If black-powder flintlocks could basically only be used at close range, then rifled muskets extended the range to within 300
This book was first published across the web by
meters.
And if the targets were Fishmen moving slowly and steadily, or huge arm monsters that charged straight ahead, then, with volleys and someone specifically adjusting the aim, they could still hit targets five or six hundred meters away.
But machine guns extended the range directly beyond the limits of human vision—beyond-visual-range fire.
The tripod was planted firmly on the ground. With the mount set up, the heavy machine gun's recoil was quite low, allowing bullets to be accurately sprayed across a designated area.
The hand-cranked Gatling Gun Theus had made was not especially accurate, but Chloe's Transcendence ability could provide immediate feedback on where the bullets landed. Coupled with the arm monsters crowding together along the shore, Theus was quite confident he could inflict massive casualties.
At that point, aiming no longer mattered much. The only thing limiting his killing range was the bullets' range, and in that regard, bullets utterly outclassed directly loaded gunpowder.
Besides the amount of gunpowder loaded, the more important factor affecting a firearm's range was the airtightness of its barrel.
The reason Minié balls greatly improved rifle range was that the lead bullet could, to a certain extent, grip the rifling and create a better seal. More of the gas from the gunpowder explosion propelled the projectile, whereas directly loaded shot only utilized around sixty percent of the gas.
The brass cartridges used by the Gatling Gun, however, achieved ninety to ninety-five percent. The same powder charge produced a higher muzzle velocity, greater power, and longer range.
The chance of barrel explosions, resistance to moisture, misfire rates—none of those could even be compared. A brass-stamped