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Well it's 24" on the table, but what about real life?
Many people just assumed that because it is laser ( and laser = light ) than I "should not be worried at missing my target at 300.000km"
So any idea?

Well, considering there are no lasguns in real life, we can only go with what the various books tell us.

In Dark Heresy, most lasguns have a maximum effective range of roughly 200 to 300 meters, though this is only for standard lasguns and none of the variants (long-las, MP lascannon, digi-las, etc.). The game lists a base range for the weapon (usually 90-120m), and allows shots (at a penalty) at distances up to twice the listed range.

In a vacuum entirely devoid of particulates or debris, I suppose a las could fire 300k km, but in reality, water vapor and dust particles in the air will cause beam diffusion and reduce the range considerably.... not even considering the fact that, to fire at a target 300k km away, the planet would have to be truly gargantuan to provide a flat enough plane to avoid hitting the planet, itself, as it curves away from the firer.

Let's ignore the feasibility of a laser as a damage causing weapon and assume it can be made to work.

Scientists use a laser to get the distance of the Moon, by bouncing the beam off an auto-reflector.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Point_Observatory_Lunar_Laser-ranging_Operation

This is not a military weapon, of course. The problem in combat is how small a target a human figure is 300 metres away, seen without a telescopic sight.

The disadvantage of a laser, compared to a modern machine gun, is that the beams will strike exactly where the gun is point, while a machine-gun will spread them around.

Go buy a high powered flashlight. Go outside when it is dark out. Turn on the flashlight and measure how far it goes before it becomes so dim you can't see it. You now have the range of a Las-Gun.

coolyo294 wrote:Go buy a high powered flashlight. Go outside when it is dark out. Turn on the flashlight and measure how far it goes before it becomes so dim you can't see it. You now have the range of a Las-Gun.

With Lasgun power outfit I could get a reflector and see it's range.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Psienesis wrote:
In Dark Heresy, most lasguns have a maximum effective range of roughly 200 to 300 meters, though this is only for standard lasguns and none of the variants (long-las, MP lascannon, digi-las, etc.). The game lists a base range for the weapon (usually 90-120m)

Wait, today's most powerful snipers have up to 2000m range ( 2200 is the longest sniper kill ). Average assault rifle has 300-500m ( AK-47, M-16 ), and Lasgun has even lesser range?
I thought that they have range like FW's pulse rifles?

In the gaunts ghost series it seems to have the same range as a modern day assault rifle. Or a bit more. Which i'm guessing by going on the range of a m16 to be 300 to 500 Meters.

Sorry typos.

Dark Heresy's range estimates are a bit misleading. The long range of a weapon is how far away you can be without taking a penalty to hit due to range.

Brother Coa wrote:

Psienesis wrote:
In Dark Heresy, most lasguns have a maximum effective range of roughly 200 to 300 meters, though this is only for standard lasguns and none of the variants (long-las, MP lascannon, digi-las, etc.). The game lists a base range for the weapon (usually 90-120m)

Wait, today's most powerful snipers have up to 2000m range ( 2200 is the longest sniper kill ).

The 2200 "longest sniper kill" was done in a situation where the firer was elevated and the target was in a depression, and done using an [b]absurdly[/i] high powered round. The .50 rifle used in scoring that kill was originally designed to disable parked fighters and penetrate Russian APCs

Average assault rifle has 300-500m ( AK-47, M-16 ), and Lasgun has even lesser range?
I thought that they have range like FW's pulse rifles?

'Maximum effective range' is just that.
The 'maximum effective range'. In some situations, Lasguns will be firing beyond that and in some it'll be under that.

Oh, 200-300 meters is not its maximum effective range, so much as it is the maximum range a standard user can fire it at and expect to hit. With a good scope, it's a bit better than that

It's more than enough most of the time. The only weapons which have better range than a lasgun are sniper rifles and heavy weapons. It even has more range than an autogun or boltgun.

In DH core rules, the standard lasgun is listed with a Range of 100m. The longlas gets 150m and the MP Lascannon 300m. The lascarbine has a range increment of 60m.

I did make an error in my previous post... the maximum range of the weapon is 4 times this listed range, not 2. Over and up to double the listed range is considered a long-range shot, and incurs the first penalty. Beyond that range, to its x4 limit, it is considered extreme range, and the shot incurs a greater penalty.

But keep in mind that the gun is STILL longer range than an autogun (which is said to be equal to or better than our modern assault rifles).

Indeed! The stock autogun has a 90m listed range and a clip of 30 rounds, while the standard lasgun packs 60 shots into a standard power cell.

The only advantage the autogun offers is a much higher rate of fire (able to empty its clip in 3 rounds of sustained fire), which improves the chances of hitting the target with at least one round, and the options for various ammo types.

Speaking of ammo, bolt-pistols are a poor choice for a low-ranking DH character. In our party, someone swiped the party fund of Thrones and bought the gun-bunny from Gunmetal a bolt pistol... he was able to buy her all of 4 rounds to half-fill the magazine with what was left over. At 16 thrones a pop, that's half a hive-worker's monthly pay for a single shot!

We also need to remember that there will be a point at which the lasgun ceases to be effective anymore. In the 300km shot mentioned above, the heat energy from the shot would have long disapated (sp?) before hitting it's target, and the recipitent might (as in 1:100,000) miraculously feel a bit warm...

As a side note, lasguns wouldn't necessarily cauterize wounds anyway. They are more likely to leave just as bloody wounds as a knife would-- causing the blood from the wound to boil over, causing surrounding tissue to expand and rip just like a particularly high velocity bullet impact.

Probably similar to modern assault rifles, so about 550 meters max.