Any rifle may be used in the hunting role, after all, any rifle can kill. But what sets the average rifle apart from the professionals rifle is the calibre, the build quality and the price.
The hunting rifle may not seem like a decent weapon, after all, its heavy, expensive and doesn't carry many rounds of ammunition.
So why have one?
There are a few reasons for this. For a start, if you're a big game hunter, you need a big powerful rifle to bring down your prey. Sometimes it's not too feasible to carry around an anti-tank rifle or LAW with you everywhere you go.
Secondly it's a status symbol. If you're touting one of these, then your profession or hobby is generally instantly known. You're at least someone who appreciates good weaponry, or at least large targets.
And thirdly questions can be raised if you're seen carrying that Heavy AV rifle, while hunting rifles are legal (once you've acquired a hunting license for a nominal fee)!
These rifles can be bought at specialised weapon or hunting shops only.
They are expensive because they are custom built in small numbers, never mass produced.
Also most of them haven't been built for ages now (with the exception of the '47 Modern) and are generally old models refurbished. However they are all of very good quality and workmanship.
| Weapon | Ammo | GE | Weight | Damage |
To-Hit | Cost | Shots | Notes |
|---|
| Older Rifles |
| .600 Nitro Express Double | .600 Nitro | 3 | 19 lbs. | 1d5+4 | 8 | $3,000 | 2i | a |
| .460 Weatherby Mk V | .460 Mag | 2 | 14 lbs. | 1d5+4 | 8 | $3,000 | 3i | a |
| Winchester M70 African | .458 Mag | 2 | 13 lbs. | 1d3+4 | 7 | $2,000 | 3i | a |
| Ruger M77 | .458 Mag | 2 | 14 lbs. | 1d3+4 | 7 | $1,500 | 4i | a |
| .458 Homebuilt | .458 Mag | 2 | 12-17 lbs. | 1d3+3 | 8 | $1,000 ish | 1-5i | a |
| Generic .260/.303/.308 | as desired | 2 | 12 lbs. | 1d2+2 | 7 | $600 | 3i | b |
| Generic .243 | .243 Win | 2 | 11 lbs. | 1d2+3 | 7 | $900 | 3i | b |
| Modern Rifles |
| '47 Modern 46 | .460 Mag | 2 | 15 lbs. | 1d5+4 | 8 | $1,400 | 5 | a |
| '47 Modern 45 | .458 Mag | 2 | 15 lbs. | 1d3+4 | 7 | $800 | 5 | a |
| Generic .260/.303/.308 | as desired | 2 | 12 lbs. | 1d2+2 | 7 | $500 | 5 | b |
| Generic .243 | .243 Win | 2 | 11 lbs. | 1d2+3 | 7 | $700 | 5 | b |
| .30-06 Sporting Rifle | .30-06 | 2 | 11 lbs. | 1d2+2 | 7 | $500 | 5i | b |
| .30-03 Sporting Rifle | .30-03 | 2 | 9 lbs. | 3 hits | 7 | $300 | 6i | b |
a Does full damage to vehicles
b Does half damage to vehicles
All weights include a full loaded magasine.
The weights may seem a little low in comparison to normal Car Wars weights, however they are based on actual weights of the weapons. If you want them aligned to normal Car Wars weights, then I suggest you multiple all loaded weights by 1.33.
To get the 1d5 damage, roll 1d6 and reroll any sixes.
Prices are very basic, and should be considered the bare minimum. You could end up paying up to four times as much!
This weapon had the privilege of being the most powerful weapon in the world at one time, and was a favoured weapon of the bigger game hunters when it was introduced in 1903. It has two barrels side by side, and is shaped more like an over large sized shotgun than a hunting rifle. It is difficult to add extras to this rifle (such as sights), but not impossible. Doing do, though will decrease the value of the gun.
This is the weapon that over took the Nitro Express as the most powerful rifle. More conventional in shape, it can accept a wide range of accessories and is a very fine rifle.
This isn't a commercial rifle at all, instead it is a rifle built by the enthusiast, and as such can take a variety of forms and workmanship. Sometimes it is another rifle rebarreled and modified to take the .458 Magnum, or else it is a completely scratch built rifle. The slightly lower performance takes this construction into account. The weapon may hold from 1-5 rounds depending on how it was built.
