From:	Jeremy Roberson <ROBERSON@***.EDU>
Subject:	Ammo
Date:	Mon, 12 Apr 1993 10:38:25 -0700

Flechette rounds, as I belive Quiktek is tring to present them, are thin,
needle-like flechettes that do impaling damage. I don't think they should
take "the best of Ballistic or Impact" because of the way they work and the
way I perceive armor to work.

The ballistic rating of armor is, I assume, based off of the concept of modern
ballistic armor, meaning that it is a high-strength weave of material that
spreads the energy of the round around a larger area. Impaling weapons
(needles,lasers, flechettes) will go right through the weave because they are
so thin.
That's one reason a different armor rating is used for melee weapons; swords
andknives would actually cut through ballistic easier than a bullet, provided
it
was sharp enough.
I'm not sure about Impact armor but I assume it's got something to do with
padding and plates of material, rather than a weave.

The point is (literally!) that thin, high velocity projectiles will poke
throughthe weave like needles through a knit sweater, while normal bullets
splat
against it and fail to penetrate, like a pencil or dowel being pressed against
the sweater.


J Roberson