Who brings a knife to a gun-fight?

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by ArchonShiva

Why does it work in 40k?

Are effective weapon ranges incredibly low, or maybe weapons are incredibly inaccurate, jam all the time or hold very low ammo and reload or cycle very slowly?

Then again, maybe it doesn't work in 40k either.

In the tabletop game, the ranges are incredibly low.

In the fiction I've seen, it mostly works because of furious handwaving. With an occasional side of fighting in close environments that make it at least slightly less implausible.