Grenade Launcher Scatter

[mmartin798]

It's been a while, so I thought I would start a new thread to get some input on some rules modifications I have been working on. It never set well with me that that scatter distances were made to always bunch up really close to zero. It just didn't sit well in my mind. So I started to see if I could either validate the rule or find a way to improve it.

I did some searching and found some declassified documents about this exact topic. Granted, they were evaluating different grenade launcher sites, but the raw data I needed was in there. Sure enough, reality did not match up with the game mechanic. I then did what I do, cranked some numbers, made some charts and came up with a new scatter dice roll that almost exactly matches the empirical data. Without going into any great detail on the calculations, the new roll is:

32-8d6 = scatter distance in meters

This matches data for M203 and M79 at about 150m. I further refined it with a multiplier for range to target, as shown in the attachment, and have something that works for those very well. I want to extend it to M174E3 and Mk 19 Mod3. I have proposed range multipliers as indicated in the attachment, but no one I play with has actually fired a Mk19, so I have no frame of reference (I have not been able to find a similar research document for Mk19 and my players have only fired M203 and M79 in their careers).

So I am asking the broader community if you have any feel for how much more or less scatter an automatic GL has over a single shot.

[mmartin798]

My ongoing research seems to indicate that first round accuracy is a problem with the rear sight. Anecdotal reports seem to indicate that subsequent rounds land "on target". There is an improved sight that creates better first round accuracy as well as new FCS and AN/PWG-1 that integrate laser range finding and a ballistic computer for even more enhanced performance.

Give all this, I think the scatter may end up being the same and the 32-8d6 meter scatter can be applied in all cases. At least that makes it simple.