[Ultra-Tech] Bioplas Guns?

[Varyon]

A search didn't find prior discussions of this, but would Smart Bioplastic (UT170) be a suitable material to make firearms out of? Normal modern plastic typically can't handle the pressures generated by high-power firearms, but bioplas is a lot stronger - indeed, the stats from "Ultra-Tech Armor Design" (Pyramid #3/96) has it being nearly 10x stronger than TL 8 Ultra-Strength Steel (from "Cutting Edge Armor Design," Pyramid #3/85) against threats other than burn and pi (which it's 3x as effective against), weighing in at 0.045 lb per DR per square foot, while US steel weighs in at 0.35 lb per DR per square foot.

If doable, there would be many advantages of bioplas guns. Their self-repairing nature would likely reduce maintenance requirements. Their high DR/lb implies they may be able to be made lighter - although given the role of firearm weight in recoil mitigation, perhaps it would be better if they weren't made any lighter. They would be readily collapsible, making use of their nature as memory materials, making them easy to conceal and carry around. Indeed, the thing that made me think about if they'd be doable was the idea of a weapon that can change size to fit the user's needs, ranging from a (heavy) handgun up to a longarm with a stock. They may be more readily able to be 3D printed or similar. They would theoretically be able to pass through metal detectors undetected, but being legally required to include some metal would avoid that, and there may be some components that still call for metal*.

Of course, a lot of those advantages, in addition to being great for PC's, might make them rather attractive to criminals (easier to conceal thanks to a reduced Holdout penalty when collapsed**, ease of 3D printing means not having to go through an FFL or similar, and lack of a need for metal means they can potentially get past metal detectors and the like), so a reduced LC might be appropriate.

One serious drawback I can see to using bioplas is that, if I'm calculating things right, it appears that it has roughly 1/10th the weight of steel. That means, if shooting for the same weight as a conventional firearm, you're looking at needing a barrel, bolt, etc (the parts of modern firearms that must be made of metal) that take up roughly 10x as much volume, and I'm not certain how achievable that is without having a bulky, awkward mess of a weapon on your hands.


*The bullets are an obvious one here. Ceramic bullets would potentially be doable, but would probably have low damage due to their density and be frangible; bioplas bullets might also be an option, still suffering reduced damage but probably not frangible.

**Heck, you could probably design a bioplas firearm to look like something innocuous when collapsed.