HBO Fan Fiction

[hboff]

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Chapter III:
Posted by J-117 (gjm_25@yahoo.com)
25 May 2007, 3:51 am

http://halosn.bungie.org/fanfic/?story=J-1170525070351541.html

[J-117]

By the way, the chapter title should be "Hell On Earth." I don't know why it wasn't included, but all well. Enjoy!

[Azathoth]

Well, this was really long for only one chapter. However, it wasn't bad, so I'll let that slide. You neatly avoided the trap of making up SUPER MARINES, so that's another point for you. I don't really have the time to dissect this and point out every little thing I liked/didn't like, but I did notice that you listed the M247 as a .30 caliber weapon. It's actually .50-cal.

[J-117]

The M247 was listed as .30 Cal in the Halo Library

You may find the link here

I used that as my primary source for weapons research in regards to Halo.

Thank you for your comment and I hope that you continue to enjoy Immortal!

Cheers,

- J-117

[Azathoth]

The Halo Library contains many omissions, unsourced statements, and things they just plain made up. The Portable Machinegun in Halo 3 fires .30 rounds. The M247 fires .50 rounds.

[J-117]

Alright, I will be sure to change it then.

However do you have any proof that its 50 cal?

[Azathoth]

Hmm, Halopedia lists it as .50. That's the only source I could find, and that statement isn't sourced either. However, I'm pretty sure that it's based on the statement in the Metropolis opening cutscene: "It blew right through us. Rockets, fifty-cal, didn't do a thing." Since the only other .50-caliber weapon in the game is the pistol, I assume she means a turret.

[J-117]

That's a good point. .50 cal it is then.

Btw, the LAAG along with the Sniper is also .50 cal if memory serves. Just fyi.

Cheers,

- J

[Azathoth]

Nope, the sniper is more like 14.5 mm, which is a bit more than .50. But the LAAG is .50, you're right.

[SYSTEM]

There are also other '.50-calibre' cartridges I have seen, .500 Linebaugh, .500 A-Square, .510 Wells, .50 Macmillian, the ever-popular .50 Action Express, .500/465 Nitro Express... I have a .460 Weatherby case lying around in my room that I converted to .500 A-Square by reaming up the neck. But the .50 BMG has always been 'the big gun' and it's more common than than a lot of these old cannons. Out of the Boys Antitank Rifle, the PTRD, and the Destroyer, the .50 BMG is the most popular and probably the only survivor.


There is an old Russian PTRD antitank system, still in its unaltered condition for sale at Ellwood Epps about a five or four hour drive from my place. It does not have a price tag - if you need to ask how much it is you can't afford it. The PTRD fires 14.5x114mm ammunition.

Ammunition is scarce, and some variants can't be imported into Canada due to the ban on cartridges specifically designed to pierce armour, and others can't be imported because of the embargo on mercuric priming. The cases are non-reloadable, being berdan-primed. Dies could probably be custom-built to fit it, but the berdan priming is a problem.

The PTRD system weighs close to forty pounds, is outfitted with a muzzle brake, and in spite of that, I would guess recoil would still be very sharp, very severe, and very strong. To get an idea of the size of the PTRD antitank system, think of something the size of a can of red bull bottlenecked down to something a bullet the size of a man's thumb. A .340 Weatherby is a fraction of the size and is already much more than what most shooters can take.

One of the stranger weapons I have seen is the .55 Boys Antitank rifle - I have also seen them been converted to .50 BMG (12.7x99mm). It is a shorter, fatter version of the .50 BMG, and arguably I would assume its precursor. Like the PTRD, Boys antitank rifle rounds are berdan-primed and the cartridge is now obsolete because those old Boys Antitank Rifles aren't produced anymore.

Another one I have seen is the 12.7x108mm Destroyer. The Russian version, sort of like the .50 BMG, but slightly longer. If I could find some of those I could probably build a chamber reamer for it and convert an existing single-shot .50 BMG rifle to 12.7x108mm Destroyer. It's got about a centimetre of extra space, meaning I could probably squeeze quite a few more grains of powder in there if the cases are reloadable, and get a couple hundred more feet per second off it, which could mean a flatter trajectory at long ranges. Not saying that's a good idea, because that'd be increasing the pressure and there's a limit to what barrels will take.

I consider the PTRD impractical nowadays, seeing that shaped copper charges can penetrate far more steel far more quickly and more cheaply, and the PTRD is also a pretty heavy gun, and good luck trying to carry around two dozen cartridges all day. It would be a complete waste to use one against organic targets, seeing as there is only so fast a body can fall.

Same with .50 BMG... against a light vehicle, maybe. Against anything less that's a waste of a cartridge. Interestingly enough they aren't always cracked up to what they are. FMJ ones sure will penetrate alloy engine blocks, but although they can crack a cast-iron V8 they don't always go through. Then again, we're talking just FMJ match bullets, not armour-piercing ones. I would try lathe-turning a solid brass bullet and attempting the test on a cast-iron V8 if I had a .50 BMG rifle and more time, sadly I don't.

- Dave.
_________________
"Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one." - A child's nursery rhyme.

"When in doubt, empty your magazine." - Murphy's first law of combat operations.