Induction guns, also called coilguns, launch guns, or I-guns, use an electromagnet pulse to inductively launch a payload, which can be a bullet, slug, shot, warhead, or less-than-lethal options like a tangler or tear gas shell.
The payload is surrounded by a superconductive jacket, sabot, or cup; the pulsed magnetic fields in the barrel push on this jacket to accelerate the payload.
Launch guns are silent when fired and have no muzzle flash. If the Speed of the projectile is less than 80, the payload bullet is subsonic and also silent, making launch gun fire hard to pin down.
Those with a speed of more than 80 make a sharp crack from their sonic boom.
The energy for launching a projectile is provided by a custom-sized button SMES at the back of the cartridge. This ensures that you don't need to worry about charging your gun's batteries as well as giving it ammunition.
The given damage is for a direct impact with the projectile, neglecting any effect of the warhead. Since many warheads are designed to be non-lethal, the speed can be dialed down to give less injury on a direct hit – this is listed as the "low-V" (for low velocity) setting in the weapon table.
In the Verge, asteroid mining makes gold and silver cheap. Since it is non-toxic as well as dense and malleable, gold-silver alloys are used instead of lead for bullets, slugs, and shot.
Induction Rifles
Induction rifles shoot bullets in superconductive jackets that are magnetically spun as they are launched in order to stabilize the bullet point-forward in flight.
Induction rifles are popular for hunting and self defense, where their larger bullets and ability to fire expanding bullets gives them an improved capability to rapidly incapacitate their targets – particularly when using expanding bullets.
They generally lack the armor penetration capabilities needed for weapons of war, although the recent introduction of disruptor bullets might change this.
As civillian weapons they usually have ergonomics optimized for aiming rather than rapid fire, with a down-turned stock and a stock grip.
Description | Pen | Wound | AP | ROF | Ammo | Bulk | Aim | RCL | Str | Spread | DA | Speed | PSz | Sig | Mass | Price | Varmint I-Rifle | 11 | -¼ | -2 | s | 30+1 | +3½ | +5 | -4 | -2 | +27 | 150 | 300 | -12½ | +9 | 3|0.12 | 100|0.45 | Hunting I-Rifle | 14 | +1 | -2 | s | 16+1 | +4½ | +5 | -1 | +0 | +27 | 250 | 250 | -11 | +9 | 4.5|0.2 | 180|0.7 | Mammoth I-Rifle | 18 | +1¾ | -2 | s | 4+1 | +5 | +5 | +1 | +0 | +27 | 450 | 120 | -10 | +10 | 6|0.18 | 200|0.5 |
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