Quote:
Originally Posted by Polydamas
The gyrojet in GURPS High Tech has reduced damage at ranges up to 21 yards. To my knowledge, handguns are almost never used in combat at ranges greater than 21 yards (and certainly don't often hit in combat at longer ranges).
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Because it takes time for the round to accelerate. A kicker charge could boost it to make velocity in the barrel. Sort of defeats the purpose of a gyrojet, but it does give you a self-propelling round that can maintain max velocity (and thus damage) for a significant distance. Also allows for the gubbins you can fit in a .50 caliber shell like explosives and guidance systems. A guided .50 APHE hand-cannon sounds sufficiently gnarly for monster-slaying, and might well be usable out to rifle range.
For what it's worth, some people interpret WH40k's bolters as functioning like this, as they're essentially described as gyrojets with mysteriously massive recoil that eject shell casings. The casing and recoil might come from a booster stage. Though they're also sometimes described as not reaching maximum velocity inside the barrel...