Why Sniper Rifles are so crappy in HT?

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Vynticator

Trying to make a sniper rifle for TL5, can I run some maths past people and see if I'm getting the rules right? Not super-familiar with guns rules in GURPS.

Sharps 1874 rifle base acc 4
Very fine, +2 acc +1 malf
Weapon bond +1 skill
Handmade match grade ammo +2 acc

Final accuracy is 9

Is that legit?

It's (almost) in accordance with the rules, but I can't comment on how realistic it is to have the Sharps attain this level of precision at what amounts to fairly modest cost. No less so than for hundreds of other guns, so I wouldn't worry about it unless you're truly obsessive when it comes to detail.*

The only thing in your post that's not quite right by the RAW is that final Acc is properly 8, not 9. The Weapon Bond Perk grants a bonus to skill, not Acc, which is important in situations where you don't have time to Aim. In that case, you'd still get the skill bonus, but the Acc would be irrelevant.

*Even then, it's certainly not that unrealistic for the Sharps to perform as well as modern sniper rifles at most combat ranges (though at such ranges, the difference in precision between accurised target rifles and mass-produced service ones usually aren't relevant anyway, contrary to GURPS rules). What might be unrealistic is using it to snipe at truly extreme range, given the somewhat pronounced parabolic trajectory and the much longer travel time compared to a speedier, more flat-shooting round. But worrying about specific rounds and gun models for situational modifiers is beyond even the level of detail found in GURPS Tactical Shooting.