From:	GMPax@***.com GMPax@***.com
Subject:	Two firearms at once.
Date:	Sat, 6 Mar 1999 19:11:01 EST

In a message dated 3/6/99 5:54:12 PM Eastern Standard Time,
thorondor_sr@*****.com writes:

> > If the gun has a 1-second flight time to extreme range, then the
> round will
> > hit thirty-two feet BELOW the point of aim.
>
> 32 INCHES is more like it. A regular hunting rifle drops maybe 10 cm
> in 100 meters (Where is the hunters course book when you need it?? If
> you calculated the 32 feet thing you forgot forward velocity.
> Balistics is a complicated science..

You will note, IF you read the bit you were responding to, I said IF the gun
had a ONE SECOND flight time. In one second, ANYTHING within the pull of
earth's gravity will fall PRECISELY thirty two feet, less the potential
effects of wind/air resistance. Given a bullet's high mass-to-surface area
ratio, air resistance means diddly-squat to drop.

Most bullets, of, have flight times measured in _fractions_ of a second, but
that curve is still there. And you still have to aim _above_ the targets that
are really far away.

> <Initiating sarcasm mode> You know, where I come from we have some
> funny natural phenomenon known as wind. Now when I was playing with my
> cheapo bow and arrows that anoying phenomenon would make my arrows
> drift several meters to either side. Recon it's 'cause arrow are
> relatively bigg and slow.Hell, it was almost moving sideways at times.
> And to get them to travel any more than say 50 m i would have to get
> it in like a 30 degree angle...

Because you had a CHEAPO, probably less than 40-50 pound pull, bow. And
probably cheapo, light-weight arrows, likely with mere target points, not the
(slightly) heavier hunting tips most shadowrunners would be likely to use.

If your arrows were moving SIDEWAYS (or nearly so) then you were dealing with
HIGH winds. And those high winds WOULD affect lateral drift in a gun,
especially at any range.

There is NO reason software for a bow could not be developed for a smartlink.
Not if it can be developed for a bullet-based weapon system. All that is
needed is, to weight certain factors (projectile drop, wind susceptibility,
and so on) more heavily than with a bullet.

And when trying for anything closer than point-blank with even a pistol, you
either adjust the SIGHTS for windage and range, or fudge it MANUALLY in your
sight picture.

Sean
GM Pax