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Ammo
Types
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| Choosing your ammo is as
important as choosing your weapon. Choose wisely, these descriptions
should help. |
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| The following basic ammo
types are listed in order of armor penetration, best to worst. |
| AP - Armor Piercing -
A hard bullet made from steel or tungsten alloys in a pointed shape
typically covered by a thin layer of lead and/or a copper/brass
jacket. The lead and jacket are intended to prevent barrel wear from
the hard core materials. For gameplay purposes, AP is slightly worse
on unarmored targets than FMJ. This is to indicate the hard AP
projectiles' tendency not to deform or reliably tumble/yaw. |
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| FMJ - Full Metal
Jacket - Made with a lead core surrounded by a full covering of brass,
copper, or mild steel. These have very little deformation or
expansion, but will occasionally yaw/tumble. FMJ is a good choice when
you don't know what you will be fighting or possibly if you will be
going up against a mix of armor types. |
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| JSP - Jacketed Soft
Point - In the late 1800s, the Indian Army arsenal at Dum Dum, near
Calcutta, developed a variation of the FMJ design where the jacket
did not cover the nose of the bullet. The soft lead nose was found
to still expand in flesh while the remaining jacket
still prevented lead fouling in the barrel. For
gameplay purposes, JSP is roughly splitting the difference
between FMJ and JHP. It gives more penetration than JHP but has
more stopping power than the
FMJ. |
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| JHP
- Jacketed Hollow Point - Soon after the invention of the JSP,
Woolwich Arsenal in Great Britain experimented
with this design even further by forming a hole
or cavity in the nose of the bullet while keeping most of the exterior
profile intact. These bullets could theoretically deform even faster
and expand to a larger diameter than the JSP. Best used against
unarmored targets only, the JHP also has the least over
penetration so it is ideal
for use around hostages. |
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| Training Ammo -
The training ammo is portrayed as a cross between the FX paint
cartridges like Simunitions and long range simulators like the laser-based
MILES. It is intended more for clan practice, and is not suitable
for single player usage. It can cause wounds, however. |
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| The Hague
Accords - The Hague Accords ban the use
of expanding projectiles against the military
forces of other nations. Some countries accept this as a
blanket ban against the use of expanding projectiles against anyone,
while the U.S. feels free to use JSP and HP
against terrorists and criminals. (The U.S.
didn't sign the complete Hague Accords in any case, but still follows
its guidelines in military conflicts.) |
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|
12 gauge Shotgun ammo |
| The trick with the
buckshot is that you can have a few large pellets or a
bunch of smaller pellets. The smaller pellets have a
better chance of scoring a hit due to the sheer
number of pellets, but the severity of the wound
won't be as great as a hit from a larger pellet. The same principle
applies to the armor piercing QB-8 (Quadrangle Buck)
and flechettes. For purposes of game play, the
armor piercing shot will not be as effective as standard
buckshot against non-armored targets. (Of course, the standard buckshot
is worthless against armored targets except for taking out the legs
and arms, hoping for enough wounds to cause
incapacitation.) They are listed from largest to
smallest, separating the list into non-armor piercing and armor
piercing types.
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| 000 Buck -
8
pellets of lead |
| 00 Buck - 9
pellets of lead |
| 0 Buck - 12
pellets of lead |
| 1 Buck - 16
pellets of lead |
| 4 Buck - 27
pellets of lead |
| QB 8 -
8
pellets (Armor Piercing) - Quadrangle Buck is made from a steel
cylinder cut into two layers of four pie-shaped pieces
per layer. The numerous sharp edges gives
excellent penetration; however, the light weight and
poor ballistic shape limits its effective range. |
| Flechettes
- 32 flechettes (Armor Piercing) -
Flechettes are essentially small
steel nails with tiny fins swaged into the rear. |
| Slug
- Slugs will pretty well flatten any
target, armored or not; however, the issue of
over penetration will determine whether you want to take the solid
or the hollow-point slug. |
| Slug HP -
Hollow-point slugs. Less penetration than regular slugs. |
| Baton - Rubber
batons. Used for training. |
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|
Calibers |
| These ammo types are listed
numerically. |
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| .300 Whisper subsonic -
Made by necking-up the .221 Remington Fireball case
to .308" and using a 240gr Sierra MatchKing, this
cartridge will fit and feed from 5.56x45mm NATO
magazines. The Whisper is subsonic with about as much
power and weight as .45 ACP, but in a thinner bullet which
dramatically increases armor penetration. Good
against all targets, but is unreliable against
heavy armor. |
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| .300 Winchester Magnum -
A long range sniping round, it is favored by US Navy
SEALS and the German Bundeswehr. While not in the same class as the
.338 Lapua, it has roughly the same power as 7mm
Remington Magnum, and easily
exceeds the performance of 7.62x51mm NATO. Good against all targets. |
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| .338 Lapua Magnum -
Originally designed as a long range sniping
cartridge to bridge the ballistic gap between
the .300 Winchester Magnum and the .50 BMG. It
