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A look at the MA-75's caliber/ammo
Posted By: TursasDate: 3/7/03 7:23 p.m.

I briefly visited the Marathon Story page a little while ago and thought that I might check up on weapons developments. I saw that a new idea I have hasn't been mentioned yet, and seeing as how I don't want to sift through the many forum posts I thought I'd run it by you guys.

Previously, I questioned whether the -75 in the assault rifle's name in fact represents a year instead of a caliber. At the time I thought that .75 caliber was impossibly large for a rifle round. Following that posting John Rychlik pointed out that the manual in fact states that the rifle "...fires 600 rounds per minute of .75 caliber shells..." hence, the 75 must refer to a caliber.

Usually, when we use the term caliber, it most often refers to a cartridge fired from a pistol or rifle. However, the term 'shell' usually denotes the cartridges fired through a shotgun.

Well, as it turns out, when a 12-guage shotgun fires one large projectile, the caliber of that projectile is, in fact, approximately .73. This value is 0.02" from the desired .75.

But wait, that's not all!

If one looks at a shotgun shell, it can be seen that, as opposed to a
standard rifle or pistol cartridge, the casing does not end at
approximatey the same caliber as the projectile. In fact, the casing is
a little bigger than the projectile in order to hold it within the
casing without crimping at the sides. Hence, it would not be impossible
for the extra 0.02" to be taken up by casing material, which would still
mean that the shells themselves are 0.75" in diameter.

So, in effect, the MA-75 may really fire shotgun shells!

But that's not all either!

Many times people have cursed the accuracy of the MA-75, because it's
not effective at anything other than close range. Such was often the
case with early firearms, mainly because rifling (grooves in the barrel
that impart a spin to the projectile) had not yet been invented. But
another large part of the problem was that the projectiles used were
largely spherical, which is by itself an unstable shape for flight in
air (like a pitcher throwing a curve ball). By design, a shotgun shell
would more easily hold a spherical projectile than a standard rifle
casing would.

The verdict? The MA-75 actually fires spherical 'pumpkin balls' (as
they have previously been called).

Feel free to poke holes as you see fit.

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Replies:

A look at the MA-75's caliber/ammoTursas 3/7/03 7:23 p.m.
     Re: A look at the MA-75's caliber/ammoAgent Shem 3/9/03 4:41 a.m.



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