Six most interesting pistols
A publicatio publication n of the Darkilb Darkilby y Shooting Shooting Society Society Edited by Lucius Carnford Proprietor of Carnford’s Gun Shop & Angling Supplies 26 Enoch Street, Darkilby
© 2011 by Bethany Minchew. All rights reserved. Published by DRAKAT Games.
Curious Calibres is a resource for any Games Master looking for some interesting firearms to introduce to a mid-20th Century RPG. The resource was written with British Call of Cthulhu™ campaigns set in the 1920s in mind, but could be a useful addition to any game set at this time or later.
Also from DRAKAT Games… Shipping Register 340 inspirational names to help you decide what to call your next elven galley, armoured dirigible or colossal starship. Whatever the setting for your game, Shipping Register will have some suitable ship names. Presented as 17 separate themes to help you get just the right name for t he situation, all you have to do is print off the relevant ready-to-use table and away you go!
Gamegrids Ever wanted to design or play a tabletop game but didn't have the right kind of grid on hand to help you map things out? Ever wished you could move your miniatures across a surface that represents the terrain they're supposed to be on? Gamegrids can help out there! This product features a range of terrain features (deep space, grassy plain, uneven paving, boulder field and sand dunes) and three different types of grid: large hex, small hex and square. It also includes simple mono versions of each grid for you to colour by hand if you prefer, plus samples of each terrain type with no grid overlay at all.
Available from www.drivethrurpg.com Contact us at
[email protected]
Galand Velo-Dog revolver
Length:
4.7”
119mm
Weight:
10.5 oz
300g
Calibre:
0.216”
5.5mm
Capacity:
Six
The ‘Velo-Dog’ was a type of small pistol first produced in Belgium by Galand in the late 19 th Century. It would appear that Monsieur Galand gave great thought to the plight of those pursuing the new pastime of ‘bicycling’, and who were at that time much plagued by attacks from ferocious dogs. Thus the ‘Velo-Dog’ was produced to afford these good people some protection. All aspects of its design were given to considerations of compactness and lightness. The hammer is shrouded
meaning that all such revolvers are double action. Early models were notable for their lack of trigger guard, with some of these featuring a trigger that folded away for yet greater portability. The pistol fires a specific ‘velodog’ 5.5mm centre fire cartridge (sometimes referred to as 5.75mm), although I believe some later models fire a standard 0.22” bullet. For the humane bicyclist, cartridges are available that merely fire pepper, allowing for the temporary incapacitation of any attacking hound, rather than a more
LeMat revolver
Length:
10.2”
259mm
Weight:
49 oz
1,390g
Calibre:
0.469”
12mm
0.577”
14.8mm
Capacity:
Nine bullets, one cartridge of shot
The LeMat was originally developed in 1856 by Dr Jean Alexander LeMat, who intended it to be used as a sidearm for mounted troops. It was a percussion cap pistol of most unique configuration: a rifled upper barrel fired 0.40” bullets that were carried in a cylinder with a capacity of nine bullets. A lower smooth bore barrel fired a 16-bore cartridge of shot, located in the centre of the cylinder. The shooter, by flipping a lever on the firing hammer, could select which barrel fired. With the advent of the modern
24 bore
then, in greater numbers, a centre fire variant were manufactured in Belgium. The latter is the version described above, with an upper barrel of 12mm calibre and a lower barrel of 24 bore. All versions were single action, and were nicknamed, from the time of their first use by the Confederate Army, as the ‘Grapeshot Revolver’. While not noted for its accuracy, the LeMat’s power at close range was at the time respectable. However, the invention of double action revolvers rendered it obsolete, for all the appeal of a pistol that may act as a
Webley 0.577” revolvers
Length:
9.5”
241mm
Weight:
42 oz
1,190g
Calibre:
0.577”
14.8mm
Capacity:
Six
From circa 1870, officers serving across the Empire were on occasion dissatisfied with the efficacy of their service revolvers. This led to the famous manufacturer P. Webley & Son introducing a variant of their 0.450” No. 1 Revolver with an enlarged calibre of 0.577”. It was found that the cartridges had a tendency to bulge backwards upon firing, and to remedy this a back plate was added, to be attached to the rear of the cylinder once it was loaded. While this remedied the problem, it made the type exceptionally slow to reload.