is in service with GSG9, the British SAS, British Army, Royal Marines,
and the Dutch military. An early prototype of the
cartridge even saw service
with the US Navy SEALs. Good against all targets. |
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| .338 Whisper subsonic -
Made by necking-up the 7mm Remington BenchRest case
to .338" and using a 300gr Sierra MatchKing, this
cartridge will fit and feed from 7.62x51mm NATO
magazines. Good against all targets, but is unreliable
against heavy armor. |
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| .357 Magnum -
Using a lengthened and strengthened version of the .38
Special case, the .357 Magnum was rapidly
accepted by hunters and law enforcement. At the
time of its introduction, it was claimed to easily pierce the body
panels of automobiles and crack engine blocks. While it
has less power than .44 Magnum, it compares
favorably to the 10x25mm Norma and .45 ACP, but with better
armor penetration. Good against unarmored targets. |
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| .357 SIG -
Designed to produce .357 Magnum revolver ballistics in
a self-loading pistol (automatics), the .357 SIG
is roughly a .40 S&W case necked down to
.355". Despite the manufacturer's claims, it is not quite as
powerful as an actual .357 Magnum, but it exceeds the 9x19mm NATO and
falls roughly in-between the .40 S&W and 10x25mm in
power. Good against unarmored
targets. |
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| .40 S&W -
Roughly a shorter cased version of the 10x25mm Norma,
this round is a step up in power from the 9x19mm
in similar sized handguns. Good against
unarmored targets. |
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| .40 S&W subsonic -
Roughly a shorter cased version of the 10x25mm
Norma, this round loses about 20% of it's energy
when subsonic. This round is a step up in power
from the 9x19mm subsonic, and has beaten out the parent 10x25mm
subsonic in popularity. Good against unarmored targets. |
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| .44 Magnum -
A high powered pistol cartridge designed primarily
for hunting, the .44 Magnum offers less power
than .50 AE and .454 Casull, but much more than
.357 Magnum. Good against unarmored targets. |
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| .45 ACP +P -
The standard U.S. pistol round for about a
century, the .45 ACP offers more power than .40
S&W but less than a full-power 10x25mm Norma. The
+P designation indicates that the cartridge is loaded to higher
pressures and generates higher velocity than normal
version of the round. Very effective against
unarmored targets while reducing the specter of over-penetration. |
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| .45 ACP subsonic -
The standard U.S. pistol round for about a
century. Typical .45 ACP loads are already subsonic, making them ideal
for suppressed weapons.
Good against unarmored targets. |
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| .454 Casull -
A very high powered pistol cartridge
designed for taking the largest game animals,
the .454 offers more power than .44 Magnum and has superior
penetration over the .50 AE. It is the most powerful handgun cartridge
in NATO 3. Good against unarmored targets. |
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| .50 Action Express (AE) -
A very high powered pistol cartridge, exceeding
the .44 Magnum, the cartridge's combination of high
velocity and mass results in very favorable
penetration characteristics against hard cover and certain
types of body armor. It is excellent in close quarters where the
first shot is often the only
one that counts. |
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| 10x25mm Norma -
Originally designed for the ill-fated Bren Ten pistol,
the cartridge gained another lease on life when
it was briefly promoted by the US FBI. Slightly
more powerful than .45 ACP, the narrower projectile offers better
penetration and greater effective range. Good against unarmored
targets. |
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| 10x25mm Norma subsonic -
When the FBI's Firearms Training Unit found that
full-power 10x25mm loads were too powerful for the
average user, the subsonic version was
developed. This round loses about 40% of it's power when
subsonic. Slightly more powerful than .40 S&W subsonic, the
10x25mm subsonic was briefly the general issue
sidearm cartridge of the FBI and continues
in use in the FBI's MP5/10 SMGs. Good against unarmored targets. |
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| 12.7x99mm BMG (.50 BMG) -
Originally designed to pierce tank armor in the
First World War, the cartridge still serves an
anti-materiel round against light armor. It is
basically overkill against personnel. Use this for stopping
vehicles. |
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| 4.6x30mm H&K -
H&K's answer to the 5.7x28mm FN. Based on HK's
experimental 4.6x36mm cartridge for the HK36 ACR
in the early '70s, while deleting its unique
Loffelspitz (spoon-nose) projectile. Like the FN entry, the 4.6x30mm
has amazing armor penetration, yet recoils less than a
9x19mm pistol cartridge. The smaller HK
projectile appears to gives superior penetration over
the FN variant, but this also detracts from the permanent wound
cavity. Best against
unarmored targets, but can be used against armored. |
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| 4.92x34mm H&K
caseless - A revolutionary round that
encases the bullet in a combustible material.
There is no brass holding the cartridge together and the
"powder" is completely burned upon firing. The round itself
is ballisticly similar to the 5.45x39mm Soviet
but has better armor penetration.
Good against all targets. |
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| 5.45x39 Soviet -
The Soviet's response to the 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge.
