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Originally Posted by safisher
I can see the appeal. A really cut-down .50 BMG (8-10") with a suppressor can be done, I suppose. It won't really be all that quiet, but it probably acts like a muzzle break, in game terms. But in the end it's still very heavy and has a limited ammo capacity (unless you mod them to belt feed, too).
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I think the .50 BMG would lose a lot of velocity in such a short barrel. I'd probably want a 20" barrel even for a CQB .50 BMG. If it's a bullpup, that would still be only Bulk -5 and that's a
nice weapon for a team sharpshooter. Shots 10+1 is fine for a semi-automatic weapon, especially one that speaks with such authority.
Quote:
Originally Posted by safisher
It's just not functional in any realistic way compared to the other calibers mentioned. Maybe one guy in the fire team has one, but for the whole crew it's probably a waste. The other calibers mentioned are fine, too, I suppose, but miss out on some of the off-the-shelf flexibility of the Beowulf.
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The .50 Beowulf and the .458 SOCOM are pretty similar for this role. The .50 Beowulf is slightly more powerful, but the .458 SOCOM apparently has better performance with subsonic rounds. Almost any 30-rd AR-15 magazine will hold 10 of each and a CMMG 40-rd one will hold 14 .50 Beowulf or 15 .458 SOCOM. Both will do fine in a monster hunting carbine.
OTOH, the legal 16" barrel is kind of a waste, as with Bulk -5 you can get an AR-10 chambered for 45 Raptor, which gets you Shots 20+1 of a more powerful round than either the .50 Beowulf or the .458 SOCOM. So if you have to carry a legal semi-automatic rifle for monster hunting, I'd probably go with that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by safisher
If your unit of MHs is super secret and funded by some limitless dark funding stream, then playing around with the others might be okay, too. If I were going this route, though, I'd really look at a custom round and custom weapon. Maybe poisoned triplex APEX rounds, that sort of thing. Heck, an M-32 grenade launcher would be a good option against certain targets.
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It's just a thought experiment, really. I'm not planning any game where there is an official government funded Monster Hunting institute of any kind. I might run one where the PCs are rich or have a rich Patron, though, and don't mind breaking gun laws to go with all the law-breaking being a monster hunting vigilante entails.
Quote:
Originally Posted by safisher
We picked the .50 Beowulf because it hits the right GURPS break point in L:MH, and is a beast (with a drum, good optic, and a good can). It can fold up, even be built as a pistol. And as a relatively cheap, COTS carbine at 6d+1+ (or more with extra-powerful rounds) and with a 34-round drum and full-auto in a small carbine size it is going to be an important MH benchmark, no doubt.
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I'm heard that neither the .50 Beowulf and the .458 SOCOM works very well in drum magazines. As in, Malf. 16 might be highly optimistic, with Malf. 13-14 closer to the mark. But I agree with the rest.
Quote:
Originally Posted by safisher
Also, as we point out in L:MH you can have an underbarrel attachment, which now days might be a 12-gauge six-shot revolver, like the SIX12.
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Which is pretty cool.