A number of similar variants were licence built by other manufacturers, most notably Bland, Pryse and Tranter. All were topbreak designs with double action, with some having a capacity of just five rounds. The Webley 0.577” was never issued as standard, and only a few hundred of all types were made. By the end of the 1880s, smokeless powder cartridges improved the effectiveness of lower calibre pistols to the extent that the 0.577” fell out of use.
Protector palm pistol
Length:
4”
102mm
Weight:
9 oz
255g
Calibre:
0.32”
8.1mm
Capacity:
Seven
In 1882 Monsieur Jacques Turbiaux of Paris patented ‘Le Protector’, a singular design wherein the aim was concealment: the pistol was held in the palm, with just the short barrel visible as it protruded from between the fingers. Licence-built models were made in Minneapolis from circa 1890 and Chicago from 1893. These American variants, both known as the ‘Protector’, fired the 0.32” Extra Short round. Most models were rim fire, with just a small number of those made in Minneapolis being of the centre fire variety.
The cylinder’s chambers are arranged radiating outwards from the centre, a configuration known as a ‘turret’. Firing is double action, and is effected by making a fist about the gun, bracing the front of it against the gripping fingers and squeezing against the rear with the palm. For this reason, such weapons are referred to as ‘palm pistols’. While feeble for a gun of its calibre, the ease of concealing the Protector made it passingly popular, and some thousands were sold up to circa 1910.
Mauser C96 pistol
Length:
12.3”
312mm
Weight:
40 oz
1,130g
Calibre:
0.30”
7.63mm
0.354”
9mm
Capacity:
Six/ten/twenty
The Mauser Construktion 96 is a most distinctive German selfloading pistol that was first produced in 1899. It has a number of noteworthy features: the long barrel, the rectangular internal magazine positioned in front of the trigger and a grip that has earned the pistol its nickname of ‘Broomhandle’. Further, each gun is supplied with a detachable hollow wooden stock that can also be used to holster the pistol within. The ‘Broomhandle’ has attained great popularity and is used across the world: it was, for instance, popular with British army officers
Most models fire a 7.63mm Mauser cartridge, a round that results in a very high muzzle velocity and greater penetration than might be expected of a bullet of this calibre. The gun’s effective range is impressive for a pistol, particularly when the stock is used. The model depicted is the ‘Red 9 ‘ variant produced for the German Army during the Great War, and fires a 9mm Parabellum cartridge. The photograph shows the stock attached and a ten round ‘stripper clip’ used to load the magazine (this remains a slow process compared to the simple replacement of an
Nagant M1895 revolver
Length:
10.5”
235mm
Weight:
28 oz
800g
Calibre:
0.30”
7.62mm
Capacity:
Seven
The M1895 was produced by the Belgian firm of Nagant for the Russian Empire, where it became the standard pistol of the Imperial Army. Production in Liege continues, and also occurs at the Tula arsenal in Russia. The M1895 remains in use with Soviet forces. A notable feature of this revolver is that, upon cocking, the cylinder slides forward to form a gas-tight seal with the barrel. This increases muzzle velocity, but also means that the pistol may be usefully fitted with a silencer: most unusual for a revolver.
ruggedness. It can withstand a considerable amount of abuse and remain functioning, something that has made it most popular with those who carry it into battle. It is, however, slow to reload, with each spent cartridge having to be ejected individually by hand ahead of introducing a new round. The M1895 is chambered to fire a 7.62mm cartridge, however some adventurous owners have found hat, at a pinch, it may be persuaded to fire .32” Smith & Wesson ammunition. This, I should warn, is not to be advised, and may lead to
Further Notes Glossary Bore
A measure of calibre that states the number of lead spheres of a diameter that would snugly fit the barrel needed to make up a total weight of 1 lb. The higher the bore, the smaller the barrel size. Called a ‘gauge’ in the USA. Most typically used to describe shotgun calibre.
Centre fire
A gun where the firing pin strikes the base of the cartridge at its centre.
Cylinder
A cylindrical device with chambers that hold the cartridges, the rotating action of which is what gives revolvers their name.
Double action
A gun design in which pulling the trigger first cocks the hammer and then causes it to strike. Double action guns may also be used in single action mode if the shooter wants.
Rim fire
A gun where the firing pin strikes the base of the cartridge at its rim.
