Metal Storm pistol

[La Pistoletta]

I suppose a thread like this might have existed before, but oh well...

Have you seen the demonstration of the Metal Storm pistol? The one with four barrels, user identification and special ammunition? Supposedly, it could fire a burst as fast as the G11.

One problem I see about stuffing the bullets and ammunition in the barrel like that is v0. The first bullet would have the least v0 and the last one would have the highest, which equals inconsistency. And what about accidental primer igniting?

 

[extremefishin00]

I remember seeing this thing on the History Channel. Supposedly the firing rate of the stationary guns is something around 1 million rounds per minutes.


Chris

 

[Plinkerton]

While the technology is cool and everything, the whole idea is stupid, in my opinion. Who cares if you can fire 1 million rounds a minute?

Then, the creator is saying, "1 million? That's nothing. Wait a little while, and we'll figure out how to shoot 13 million!" Oh boy.

It's so rediculous and over the top it seems. It's like making a super powerful shotgun.

I think it would be cool as a destructive weapon, but to actually have practical uses? I'm not so sure.

And it does seem that reloading it would be a pain in the ass. Also, if it shoots so fast, it seems you would be reloading it ALL THE TIME.

Thanks for the article though.

 

[La Pistoletta]

Well, I wasn't thinking about the super machine gun right now. The pistol can shoot really fast if you want to, but there's other stuff in there as well. It won't shoot if the guy holding it has the wrong fingerprint or whatever, and it has four barrels with ammunition mix.
Also, it could, according to them, fire 3 rounds before the recoil kicked in. But there's no moving parts in the gun at all except for the ammo. Electronic ignition and such. Just think about the trigger pull, maybe you could customize it from more or less nothing to heavy?

 

[cordex]

There are a few potential benefits.

In my opinion, these potential benefits are entirely outweighed by the obvious drawbacks.

1. Reloading
2. Having less-lethal as well as lethal in the same weapon seems that it would end up being a training nightmare for police.
3. Accuracy concerns based on propellant used for each bullet traveling down a different length of barrel.
4. Ability of users to handle increased recoil of a machine pistol (if that setting were enabled)
5. Few moving parts doesn't necessarily mean more reliable. Even with all those electrics, you've still got the analog issue of electrical propellant ignition.
6. Out of order ignition. So one charge doesn't light ... what happens when the charge behind it goes off?
7. Ever had batteries die on you unexpectedly? Happens more often then ammo going bad.
8. Reliability of authorized user analysis.
9. Balance - either you've got all the weight in the barrel, or the gun weighs much more than necessary.
10. Weight - Barrels are heavy. More barrels are more heavy. Having your reloads stored in yet more barrels is even heavier.
That's just off the top of my head.

By the way, if you ever see them firing three round bursts with the pistol, the muzzle rise is quite obvious. None of this "all three rounds out of the barrel before recoil takes effect" business. I believe one of their big demonstrations is showing the "Crotch, belly head" burst pattern.

Metal storm type weapons have a place for disposable grenade-launching units and close-in missile protection for ships, but I don't see a good implementation for small arms.

 

[Plinkerton]

Oh okay. The special ring only firing is definitely interesting.

The thing that caught my attention is the electronic firing.

I was an avid paintballer till a little while ago, and all of the high end guns have electronic triggers.

I can get my trigger down to 1mm if I wanted to. The triggers are as long as 2 fingers, and to shoot fast, you "walk" the trigger between your fingers. Get it?

So, you have a paintball gun, with a 1mm trigger pull, that only shoots one ball per trigger pull. But, when you can "walk" your fingers from 15-20 times per second, that semi auto, might as well be full auto.

That's what it reminded me of.

Also, I would NEVER use a real electronic gun. After dealing with extremely well made electronic paintball guns, I wouldn't trust my life to one. When they are tuned, and working well, THEY FLY! But, when they aren't? They can be picky, and a huge pain in the ass to deal with.