RE: [DL] Size counts (the rules work fine)

[Allan Seyberth <darious@darious.com>]

At 04:29 PM 7/27/2002 +0000, you wrote:
 >i disagree with this rule and here is why.  people who are trained to use
 >guns are trained to fire at the center mass.  so if anyone with a shootin
 >trait of 4 or above knows this and simply fires at the guts, why would they
 >be shooting at an arm that isnt there.

You've never fired a weapon have you?

I'm assuming such because I have.  And I can tell you that, even under 
ideal conditions, there are variations in where the bullet lands.  I am a 
reasonable marksman with rifle and handgun and at my best under ideal 
conditions I can usually put three rounds from an M-16 into an area the 
size of a quarter at a range of 30 yards.

But that is under ideal conditions.  Prone position, fully braced, using a 
relatively precision weapon, shooting at a stationary target, having the 
luxury of time, AND not under a load of adrenaline.

Let's try a basic jr. high  trigonometry math problem.  I'm assuming from 
your grammer and punctuation skills that you haven't had much more then 
that, so I'll go slow.
Draw a  line 20 meters long.  One end of the line is you, and the other end 
of the line is dead center on your target.
Assume that you are in a good standing firing stance so the tip of your 
weapon is 30 centimeters from your body and say that from that perfect line 
your weapon wavers by a minute amount - 3 millimeters.  (Nice round numbers 
to work with - it makes the task of explaining the concept simpler.)

So.  At 300 millimeters you have a variation of 3 millimeters.  Extended to 
20,000 millimeters (20 meters) that gives you a shift of 200 
millimeters.  (You can also confirm this by taking the arctan of 3/300 - 
0.5729 degrees and then taking tan 0.5729 * the leg adjacent - 20,000.  But 
I said I'd keep it simple for you.)

200 millimeters is 20 centimeters.  A shift of 20 centimeters on me would 
move it from the center of my sternum to . . . the inside of either of my 
arms.  (or to my neck or center of my stomach, or my shoulder, etc.)  And 
that is with a full on stance.  It would be a clean miss if I were in 3/4 
profile.

That's with a 3mm variation.  The next time you are feeling knowledgable 
about firearms, take a toy gun and hold it in a good stance, focusing on 
where the tip of the weapon is (use a point of reference like a spot on the 
wall behind it.).  See how much it wavers.

Now.  The next time you are in a full on adrenaline rush - like a very near 
miss on an automobile accident.  Take a moment to see just how much your 
hand is shaking from the adrenaline.

Now imagine that you are in a combat situation, you are moving, the target 
is moving, your adrenaline is rolling and you are in a hurry to drop the 
guy in front of you.


What is all of this about?  Two things.

1) The rules for firing center of mass and the rules for shifting locations 
due to raises are realistic enough.  There is an immense amount of 
variables in any combat situation, variables that an experienced marksman 
can overcome.

2) If you want exacting detail in combat then I recommend that you go to 
ebay and pick up a copy of Phoenix Command.  That way every combat is 
incredibly realistic and 30 seconds of fighting takes two hours to play 
out.  With everyone who gets shot pretty much being dead or crippled for 
months (if not life).

Discourtesy given is discourtesy returned.  And the shift key is the one 
that allows you to start each sentence properly - with a capital letter.






-------------------
Allan Seyberth
darious@darious.com

A good Man is seldom uneasy, an ill one never easie.
                 -Poor Richard's Almanac 1734