With the advent of autoduelling, the hunting rifle has gone into a slight decline, after all anyone can get hold of a LAW or Heavy AV rifle and create game soup. Still there has always been a select individual who wants the game rifles, and in late 2046, the '47 Modern was developed for this individual.
It has been meet with scorn by some hunters as it is a completely modern weapon. Bullpup in design with a magazine of 5 rounds and able to mount almost any normal weapon accessory it has definitely been designed for the more modern hunter, or wannabe.
The '47 Modern 46 fires the .460 Magnum round, while the '47 Modern 45 fires the .458 round. Either way, an effective rifle.
There are (were) lots of companies that created one basic rifle which was sold in a number of calibre's. The generic category is supposed to represent this. Also due to the Car Wars system there's no point listing loads of rifles by differing companies when all the stats (save cost) are going to be the same
Ammunition cost is not listed in the main table. This is due to the fact that if you buy one of these weapons, you'll generally get a few rounds free. The rest has to be paid for at the following prices:
| Single Round Price and Weight |
| Ammunition | Weight | Cost |
|---|
| .600 Nitro Express | 2 lbs per round | $4 per round |
| .460 Magnum | 1 round per lb | $3 per round |
| .458 Magnum | 1 round per lb | $2 per round |
| .308 Winchester | 2.5 rounds per lb | 2 rounds per $1 |
| .260 Remington | 3 rounds per lb | 3 rounds per $1 |
| .243 Winchester | 5 rounds per lb | 4 rounds per $1 |
| .303 British | 2.5 rounds per lb | 2 rounds per $1 |
| .30-06 | 3 rounds per lb | 5 rounds per $1 |
| .30-03 | 3 rounds per lb | 5 rounds per $1 |
Buying in bulk gives a slight discount.
As a general rule, special ammunition types are not available for these rifles on the shelf but are available. These are available at double the normal price. However there are no special options for the .600 Nitro Express, and the .460 Magnum has to be made to order, costing 3 times as much.
As with guns, ammo costs can very tremendously depending on which company you buy them from.
Reloading: All the weapons marked with an 'i' after the shots do not have a standard magazine for their ammunition. All the rounds generally have to be individually loaded in (while the .600 Nitro Express Double is actually more like a double barrelled shotgun which is breech loaded). As such, it takes one second to load each individual round.
No weapon with an 'i' magazine may use extended magazines. Magazine weights (for extended or normal) are calculated slightly differently. Weights are equal to 1 lb. + the ammunition weight. Costs are either $50 or $80 plus the ammunition cost. Ammunition weight is more of an issue for hunting rifles than it is for smaller calibre weapons.
The .600 Nitro Express Double has two barrels side by side. This allows it the option of firing either barrel separately, or both barrels at once. If this is the case, then both barrels share a single To-Hit roll of 9 (to account for the increased recoil), but if it hits the target receives double damage.
The damage that these weapons can do is truly amazing. While the gaming rules themselves can't show this, the larger bore rifles above can - via the impact and shock damage alone - kill animals and creatures that they shouldn't normally be able to, in a single hit.
To simulate this, whenever an animal or creature is hit by a weapon of .30-03 or greater calibre, roll 3d6. If the result is less than or equal to the damage inflicted on the target, it dies due to shock damage.
There are exceptions to every rule though, and this shouldn't apply to truly large animals who can shrug off these hits (such as large dinosaurs, or creatures greater than 12,000 lbs), and merely large creatures get modifiers to the roll.
| Creatures weight: | Die Roll Modifier |
|---|
| 2,000-4,000 lbs | +1 |
| 4,001-6,000 lbs | +2 |
| 6,001-8,000 lbs | +3 |
| 8,001-11,999 lbs | +4 |
| 12,000+ lbs | No effect |
Creatures which have brains that can't register the impact instantly (which includes most large herbivore dinosaurs) or special creatures (if you're running that sort of campaign) aren't affected by this, nor are any creatures that the gamesmaster says so!
The .600 Nitro Express Double firing and hitting with both barrels has two chances to kill.
http://www.remington.com for ammo weights and source of ballistic information (such as muzzle energy and velocities used as a guide to determine damage in comparison to other Car Wars weapons).
Various on-line hunting companies were used for prices and ammo weights (which were then averaged to find the above figures).
http://www.shooters.com
http://www.ammunition.com
http://www.barnesbullets.com (they still do the .600 Nitro!)
