DnalweN acilbupeR wrote:What pistols, revolvers, SMGs, PDWs are the most popular for civvies/LE in your nation and in what cartridges?
The most popular cartridge in RN is the 7.62x25mm Tokarev. This is used by both the military and law enforcement as a standard cartridge because of its superior penetration abilities which are considerable even with ball ammunition (thus allowing for a cheap, effective cartridge for the engagement of unarmored or lightly armored targets). Suffice to say, steel cored and especially tungsten cored ammunition will offer even greater AP potential. Adding to this modified high pressure loads and even different, spitzer-shaped bullets allows for the projection of this AP capability at great range relative to other handgun/small cartridges, especially when fired out of longer/SMG barrels.
For the purpose of engaging unarmored targets, 7.62x25mm Tokarev FMJ ammo has a significant potential of overpenetration. For this reason, and for increased terminal effects, JHP is typically used instead. Even if the JHP projectile overpenetrates (which could potentially be mitigated, to a point, with reduced pressure or lighter bullets, but taking into consideration expansion performance), its mushroomed shape (assuming proper expansion) tends to be non-aerodynamic and not give very effective penetration. Coupling this with the significant reduction in velocity caused by penetrating and exiting the initial target and the relatively low mass of the bullet should generally ensure that 7.62x25mm Tokarev JHP ammunition offers good and appropriate performance against unarmored targets and does not pose a very significant overpenetration risk.
However, for a number of reasons, principally offering improved performance against unarmored targets, a variant of the 9x25mm Mauser cartridge has also been standardized with the military and law enforcement. This cartridge should, compared to the 7.62x25mm Tokarev, offer improved performance (including terminal effects and less overpenetration) against unarmored and lightly armored targets with JHP (but also with ball) ammo, better performance in subsonic loads for suppressed applications, and generally compliment the 7.62x25mm Tokarev in being a more civilian-minded cartridge by offering reduced overpenetration risk and not focusing as much on armor penetration.
Whilst probably a good multipurpose cartridge given the widely accepted 9mm caliber, and with plenty of potential for high muzzle velocities implying high energy allowed for by the relatively large case capacity, this cartridge may prove to be relatively heavy on the recoil side (being, dimensionally at least, similar to a magnum auto cartridge in a way). For this reason, reduced recoil loads exist, similar to the FBI's 10mm Auto (actually, this cartridge and the 10mm Auto are dimensionally fairly similar, featuring about the same OAL and case length, but with a 9mm instead of 10mm diameter). These reduced recoil loads are used along with standard pressure and +P/+P+ in LE, military and civilian use for differing applications. The reduced recoil may appeal to smaller or weaker individuals or use in smaller/lighter guns which have significant felt recoil and muzzle rise as a result of lacking mass, and also for handguns. The standard pressure loads are good all-around and appropriate for use in both handguns and SMGs/PDWs. +P and +P+ ammo is typically designed for shouldered applications thus SMG/PDW use, giving increased velocity/range/energy, although some handguns are designed to fire it as well. The recoil with such a pistol or revolver wouldn't normally be for the faint of heart though. Subsonic ammunition can provide satisfactory performance compared to that in 7.62x25mm Tokarev, because the main driving force behind energy projection behind the latter is velocity, which is taken away by the subsonic load, leaving mass to do the job which is normally not sufficient given the small caliber/bullet size.
Another popular "duo" in RN is that of the .380 ACP and something like a .32 NAA (which is basically a .380 ACP necked down from 9mm to .32 or around 8mm) variant. The .380 ACP as a base cartridge is typically the largest common cartridge that small, concealed carry simple blowback pistols are chambered for, whilst at the same time being one of the smallest common cartridges offering good performance for self-defense and even in a LE/military context for short ranges. Thus, it is considered to be a good compromise between performance and convenience in a compact, small OAL package, allowing for very small and light weapons to be chambered in it because of its small physical size and mild recoil. It also has potential for close range suppressed applications because of its relatively mild sound and muzzle flash. For the reasons stated above, in the military&LE realm it is sometimes chosen over the 9x25mm for concealed carry or special applications, including as a back-up or deep carry gun by some police officers (respectively, undercover police officers) or by some Foreign Intelligence Agency personnel or special forces for similar purposes or silenced applications. For the same reasons, civilians may choose .380 ACP for concealed carry. The not!- .32 NAA would be intended for applications where increased velocity/range is desired, and possibly armor-penetration capability. A vaguely similar real-life cartridge would be the Russian
5.45x18mm. Well I guess I could have the option of going with both a .32 NAA as purely a .380 ACP general-purpose/flatter-flying, longer range improvement AND a microcaliber, dedicated AP cartridge.
