[Vespers War]

It's been far too long since a Best That Never Was, and I've been watching some of Ian's videos again while waiting for new C&Rsenal videos.

The Colt-Franklin is a historical oddity as a black powder bolt-action magazine-fed rifle. The magazine is a 9-round box mounted above and to the left of the receiver. And it is a box. A square box, with the rounds in a 3x3 grid and feeding in a serpentine pattern to a Krag-like loading tray on the left side of the chamber. There's no spring in the magazine; the shaking of the rifle's recoil is sufficient to feed rounds. It also has 9 small holes, 1 behind each of the cartridge slots, as an easy method of checking how many rounds are left in the magazine.

Chambered for .45-70 Government, 50 rifles were manufactured and were tested by both the Navy and Army in 1887. They were not accepted for service, but did pass all the tests they were subjected to and would make an interesting weapon either for a black powder enthusiast in the Twilight era or for a Space: 1889 campaign. I only have caliber, barrel length, and overall length for the rifle's physical characteristics, so weight is as-calculated in FF&S.

Colt Franklin Bolt-Action Rifle
Wt 5.35 kg, ROF BA, Dam 3, Pen Nil, Blk 9, Mag 9, Rcl 2, Rng 112