Ed the Coastie Goes Shooting

[Ed the Coastie]

Today I went shooting for the first time in a while; my stepfather and I were test-firing some pistols. I thought it would be fun to post the modifiers and results and see if we can calculate what my Guns (Pistol) skill might work out to.

The Weapon -- Ruger Standard MK1 Pistol

-2 due to Unfamiliarity (I have never fired one before)

The Modifiers

+1 due to All-Out Attack (Determined)

+4 due to Aim (I took my time aiming between shots)

+10 due to Difficulty (No hurry or rush...just plinking)

Net Adjustments -- +13

Target #1 -- Small 6" Pumpkin at 30 feet

-6 due to Size

-4 due to Range

Net Penalty -- -10

Target #2 -- Golf Ball at 45 feet

-10 due to Size

-5 due to Range

Net Penalty -- -15

The Results
I fired nine shots at each target. I hit the pumpkin eight times (88%) and the golf ball three (33%).*


...and then my math breaks down. (It's late.) How does it go from here?







* All the rest of the shots were within inches of the targets, but did not actually hit them. Not bad for having not shot in a while, and having never handled that particular pistol before.

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by Ed the Coastie

Target #1 -- Small 6" Pumpkin at 30 feet

-6 due to Size

-4 due to Range

Net Penalty -- -10

Target #2 -- Golf Ball at 45 feet

-10 due to Size

-5 due to Range

Net Penalty -- -15

Note that as roughly spherical objects, these would likely both be effectively +2 SM larger. If the Pumpkin was quite misshapen, and 6" was the longest dimension, it might be only +1 SM. So this puts you at effective skill +4 or +5 for the pumpkin, and effective skill +0 for the golf ball.

The Results
I fired nine shots at each target. I hit the pumpkin eight times (88%) and the golf ball three (33%).*

33% hit rate is just under skill 9, while 88% is just under skill 14 (and nicely matches the +5 effective skill for the round pumpkin). Since Guns is a DX/E skill, that likely puts you at high Dabbler proficiency (ie, 0.25 to 0.5 cp) which sounds reasonable for someone who shoots occasionally. If you're overall highly athletic (DX 13) you could be getting by purely on default.

Of course, 9 shots per target is not a huge sample to work with. I'm kinda surprised the numbers came out as nicely as they did.

[Ed the Coastie]

Originally Posted by vierasmarius

33% hit rate is just under skill 9, while 88% is just under skill 14 (and nicely matches the +5 effective skill for the round pumpkin). Since Guns is a DX/E skill, that likely puts you at high Dabbler proficiency (ie, 0.25 to 0.5 cp) which sounds reasonable for someone who shoots occasionally. If you're overall highly athletic (DX 13) you could be getting by purely on default.

I'm not overly-athletic. I used to shoot all the time, but haven't in a while. To be honest, this was the first time in a couple or three years that I have fired a gun of any kind; I figure that my skill has degraded somewhat.

Of course, 9 shots per target is not a huge sample to work with. I'm kinda surprised the numbers came out as nicely as they did.

What I did was fire off one magazine (9 rounds) to get at least nominally familiar with the pistol, then I fired one magazine each at the targets. It is worth noting that ALL of my shots -- including the initial 9 for familiarization -- were grouped inside the paper plates that we had set behind the targets.

Not bad for a middle-aged ex-sailor.

[jacobmuller]

Re unfamiliarity penalty, a pertinent quote from our beloved meister (please forgive my failure to find the actual thread post)

If it's penalty size that's the issue, cut the -2 per category to -1, so that unfamiliarity ranges from -1 to -3 instead of from -2 to -6. That way, it'll average -2, as for almost every other skill, and common penalties will be -1 and no longer worse than default penalties for different weapon types altogether. Thinking about it more, I'd even support calling this errata.