Board Thread:Warhammer 40k General Discussion/@comment-211.26.90.25-20130827133032/@comment-68.224.88.67-20131217000940

A lot of people here don't know what they're talking about.

147.41.128.8 wrote: Guys, as a consistent 40k reader, I have to inform you that while your guesstimates about the properties are more or less correct, the standard Astartes bolt rond is in fact a .998 calibre shell. Imperial Guard bolt weapons used by infantry are both more advanced, to counter the recoil of a bolt weapon, but they are the .75 calibre ones.

Wrong. The Bolter fires .75 caliber self-propelled armor-piercing mass-reactive explosive missiles. That's the official canon description.

"Rifled barrel (0.75 calibre)" '''- 3rd Edition Rulebook, pg. 60'''

"The standard bolter round is .75 calibre and has a super-dense metallic core with a diamantine tip."''' - Dark Heresy Rulebook, pg. 133'''

"998. model bolter: Godwyn pattern with ammo counter, sinister/dexter locking mechanism and sickle magazine containing 30 rounds of .75 calibre bolts..." '''- Codex: Space Marines (4th Edition), pg. 11'''

.998 is referring to the model/mark of that Bolter pattern. The Space Marine game (which is not official canon) is simply wrong if it says .998 caliber.

The "Mortal" Bolters made for normal humans are not more advanced than Astartes Bolters, that would be pretty ridiculous if mere Imperial Guardsmen had access to better Bolters. The quality of Astartes bolters are far beyond the ones created for humans.

Human and Astartes bolts are both .75 caliber, but Astartes bolters undoubtedly use much higher quality bolts with better propellants for superior firepower (which would give it incredible recoil that normal humans could not handle). Obviously, human bolters are designed to be smaller and less powerful.

"The mighty Adeptus Astartes are superhuman in every way, and so too are their weapons. Each is oversized, specially designed for their great strength and enlarged physiques. This is especially true of bolter weapons such as the boltgun and bolt pistol. Massive and reinforced like their users, even the ammunition clips are sheathed in protective wards and armour, with hand-grips larger than any human hand can manage and a weight that would require most humans to use a support bracing. Indeed a human trying to fire such a weapon would likely suffer recoil of such strength that it would rip their arm from its socket. Space Marine boltguns are simply not something seen outside their sacred ranks. 

'''Mortal' bolters are a rank apart and are so designed that mere humans can wield them. Designed with smaller grips and lighter construction, these bolters do not have the same capacity for slaughter as the Astartes version, yet can easily cut a man in two. Supplied by the Departmento Munitorum to Imperial Guard forces throughout the galaxy, even these pale shadows of Marine bolters are rare trophies to be passed down from generation to generation."'' - Inquisitor's Handbook, Pg. 173