A third and final couple is represented by the rimfire .22 LR and .22 WMR. These serve a multitude of purposes, including hunting small game or pests and live-fire training. These cartridges have limited but notable potential of being employed in a mostly defensive capacity, but possibly offensively as well, at relatively small ranges. The .22 WMR is generally considered to be better in every regard compared to the .22 LR, save for concealablility (the .22 WMR has a relatively big OAL whereas the .22 LR can be chambered in the same small pistol frames as .380 ACP concealed carry pistols) and to a marginal degree, cost. Thus, in RN, the most popular rimfire cartridge is the .22 WMR, with the .22 LR reserved mainly for concealed carry purposes. The .22 WMR offers considerably better performance at range, energy transfer, and in general first-hit stopping potential in a self-defense situation. .22 rifles can prove to be reasonably accurate to 200-300 meters but this is beyond the scope of defensive or offensive use against human targets as, at these ranges, the bullet is very unlikely to produce sufficient penetration or terminal effects against a man. Nevertheless, the .22 rimfire cartridges should not be underestimated - they have proved deadly in the hands of assassins (and not only) countless times throughout history, with many famous examples. Their diminutive muzzle flash and sound compared to bigger cartridges gives potential for discrete use, especially when fired from a silenced gun. At close and very close range, with accurate shot placement (or, alternatively, a lot of bullets), .22 can be very lethal. Also, because of their small physical size and relatively low energy, they allow for use in very small and light pistols and revolvers, whilst additionally commonly featuring a relatively high ammo capacity. All of these arguments have ensured that .22 LR and .22 WMR have their place with the LE & military for training, special operations or specialist roles, silenced applications, use as a back-up or deep carry gun, use as a survival weapon or for distribution with the purpose of inexpensively arming resistance groups. Same goes for the civilians who may select the purpose-made self-defense JHP loads, attracted by the large ammo capacity, mild recoil and small/light potential size of the guns, or who choose them for training, hunting or recreation. In this regard, for concealed carry .22 WMR snubnosed revolvers are preferred over the pistols as the bigger OAL which negatively impacts the latter because of their magazine-in-grip design does not affect the former. They are also generally preferred over the .22 LR revolvers because they typically retain the same ammo capacity whilst offering additional benefits over .22 LR without considerably worse recoil. As far as use in survival weapons is concerned, .22 WMR is perfectly capable of accurately and humanely effectively killing most small game and birds at ranges around 100m, while retaining the capability to kill even bigger animals, especially with multiple shots, although possibly foregoing the "humane" bit (allegedly this would only occur in emergency situations, as "survival weapon" would imply). Maximum effective range is around 200-300 meters depending on the barrel length, specific ammunition and target. As stated above, .22 WMR is a viable choice for self-defense in the context of a survival weapon, either directly (especially with multiple shots) or by providing a deterrent.
The main firearms chambered for "handgun cartridges", thus, the following:
- USH - Universal Service Handgun: Short recoil-operated pistol chambered in 7.62x25mm Tokarev and not!-9x25mm Mauser. Available in 4 main sizes, Full, Carry, Compact, Sub-Compact and 1-sub-model, "Slimline" which is a single-stack subcompact. Includes long barreled and fully-automatic variants with barrels up to about 7-8" in length to make for an ad-hoc SMG/PDW with the addition of a vertical grip, stock and sight or a clamshell conversion kit.
- USG - Universal Service Sub-machine Gun: short stroke gas-operated SMG chambered in 7.62x25mm Tok and not!-9x25mm Mauser. Is designed to fire hotter and longer OAL rounds (including pressure handling capacity and appropriate magazines).
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