Back to the main page

Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: MR DELIVAN S HARDERS <YUBM21A@*******.COM>
Subject: Real ranges
Date: Sat, 11 Feb 1995 16:32:21 EST
For those of you who may have noticed, FASA has no idea as to what real
ranges for firearms are (unless when magic came back gravity on the planet
also increased). For those of you who are interested, I have listed below
the real ranges for firearms.

Firearms Short Medium Long Extreme
Hold-out pistol 0-5 6-15 16-30 31-50
Light pistol 0-10 11-40 41-80 81-150
Heavy pistol 0-10 11-40 41-90 91-150
Submachine Gun 0-15 16-40 41-110 111-200
Taser 0-5 6-10 11-12 13-15
Shotgun
Slug 0-10 11-40 41-80 81-150
Buckshot 0-5 6-15 16-30 40-50
Flechette 0-30 31-60 61-120 121-240
Sport rifle 0-40 41-150 151-450 451-1000
Sniper rifle 0-50 51-150 151-450 451-1300
Assault rifle 0-40 41-150 151-300 301-500
Light Machine Gun 0-40 41-150 151-450 451-1000

Medium machine gun 0-70 71-150 151-450 451-1500
Heavy machine gun 0-100 101-200 201-500 501-2000
Assault cannon 0-100 101-200 201-500 501-2000
Grenade launcher 0-40 41-80 81-200 201-400

As for other heavy weapons and missiles, thery're pretty close. This
table of course takes many assumptions in mind. All ranges are correct
provided that the calibers of certain weapon types are true. In real life,
each weapon has it's own range according to barrel length and caliber. I
assumed that the assault cannon is a 20mm round (normal 20mm cannon ranges
are max.4000m easy, but the assault cannons short barrel should reduce the
range a bit). The flechette for shotgun listed above is for real world
flechettes which are equivalent to 16 penney nails with fins on them. This
would make them the same as bullets against armor, but the sharp and
unforgiving material of the flechette should reduce some of the armors
protective ability (I go with -3). With all this in mind, have fun.

-Reaver
Message no. 2
From: Lars Ericson <lericson@***.EDU>
Subject: Re: Real ranges
Date: Sun, 12 Feb 1995 14:41:02 -0600
I think that a more realistic change would be to include another
range catagory. With a 9 target number being all that is needed for
extreme, the average shootist (Firearms: 3) would probably hit a man
sized target 20-25% of the time. This is without any smartgun or
scope modifications. I agree that weapons can fire farther than the
ranges that SR has them at, but I think those longer distances should
be harder than a nine, perhaps an 11. Anyone else have any comments?

--
Lars M Ericson: Professional Vagabond <lericson@***.edu>
The Lor, The Law, The Lars
Team Garotte, Founding Member
Registered Member of a Decadent Society

Life is like a Wankel Engine. In between the emptiness of boredom and
despair, and the compression of stress in one's life, there's that
one spark of enjoyment that keeps you going.

"She's going to disenvowel him. It'll be a Hnd!"
-- Hell-Beast
--
Message no. 3
From: MR DELIVAN S HARDERS <YUBM21A@*******.COM>
Subject: Re: Real ranges
Date: Mon, 13 Feb 1995 01:41:06 EST
Another range band might be a good idea, but then again, I've hit man
sized targets at about 1000 meters with my rifle, which has a 1200m range
and the iron sights to match (which means I don't use a scope). Mind you
that I knew the target was there and the conditions were near perfect, but
I've seen some people make very nice long range shots with iron sights. An
alternative would be to double target movement modifiers for extreme range
firing since the in-flight time of the bullet gets longer.

-Reaver
Message no. 4
From: The Smiling Face of Death <goehrigd@****.CANISIUS.EDU>
Subject: Re: Real ranges
Date: Mon, 13 Feb 1995 07:53:51 -0500
On Sat, 11 Feb 1995, MR DELIVAN S HARDERS wrote:

> For those of you who may have noticed, FASA has no idea as to what real
> ranges for firearms are (unless when magic came back gravity on the planet
> also increased). For those of you who are interested, I have listed below
> the real ranges for firearms.

Yeah, That's true but how many times do you open fire at a range farther than
the second. Most fire fights in the city (the general forum for running
mayhem) is too cluttered to fire any farther...

Long ranges are only useful for mortar shells... and rockets...

