[HT] [TS] Tactics for realistic suppressors
I think I'm failing to see how to use a suppressor effectively in GURPS gun combat. For example, take the Welrod pistol, (Tactical Shooting p54). It gives -3 to rolls to hear the shot, or -4 if you can press it to the victim's body. You can also get -1 to be heard if you can arrange for all potential witnesses to be well out of the line of fire, but that probably doesn't stack with pressing the gun to the target.
That sounds good, until you look at the table on p158 of High-Tech. The Welrod is a .32ACP pistol, which is a light pistol, heard on an unmodified hearing roll at 256 yards, or with -4 from suppression, on an unmodified hearing roll at 16 yards. But if you're relying on not being heard, giving unmodified hearing rolls is decidedly chancy. If you can put a gun against the target, you can stab him instead, which is a lot quieter: even if he shouts, his range for unmodified hearing rolls (8 years) is shorter than the corresponding roll for the suppressed pistol.
If one goes to the opposite extreme with a suppressed rifle, one can do a bit better. A 7.62 NATO (or 30-06, .303, or 7.62x54mm Russian) rifle has a base hearing range of 512 yards, and a 1/2D of more than that; with a -3 suppressor, one can plausibly hope that people in the general area of the target will fail hearing-3 rolls.
What am I missing? Or are short-ranged suppressed weapons really of dubious value?
EDIT: Yes, background noise, distractions, and so on can make suppressors much more effective. But you seem to need those to stand a decent chance of going unheard.
Last edited by johndallman; 06-15-2013 at 09:27 AM.
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