Dust off your crystal balls

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I was thinking multiple round variant pistols like on Judge Dred: Flare, full auto, double whammy! Even a palm reading protection device to prevent someone else from using it.
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That's pretty much what the metalstorm VLE concept was, though more on par with reality. Electronically fired, 4 individually selected barrels, rounds stacked with poweder charges between them.

vle045.jpg
 
What happens when the Firestorm concept runs out of ammunition? Is it a super long reload? Looks interesting.

As far as caseless ammo is concerned, we have had that for over 100 years...... the problem with sealing the breech was fixed by the french in the Chassepot with a simple rubber ring- a gasket on the bolt, to seal it. The only SLIGHT problem was that the rubber ring would deteriorate after several shots. I don't really see caseless ammo being accepted in the near future, and if somebody else does accept it, I will simply be stubborn, and stick to my obsolete, steel revolver, that takes simple cartridges with a soft brass case:evil:
 
Built in lasers that automatically mechanically adjust the barrel's point of impact to the laser's to point of aim.
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That would be neat, and I could see that happening.

I'd like to see plastic shell casings. I know that people have tried it before, but if it would work the weight and money savings should be pretty good.
 
shotgunjoel said:
That would be neat, and I could see that happening.

I'd like to see plastic shell casings. I know that people have tried it before, but if it would work the weight and money savings should be pretty good.
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Plastic cartridges have been done before and never really caught on. IIRC, there was a firm (can't recall the name right now) that marketed such 9mm ammo in the late 80s and into the early 90s. The cases had a brass case head and the rest of the case was made of either red or blue plastic with ridges that ran the length of the case. Looked like little shotgun shells.

Looks like this firm is marketing polymer cased ammo:

http://extremepolymer.blogspot.com/

Although, I doubt that such handgun ammo will ever catch on, it is neat to see such innovations in the field. Perhaps, one day.......
 
I think polymer ammo, or some form on non-metal ammo will catch on eventually. Plastic was invented in the 1860s. How long have humans used and shaped metals? Millennia. We haven't even scratched the surface of what plastics will be doing 100, 200, 300 years from now.

Never is a long time.
 
Plastic cartridges have been done before and never really caught on.
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While they haven't caught on yet, I do see the potential. However if polymer/plastic cartridges will ever gain popularity and earn a bigger market then metal cased ammunition TWO things will have to happen....

1.) The cost per round will have to be less then a standard metal/brass round cartridge.
2.) The weight will have to be substantially less the metal cartridges.

With the weight reduction there could be big benefits with military contracts, since your average foot soldier would be able to carry more ammo on them with less weight restrictions. With cost if the round is just a few cents cheaper then the competitor selling metal cased ammo then most people are going to chose the cheaper product if both rounds perform the same.
 
My issue with metal storm was that your POI would change with each shot, since you effectively have a longer barrel with each shot.
 
What about magnetically accelerated metal slugs? No powder or cases needed.
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Takes a LOT of power for these to be effective. From what I understand, the Navy still hasn't figured out how to fit their railgun on a ship with a small enough power source. Whether you're talking railgun or coilgun, in both circumstances you'll need a big enough power supply and a conductor which is capable of carrying the energy required to create the magnetic field. I also foresee issues with some of the magnetics affecting circuitry if you have any computers anywhere near it.
 
I also foresee issues with some of the magnetics affecting circuitry if you have any computers anywhere near it.
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The military already has a lot of experience in this area. For example, the E-3 AWACS and B1-B bomber are hardened against an electromagnetic pulse emitted during a nuclear explosion.

Protecting circuits from a rail gun would be less difficult than protecting circuits from an EMP.

As for a power source, doesn't the Navy have nuclear reactors? That's a heck of a power source for powering a rail gun :D
 
Ragsdale 30 cal said:
The military already has a lot of experience in this area. For example, the E-3 AWACS and B1-B bomber are hardened against an electromagnetic pulse emitted during a nuclear explosion.