Self-loading
A gun that uses the power of the explosion from a fired cartridge to eject the spent casing and automatically bring the next cartridge from the magazine into the chamber. Also termed ‘semi-automatic’.
Single action
A gun design in which pulling the trigger only causes the hammer, when raised, to strike, meaning it must be manually cocked first by the shooter.
Smokeless powder
An explosive propellant developed in the later 1880s that not only produces far less smoke than Black Powder, but is considerably more powerful and results in much-increased muzzle velocities.
Top break
A gun that is hinged at the bottom to allow the shooter to break it open, exposing the cylinder to allow access for loading.
Curious Calibres is
designed to give a little added detail to any RPG set in the middle part of the 20th Century. It takes the form of a limited-run publication produced for the gun enthusiasts of the fictional British island of Darkisle, and was written sometime during the 1920s. Watch out for more Darkisle resources from DRAKAT Games in the future. No stats are given with the gun descriptions, to allow them to be given to players in virtually any game of that era. Instead, the following table gives some suggested game stats for the Games Master’s consideration. As a .38 revolver firing normal smokeless powder rounds is often considered as a ‘standard’ handgun, a guideline damage amount if given relative to this weapon, along with the suggested damage if using Call of Cthulhu™ rules. A base range is given for CoC rules, along with suggested values for ‘short’, ‘medium’ and ‘long’ range, which may be of use in other game systems. There’s no consistent conversion factor between these two methods of calculating range as the CoC approach of halving hit chance with each base range, while an elegant game mechanism, does not always translate well to systems based on actual
Weapon
Calibre
Galand Velo-Dog
Damage Guide (where .38 = 100%)
Damage (CoC)
Base range (CoC)
Suggested short/medium/long ranges (as an alternative to CoC base range)
A pepper cartridge may be fired at a target within 5 yards. No change in the chance of hitting. A successful hit does no damage but incapacitates the target for D6 combat rounds (assuming the target is affected by pepper!).
5.5mm
65%
1D6
5 yards
1-5 yards/ 6-10 yards/ 11-15 yards
12mm
80%
1D8
10 yards
1-15 yards/ 16-30 yards/ 31-45 yards
24-bore
65% (close range)
1D6
5 yards
Maximum range 10 yards
Fires a cloud of pellets at a spread of 45 degrees. Full damage per target up to 5 yards, half damage per target between 5 and 10 yards.
1-15 yards/ 16-30 yards/ 31-45 yards
Reloading is slow: in addition to the normal loading rate for your game, add 4 combat rounds to allow for the removal/replacement of the back plate. This may be reduced to 2 combat rounds if an appropriate Dexterity-based throw is made.*
1-3 yards/ 4-6 yards/ 7-9 yards
Reloading is very slow: in addition to the normal loading rate for your game, add 6 combat rounds to allow for the removal/replacement of one side of the pistol to allow access to the cylinder. This may be reduced to 4 combat rounds if an appropriate Dexterity-based throw is made.
1-20 yards/ 21-40 yards/ 41-60 yards (0-40 yards/ 41-80 yards/ 81-120 yards with stock)
The C96 cannot be reloaded as quickly as most selfloading guns as it has a fixed internal magazine. Assume that this can be reloaded at the same rate that a revolver is reloaded. Attaching/detaching the stock takes 1 combat round.
1-15 yards/ 16-30 yards/ 31-45 yards
Reloading rate is half that of a normal revolver. It can sustain 50% more damage than a typical revolver. Whatever misfire rules your game has for revolvers, halve the chances for the Nagant M1895 when firing 7.62mm rounds. However, double the normal misfire chance if it is being fired with 0.32” S&W rounds.
LeMat revolver
Webley
0.577”
Protector palm pistol
110%
1D10+1
0.32”
65%
1D6
7.63mm
95%
1D8+1
10 yards
3 yards
15 yards (25 yards with stock)
Mauser C96 9mm
Nagant M1895
Notes
7.62mm
100%
80%
1D10
1D8
10 yards
*Alternatively: you’ve got 3lbs of gun metal in your hand, might be easier to just beat that pesky Deep One to death with it!
Documents Similar To Curious Calibres 2
50 YEARS of REDUCED LOADS Word file.Lucien
A340 ATA 26
Why I took to AK-47
bullets
Weapons - AK47 Rifle
Achtung Cthulhu Heroes of the Sea CoC Edition
More From Pat Sewak
