Chris Pinkleton
New member
Howdy y'all!
Just thought I'd give a try at starting a thread that will allow everyone's imaginations to run wild, and satisfy all my fellow sci-fi freaks on TFL. I know you are out there!
It seems to me that firearms technology really hasn't changed significantly since the early 20th century. Yes, we now have polymer frames, better expanding hollowpoints, stronger steels, "safe actions, " laser sights, etc.
BUT:
-at the begining of last century we had revolvers and self-loaders firing bullets out of cases propelled by expanding gasses generated by burning propellant.
-at the begining of this century we have the exact same choices. (OK, now "self-loaders" are "semi-automatics." Yay.)
This is nothing like the jump in technology from the early 19th century to the beginning of the 20th(e.g. flintlocks to DA centerfire revolver). Considering that we've gone from telegraph to TV to internet and from horses to automobiles and transsonic aircraft and regular rocket launches in the same time period, firearms seem to be on a fairly pathetic development curve.
So when will we see firearms in regular production that represent a fundemental change in basic principles? As I see it, there are several routes we could go to from here:
1) Caseless firearms: These have been "just about to about to enter service" ever since I can remember. I know there was a hunting rifle along these lines offered a few years ago(the Veore?) but it didn't do very well, and it didn't seem to offer much over a conventional rifle besides higher cost. I know the H&K G11 was "in development" for well over a decade, but it didn't seem to ever make it into production. I've never heard of any caseless pistol projects, but if any of y'all have, drop me a line.
I think caseless weapons were supposed to offer more rounds in a lighter, smaller, and more reliable package, due to lighter ammuntion and the lack of a need for an ejection system. The G11, however, ran into problems when it was nessary to eject a dud round!
Even if this technology works out, unless the 2nd amendment is really the law of the land again, I'm not sure it will ever make it into civilian hands in a big way, since most of it's advantages really seem to only come into play in "assault" weapons. A caseless 10mm pocket pistol with weight under 10oz fully loaded would be kinda cool . . . if the shooter could handle the recoil!
2) Electro-thermal guns: Prototypes of these use high-voltage electrical charges to turn a liquid medium inside a cartrige into gas (or maybe plasma?), propelling a bullet much like today's guns do. The advantage is supposed to be the ability to tailor the charge so all the energy in the propellent makes it into the bullet in a given bullet length. Also, the "energy dump" is more gradual so that the bullet gains velocity evenly down the barrel, which supposedly results in VERY redudced recoil. The examples I saw in an old Guns&Advertising were sending .223 rifle bullets and .45 pistol bullets at twice the energy of their conventional counterparts with the same felt recoil.
It seems this technology would allow a pistol to fire .50 AE-type bullets with less recoil than a normal .45ACP +P! One problem with this idea right now -- you would have to tote around batteries weighing dozens of pounds just to get a few shots. Of course, electronics advances all the time . . .
3) Railguns: Also "mass drivers" or "linear accelerators."
I won't go into all the details here, but basically, these chuck out ferrous projectiles by electromagnetic means. Possible velocities are insane -- Mach 20+!!!(I leave it to someone else to figure that out in fps.) Their would be no muzzle blast from these, and the only sound would be the transsonic crack of the bullet -- pretty loud at Mach 20, but a subsonic pistol model would be nearly silent! I think one of these firing a .55 400 grain bullet at 700-800fps would make a nice "house gun!"
The current problem with these is that the prototypes of these not only require huge bank of capasitors(spelling?) for power, the gun assemblies themselves take up a small room, and they have to be reassembled for every shot. I have faith in progress.
4)Lasers: I don't think I need to describe these too much. They seem to have all the problems of railguns, plus they seem likely to deposit all of their energy in the first few millimeters of the target -- sort of like the difference between FMJs and pre-frgs times one hundred. These certainly have anti-missle and anti-vehicle applications, but it seems to me for sttopping people, bullets will be the way to go well into the 22nd century.
Anyone else on TFL got any better info/speculations? What would it take for you to give up your M1911, Glock, etc.
Thanks for reading this way-too-long post!