Protecting circuits from a rail gun would be less difficult than protecting circuits from an EMP.
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All minor compared to the thermal issues that'd need to be resolved. There are no reasonably portable power sources (that could be carried by one person) capable of producing the power necessary to run such a weapon and once that considerable issue is solved, conductors that could fit inside a weapon of such a size that wouldn't vaporize under those high currents are not presently available.


Vacuum energy anyone?
 
What happens when the Firestorm concept runs out of ammunition? Is it a super long reload? Looks interesting.
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The barrels are also the magazines.

AFAIK, they only built a couple of the VLE prototypes, nothing production. They're more focused on launchers/cannons

http://www.metalstorm.com/

For example, the E-3 AWACS and B1-B bomber are hardened against an electromagnetic pulse emitted during a nuclear explosion.
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Well, kind of.

It's really difficult to protect against the E1 component. Faraday cages and the like just won't help with that. Nuclear EMP is not the same as coronal mass ejection; A high altitude detonation of a pure fission nuke would be devastating, even to "hardened" facilities. Hard to protect against 50+ kV/m2. If you're curious about weaponized EMP, you might find it interesting to look up "Operation Fishbowl".

That said, protecting sensitive electronics from high energy power sources and cables is nowhere near as difficult. Railguns aren't flux compression generators.
 
Folks should keep in mind the Navy rail guns throw a throwing-dart sized tungsten penetrator at around Mach 7. The problem, I've heard, isn't power generation, but that the rails (barrel) turn much of their mass into plasma after one shot and have to be replaced. A gun throwing mass at bullet speeds is more feasible, but man-portable power generation is crummy and inefficient at present. That, and the heat dissapation would limit you to muzzle loader rates of fire. I'll bet a backpack mounted leafblower motor could power a coil-rifle, though. But I'd feel a bit silly hunting with that...

TCB
 
The railgun the navy uses shoots a 40-lb bullet. That doesn't sound throwing-dart sized to me.

EDIT: Hmmm, some sources say 40-lb, some say 7-lb. Either way, still sounds bigger than a throwing dart.
 
Personally, I would see any advancement in firepower to be electronic in nature, kind of like present day tasers but without the cables. A shot of electronics enough to cripple the CNS for a short period of time would do the trick better than lead if it would work if your hit was anywhere on the body. I guess it would be like the phasers used by the Star Trek commandos. Also, the anti-gun crowd would be more receptive to it as well. Maybe not in out lifetime but with technology advancing at the speed of light I say it's only a matter of time, and not that much time, before it becomes a reality.
 
I'm with KenW, although I'd trust hard-wired via lanyard, and the video options thereafter, oh boy.

481- Love the vacuum thought, perhaps a magna-vac culmination, that fired my brain up lol, good one!
 
I really don't believe the NEXT big breakthrough is 300-500 years away as stated in a post just up from here.

I'll still say optical sights similar to a HUD (ala robocop) are just around the corner. Could be used on any firearm, not just pistols.
 
What if we're looking at the this from the wrong end? Not to hijack the thread, but what if the next major break thru isn't in a weapon? What if it is not the ability to shoot? What if it's the ability to not be shot? Invisibility is a very real possibility in the near future. Just thinking.
 
What if we're looking at the this from the wrong end? Not to hijack the thread, but what if the next major break thru isn't in a weapon? What if it is not the ability to shoot? What if it's the ability to not be shot? Invisibility is a very real possibility in the near future. Just thinking.
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Well, as the OP, I asked about potential breakthroughs in the design of the weapon. Seems we've been on point.
 
While more evolutionary than revolutionary, have one firearm that can fire multiple cartridges will become more common.
 
While more evolutionary than revolutionary, have one firearm that can fire multiple cartridges will become more common.
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Modularity has been in vogue for awhile now, and we have some pretty decent designs. But I agree that we'll see more advances in this department, specifically those making the conversion more efficient.
 
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