While the long 5.45mm projectile doesn't fragment like
the 5.56x45mm NATO, it
is more prone to reliably tumble/yaw. Good against all targets. |
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| 5.56mm Steyr Flechette -
Introduced for the US Army's ACR trials, the Steyr
cartridge uses a plastic case with a small caliber
fletchette pulled by a 5.56mm diameter sabot.
The fletchette is launched at a high velocity and the
narrow projectile offers excellent penetration. However, this small
diameter also reduces the terminal ballistics. Good
against all targets but tends
to wound more than kill. |
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| 5.56mmx45 NATO -
Adopted by the US military in the 1960s, it later
became the NATO standard rifle cartridge in the
early '80s, displacing the much more powerful
7.62x51mm. Good against all targets, but has trouble with heavy
armor. |
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| 5.7x28mm FN -
The small high velocity cartridge used in
FN's new pistol and SMG appears much like a
miniature rifle round. The 5.7mm FN cartridge has amazing
armor penetration due to its small projectile size and speed, yet
has much less recoil than many pistol rounds. However,
don't be tricked into believing that it is as
powerful as a rifle cartridge. The ballistics are
roughly pistol level with far superior penetration. Best against
unarmored targets but can be
used against armored. |
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| 5.7x28mm FN subsonic -
This round loses about 50% of its power due to the
dramatic reduction in velocity. While the heavier
projectile allows it to retain a portion of its
armor penetration, its performance is severely hampered.
Use against unarmored targets only and use multiple shots. |
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| 7.62x17 Browning -
A very small pistol round designed
for...very small pistols. However, it was the
predominant police service cartridge in Europe until
the mid-1970s. It is the weakest of the cartridges in NATO 3 and
Rogue Spear. Only useful against unarmored targets, and
then only in volume. |
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| 7.62x39mm Soviet -
The standard Soviet/ComBloc rifle cartridge from the
mid-1940s to the mid-'70s, it is easily one of the most
widely distributed cartridges in the world due
to the distribution of the ubiquitous AK-47 series.
Roughly equal in terminal performance with the 5.56x45mm NATO, it
is far powerful less than
7.62x51mm NATO. Good against all targets. |
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| 7.62x51mm NATO -
This was the standard NATO rifle round until it's
gradual replacement by the 5.56x45mm. It is much
more powerful than 5.56x45mm, but has
considerable more recoil. It is now typically restricted to sniper
rifles and GPMG. Good against all targets, but with
lots of over penetration. |
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| 7.62x51mm NATO Duplex -
Originally designed to counter human-wave attacks,
the M198 Duplex load fires two projectiles for one
shot. Good against all targets. |
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| 7.62x51mm NATO Match -
A variation of the 7.62x51mm NATO, the cartridge
uses a heavier projectile such as the 168gr or
175gr Sierra MatchKing. The production methods
are tweaked to provide a high level of consistency and quality
for the cartridges, which pays off in target group sizes. Good against
all targets. |
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| 7.62x51mm NATO Sabot -
The sabot allows a .224" projectile to be fired
from the larger 7.62x51mm case. This is designed
to dramatically increase the short range
velocity and penetration of the round. Good against all targets.
Sabot is an archaic French word referring to a wooden shoe. |
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| 7.62x54mmR Russian -
The standard Russian rifle round from the 1890s to the
mid-1940s, it is now confined to sniper rifles and GPMG.
The "R" stands for rimmed. A little
less powerful than 7.62x51mm NATO, but the target won't quibble
over the difference. Good against all targets. |
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| 7mm Remington Magnum -
A long range hunting cartridge, the 7mm Remington Mag
has its proponents among the US Secret Service and
those not emotionally tied to a .30"
projectile. While less powerful than the.338 Lapua, it offers
roughly the same power as .300 Winchester Magnum and far more power
than the 7.62x51mm NATO. Good
against all targets. |
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| 9x19mm NATO -
Invented for the German military at the turn of the
century, the wide distribution of the 9x19mm
Parabellum/Luger cartridge made it the logical
choice for the NATO standard pistol and SMG round. While weaker
than .40 S&W, it tends to have an advantage in
weight and capacity. Fairly good
against unarmored targets, but very weak against armor. |
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| 9x19mm NATO subsonic -
As suppressed 9x19mm weapons became more popular,
purpose made subsonic cartridges were produced. In
order to retain a portion of the energy for both
weapon function and terminal ballstics, heavier
the normal projectiles were substituted. The US Navy SEALs standardized
on a 147gr loading due to its accuracy at 50 meters, allowing for
reliable head shots from a suppressed MP5N. This round loses about 20%
of it's energy when subsonic. However, many US law
enforcement agencies have followed the FBI's
advice and now use it as standard issue, even in unsuppressed
weapons. The cartridge is weaker than .40 S&W subsonic and is
roughly equal to the elderly .38 Special. Fairly good
against unarmored targets,
very weak against armor. |