Smiling Death
Message no. 5
From: Gareth Owen <glowen1@*****.NHS.GOV.UK>
Subject: Re: Real ranges
Date: Mon, 13 Feb 1995 14:32:34 +0000
>
> On Sat, 11 Feb 1995, MR DELIVAN S HARDERS wrote:
>
> > For those of you who may have noticed, FASA has no idea as to what real
> > ranges for firearms are (unless when magic came back gravity on the planet
> > also increased). For those of you who are interested, I have listed below
> > the real ranges for firearms.
>
> Yeah, That's true but how many times do you open fire at a range farther than
> the second. Most fire fights in the city (the general forum for running
> mayhem) is too cluttered to fire any farther...
>
> Long ranges are only useful for mortar shells... and rockets...
>
> Smiling Death
>

I run a mercenary Shadowrun game.
At the moment they're in the jungle (very close range combat).
Shortly, however, they will have a mission in the Sahara.
Deserts=long range warfare.

Realistic weapon ranges are useful for me, I simply doubled the
range of rifles, etc.

GLO

--
Gareth Owen | Mail: glowen1@*****.nhs.gov.uk
Sytems Programmmer | Phone: (UK) 0495 765021
Gwent Health Authority | "Reboot it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure"
Message no. 6
From: Stainless Steel Rat <ratinox@***.NEU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Real ranges
Date: Mon, 13 Feb 1995 10:05:44 -0500
>>>>> "The" == The Smiling Face of Death
<goehrigd@****.CANISIUS.EDU>
>>>>> writes:

The> Long ranges are only useful for mortar shells... and rockets...

And sniper rifles chambered for .50 Browning which are effective to upwards
of over 2 kilometers vs. man-sized targets. That's in the real world.

--
Rat <ratinox@***.neu.edu> | Happy Fun Ball may stick to certain types
http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/ratinox | of skin.
PGP Public Key: Ask for one today! |
Message no. 7
From: The Smiling Face of Death <goehrigd@****.CANISIUS.EDU>
Subject: Re: Real ranges
Date: Mon, 13 Feb 1995 10:12:54 -0500
On Mon, 13 Feb 1995, Gareth Owen wrote:

> I run a mercenary Shadowrun game.
> At the moment they're in the jungle (very close range combat).
> Shortly, however, they will have a mission in the Sahara.
> Deserts=long range warfare.
>
Deserts are long as well as arctic, sea, air, plains (bunch of guys
running T-Birds all over.. esp in what used to be Argentina...)
I like Urban Combat...(although I would never actually want to do it
for real... to nerve racking)

The Smiling Face Of Death Looks Down Upon The Damned

"Give up now, Existence is Futile"
Message no. 8
From: MR DELIVAN S HARDERS <YUBM21A@*******.COM>
Subject: Re: Real ranges
Date: Mon, 13 Feb 1995 15:59:32 EST
Gareth wrote on 13 Feb 95:

(This is in reply to real firearms ranges by the way),
>Yeah that's true, but how many times do you open fire at a range farther
>than the second. Most fire fights in the city is too cluttered to fire
>any further.
I find that firing at long ranges is a lot better than being at a range
where the enemy can also engage with you. Always remember to choose your
own ground as often as you can. A sniper on your side can make short work
of just about anything. This makes long ranges useful for anything with a
nice long range, especially if the person behind the gun is a good shot.

-Reaver
Message no. 9
From: Jason Ustica <usticaj@**.ERAU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Real ranges
Date: Mon, 13 Feb 1995 15:36:22 -0700
On Mon, 13 Feb 1995, Stainless Steel Rat wrote:

> >>>>> "The" == The Smiling Face of Death
<goehrigd@****.CANISIUS.EDU>
> >>>>> writes:
>
> The> Long ranges are only useful for mortar shells... and rockets...
>
> And sniper rifles chambered for .50 Browning which are effective to upwards
> of over 2 kilometers vs. man-sized targets. That's in the real world.

Yeah I read once (in Soldier of Fortune I think) that during Desert Storm
US snipers were disabling Iraqi artillery pieces from about 1-1.5 miles
away. with .50 cal sniper rifles. They would shoot through the barrels
and render the guns useless. Also instead if half-million dollar missles
launched from aircraft, they got the job done with $2.00 .50 cal shells
(you know, budget cuts and all). Very impressive if you ask me.

/------------------------\/------------\
|Jason Ustica | Embry-Riddle|
|usticaj@**.erau.edu | Aeronautical|
|usticaj@*******.fsu.edu | University |
\------------------------/ Prescott,AZ |
\------------/

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about Real ranges, you may also be interested in:

Disclaimer

These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.