Just thought I'd give a try at starting a thread that will allow everyone's imaginations to run wild, and satisfy all my fellow sci-fi freaks on TFL. I know you are out there!
It seems to me that firearms technology really hasn't changed significantly since the early 20th century. Yes, we now have polymer frames, better expanding hollowpoints, stronger steels, "safe actions, " laser sights, etc.
BUT:
-at the begining of last century we had revolvers and self-loaders firing bullets out of cases propelled by expanding gasses generated by burning propellant.
-at the begining of this century we have the exact same choices. (OK, now "self-loaders" are "semi-automatics." Yay.)
This is nothing like the jump in technology from the early 19th century to the beginning of the 20th(e.g. flintlocks to DA centerfire revolver). Considering that we've gone from telegraph to TV to internet and from horses to automobiles and transsonic aircraft and regular rocket launches in the same time period, firearms seem to be on a fairly pathetic development curve.
So when will we see firearms in regular production that represent a fundemental change in basic principles? As I see it, there are several routes we could go to from here:
1) Caseless firearms: These have been "just about to about to enter service" ever since I can remember. I know there was a hunting rifle along these lines offered a few years ago(the Veore?) but it didn't do very well, and it didn't seem to offer much over a conventional rifle besides higher cost. I know the H&K G11 was "in development" for well over a decade, but it didn't seem to ever make it into production. I've never heard of any caseless pistol projects, but if any of y'all have, drop me a line.
I think caseless weapons were supposed to offer more rounds in a lighter, smaller, and more reliable package, due to lighter ammuntion and the lack of a need for an ejection system. The G11, however, ran into problems when it was nessary to eject a dud round!
Even if this technology works out, unless the 2nd amendment is really the law of the land again, I'm not sure it will ever make it into civilian hands in a big way, since most of it's advantages really seem to only come into play in "assault" weapons. A caseless 10mm pocket pistol with weight under 10oz fully loaded would be kinda cool . . . if the shooter could handle the recoil!
2) Electro-thermal guns: Prototypes of these use high-voltage electrical charges to turn a liquid medium inside a cartrige into gas (or maybe plasma?), propelling a bullet much like today's guns do. The advantage is supposed to be the ability to tailor the charge so all the energy in the propellent makes it into the bullet in a given bullet length. Also, the "energy dump" is more gradual so that the bullet gains velocity evenly down the barrel, which supposedly results in VERY redudced recoil. The examples I saw in an old Guns&Advertising were sending .223 rifle bullets and .45 pistol bullets at twice the energy of their conventional counterparts with the same felt recoil.
It seems this technology would allow a pistol to fire .50 AE-type bullets with less recoil than a normal .45ACP +P! One problem with this idea right now -- you would have to tote around batteries weighing dozens of pounds just to get a few shots. Of course, electronics advances all the time . . .
3) Railguns: Also "mass drivers" or "linear accelerators."
I won't go into all the details here, but basically, these chuck out ferrous projectiles by electromagnetic means. Possible velocities are insane -- Mach 20+!!!(I leave it to someone else to figure that out in fps.) Their would be no muzzle blast from these, and the only sound would be the transsonic crack of the bullet -- pretty loud at Mach 20, but a subsonic pistol model would be nearly silent! I think one of these firing a .55 400 grain bullet at 700-800fps would make a nice "house gun!"
The current problem with these is that the prototypes of these not only require huge bank of capasitors(spelling?) for power, the gun assemblies themselves take up a small room, and they have to be reassembled for every shot. I have faith in progress.
4)Lasers: I don't think I need to describe these too much. They seem to have all the problems of railguns, plus they seem likely to deposit all of their energy in the first few millimeters of the target -- sort of like the difference between FMJs and pre-frgs times one hundred. These certainly have anti-missle and anti-vehicle applications, but it seems to me for sttopping people, bullets will be the way to go well into the 22nd century.
Anyone else on TFL got any better info/speculations? What would it take for you to give up your M1911, Glock, etc.
Thanks for reading this way-too-long post!
Against game, it'd be effective, but I don't think you could call it hunting anymore.