Quote:
Originally Posted by swaghauler
I know you do good work... but these formulas in FF&S and WTG are STILL driving me crazy. Here are weapons with a fairly low sectional density and TERRIBLE Ballistic Coefficient being driven by [low velocity] BLACK POWDER to boot. Yet when I even run the formulas you get SHORT RANGES around a hundred meters in a game where high-velocity smokeless powder loads with excellent Ballistic Coefficients are hitting 75m to 80m max. The Range formula seems off by at least 1/3 too much. I noticed this in your entries on the Primitive Weapons Thread too. I think the Forum needs to brainstorm the modification of those formulas.
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I think the problem is with smokeless more than BP. The Springfield Model 1855 rifle-musket was noted to be effective to 500 meters and deadly to 1 kilometer, firing 14.7x23.5mm BP Conical (.58 with 60 grains of powder) from a 101.6 cm barrel. Arguably the range should be around 125 so that it has 125/250/500/1000 as its range bands, using long as effective range and extreme as the range at which it can (with major luck) inflict casualties. Actual calculated range is 89, which is 28.8% low. I know from tests a while back that the formulas really have problems with the Whitworth, which hit targets at 1.8 kilometers in trials.
The GDW rules also don't have a good way to simulate the trajectory problems of black powder that required better range estimation than with high-velocity small-caliber smokeless powder. Black powder rifles had plenty of accurate range, but they needed accurate range estimation to be of any use, and that's something that could probably use a house rule.
I think the problem for the LeMat specifically is that I went for the powder charge that maximized range, which is almost certainly heavier than what was used, since the .58 BP exceeds the service charge for the rifle-musket. I don't know what charges were actually used, and lighter charges would reduce range.