KITBAG 1: Universal Weapon Systems

[Carlobrand]

...For example, my personal favorite is the Heavy Hunting Weapon.
A group of intrepid adventurers arrives on a TL 5 backwater confidently superior in their cloth armor and gauss rifles and generally contemptuous of the backwoods militiamen. Until they see the heavy armor-piercing local rounds punch through the hide of the local fauna (and suddenly feel less safe in their vacc suit ‘armor’). And for up close and personal, these TL 5 ‘bumpkins’ have the use of any special shotgun shell from any Traveller book or TL that can be fired from the same ‘common’ hunting arm. ...

Actually, that comment makes me a little less interested in the book. A serious heavy TL5 armor-piercing hunting arm approximates the Terran elephant gun. Okay so far: the local militia feels the need for a large-bore high-power weapon to take on some problematic local beastie. The thing is big, heavy, the rounds likewise. One presumes they aren't fighting wars with each other, 'cause someone's going to get the bright idea to beat the other side by equipping some of the men with lighter rifles firing lighter rounds so they can carry more rounds into battle and resupply more easily. Someone might even come up with the idea of beating the cannoneers by using some variant of the TL5 Winchester. But then this man-portable cannon can fire shotgun shells - which means it is coincidentally the same diameter as a shotgun, and it is smoothbore, foregoing the advantages of rifling.

I'm probably missing something. My knowledge of firearms is somewhat limited.

 

[atpollard]

Actually, that comment makes me a little less interested in the book. A serious heavy TL5 armor-piercing hunting arm approximates the Terran elephant gun. Okay so far: the local militia feels the need for a large-bore high-power weapon to take on some problematic local beastie. The thing is big, heavy, the rounds likewise. One presumes they aren't fighting wars with each other, 'cause someone's going to get the bright idea to beat the other side by equipping some of the men with lighter rifles firing lighter rounds so they can carry more rounds into battle and resupply more easily. Someone might even come up with the idea of beating the cannoneers by using some variant of the TL5 Winchester. But then this man-portable cannon can fire shotgun shells - which means it is coincidentally the same diameter as a shotgun, and it is smoothbore, foregoing the advantages of rifling.

I'm probably missing something. My knowledge of firearms is somewhat limited.

Actually, it is simpler than that. The gun is an over-under Rifle and Shotgun. Just the kind of thing that would be handy on a frontier world where you might need to shoot a duck for dinner or defend yourself from a rhinocerous on the same hunting trip ... and never know which you would encounter first.

Because it is a normal shotgun, it can use ANY normal shotgun round.

The cover of Kitbag 1 shows the weapon (IIRC).

EDIT: Yup, it is the top weapon on the cover of kitbag 1 ...

 

[Carlobrand]

Actually, it is simpler than that. The gun is an over-under Rifle and Shotgun. Just the kind of thing that would be handy on a frontier world where you might need to shoot a duck for dinner or defend yourself from a rhinocerous on the same hunting trip ... and never know which you would encounter first.

Because it is a normal shotgun, it can use ANY normal shotgun round.

Oh. Okay, I'm interested again.

Reminds me of a conversation some time back where we discussed LAG-equivalent guns popping up at TL4-5.

 

[atpollard]

Just a quick public announcement from Avenger Command Central (aka. William and Robert):

The page count for Kitbag 2, 3 and 4 is NOT 5 pages, as originally reported on DTRPG.

The data on DTRPG for Kitbag 2, 3 and 4 has been corrected.

Each Kitbag has 17 PAGES of MJD written Traveller goodness for less than the cost of a McDonalds Value Meal.

Thank you for your attention ... Traveller on.