Well, how far do we want to go "into the weeds" with this, thats the real question. Lets look at the difference between an M16A1 and M16A2. The A1 has a much lighter barrel. Its easier to shoot while standing, however, the heavier barreled A2 doesn't get hot as easy. So we need to give a bonus to a player using an A1 when shooting standing, but limit his ROF due to over-heating?
The differences between the M4 and M16 have more to do with the shooter than the weapon. Vintage M16s don't have optics, hence the M4 shooters are doing equally well. I shoot my M4 with just the plain old iron sights and my shooting equals youngsters with EOTECHs and ACOGs. If you were to take those devices away, they would probably initally shoot more poorly, but as they learned, they probably would come close to matching their capabilities. Just my opinion, but for a seasoned shooter, optics are only a partial edge, unless you are talking about shooting at 300 meters or further. At that range, you need the assistance aquiring the target. So lets discuss that.
I shot comptetively with an M16A2. At 400 meters, using iron sights only, I was able to consistantly get a very tight group. Under combat conditions, I do not think that I could do that, but that's me, the shooter, not the rifle.
With an M4 using iron sights, I am not quite able to get the same group at 300 meters, despite my best efforts and competitive nature. With current technology, its impossible to reduce the barrel length by about 1/3 and expect the same performace. However, that 5.5" shorter barrel and reduced sized stock make it faster into/out of vehicles.
Going back to my A1/A2 example, some call me crazy, but I noticed that the shorter stock on the A1 also makes it easier for me to shoot. Two people could walk up to the exact same rifle and get different results. A DM could handle this a number of ways:
-Track small arms ability by type of weapon by each player
-give players certain bonus when shooting a specific PERSONAL weapon (as it is not only zeroed for that player, but also because of a familiarity with that type of weapon)
- tweak the weapons stats instead of the player stats. For example, remove weight for this weapon, or add range to that one.
|