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whats the rail on the front of the assault bolter for, is it based on anything in RL?  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
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Made in gb
Hurr! Ogryn Bone 'Ead!




chigwell, essex

you know what I mean? the little metal hooked rails that surround the muzzle:

yeah, its odd. definately not an open iron sight.
I am inclined to think that its a 'bash' rail like a bullbar on an suv, so you can knock it about something fierce and not funt up the barrel/muzzle...

its also a feature on the DooM 2016 HAR:


I consider myself rather knowledgeable about fire-arms. however this his me stumped
I don't think I've ever seen anything thing like this on modern or historical firearms.
curious as to its possible function.
some kinda compensation device? a clip-on point? carry handle?
anything other than being a chunky ass square thingy..?

is it pure fiction? or do things things exist on modern fireams and have a designation and purpose?

so, come on all you armourers and riflemen out there, what say you?
   
Made in gb
Battleship Captain





Bristol (UK)

If I had to guess it's a bashy rail.
   
Made in gb
Hurr! Ogryn Bone 'Ead!




chigwell, essex

seems logical doesn't it...

I was thinking it would be a nice addition to the heavy intercessors heavy boltrifles...

just a little conversion Idea I had but wanted to see if it was a daffy idea or not...
   
Made in gb
Automated Rubric Marine of Tzeentch




dorset

Yhea, some sort of barrel guard, for those times when you want to just shove your gun into bodily contact with the target and the pull the trigger, but your weapons mechanics require a air gap to vent gasses into or the gun will misfire.

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Made in fr
Stalwart Tribune





It reminds me of the skorpion with its wire-frame stock folded:
Spoiler:

Maybe the designers thought it looked cool and wanted something like it? There's no way it's a stock on that bolter though, so I'll have to agree it's a protection thing...
   
Made in us
Ancient Venerable Dreadnought




San Jose, CA

xerxeskingofking wrote:
Yhea, some sort of barrel guard, for those times when you want to just shove your gun into bodily contact with the target and the pull the trigger, but your weapons mechanics require a air gap to vent gasses into or the gun will misfire.


That would make sense if the barrel didn't already have a muzzle brake/flash hider.

It just looked cool to Jes would be my guess.
   
Made in gb
Leader of the Sept







Some pistols.also have a muzzle block so that contact with the target dont push the slide back a bit preventing the hammer from operating properly.

Not a particular problem for bolters, so I would also agree that it's a protective frame of some kind.

Please excuse any spelling errors. I use a tablet frequently and software keyboards are a pain!

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Made in gb
Incorporating Wet-Blending




U.k

I imagined the designers figured that these models have no close combat weapon and a gun in each hand. So they are likely just to bash people with their guns in melee. So they put a cool looking industrial style guard over the muzzle. Bash away. Sam logic works for heavy intercessors.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I imagined the designers figured that these models have no close combat weapon and a gun in each hand. So they are likely just to bash people with their guns in melee. So they put a cool looking industrial style guard over the muzzle. Bash away. Sam logic works for heavy intercessors.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/02/15 01:00:09


 
   
Made in us
Fresh-Faced New User




It's a breach/bumper stock.

I've seen such things attached to long rifles and shotguns. It's supposed to be designed so you can rest the barrel against a wall or door and fire. On shotguns especially, it's meant to blow out deadbolts. Not sure what real purpose it would have here other than perhaps a solid counterweight for the gun. Bolters are often depicted in the lore as having tremendous kick.
   
Made in us
Member of the Ethereal Council






Maybe to protect the barrel from getting damages from flying around so much?

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Made in ca
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I think WD said they're basically some form of recoil dampener. I might be thinking of the shield part though

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Battleship Captain





Bristol (UK)

The shield part is a Technobabble recoil damper.
   
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Regular Dakkanaut




123ply wrote:
I think WD said they're basically some form of recoil dampener. I might be thinking of the shield part though

I think that could have some sense, only supposing the bolter had a forward recoil system, like the Pancor Jackhammer:




but in my humble opinion the bolter has that rail (like the guard and the handle) only because someone thought they were cool.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/02/23 09:44:03


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