole in a room entry or when the mg gunner gets hit how does someone else in the squad take over?
There are some benefits but overall is it a workable idea?
That's one of them, but the basic stance had the firer laying with ankles straight, toes canted outward to form a "V" where the barrel rests. Then, site your target and fire away.
Like you said, the weapon was longer which allowed for that kind of thing.
And yeah, for one of my old gaming groups, the rig was just that and nothing more. We saw it as a labor saving device as opposed to a whole weapon system that actually had more of an integrated role.
It wounds like, using CT rules at least, that there would be a +3DM or something, and a -2DM for accidentally hitting friendlies.
The few times I worked around stedicams (way back in the 80s and early 90s), it seemed to me that the whole thing is just unwiedly. The camera itself has to be balanced with a counterweight on the bottom (sometimes this is the battery for the video tap so the cameraman can see what he's shooting). The camera itself can weigh about 30lbs, so you've got both the camera and the batteries extending off of your torso, and shifting your center of gravity. I always heard the operators say you constantly wanted to fall to your right or left, depending on how you had the camera mounted.
With something like an M60 or SAW, I guess it would be a lighter setup. Another question is how do you reload?
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