Autogun

The Autogun is a fully automatic Auto Weapon that fire solid-slug ballistic rounds at the intended target in rapid sucession. Cheap, rugged and reliable, it can be found troughout the Imperium, where he is appreciated for its decent stopping power and accuracy. Its main drawbacks are its weight and the need to carry a large amount of cumbersome ammunition for prolonged operations, with the latter drawback leading to the Imperial Guard being equipped with Lasguns instead.

Characteristics
The Autogun is a projectile weapon similar in appearance and operation to the assault rifles of Ancient Terra, but the Imperium's technological advances allow those weapons to use caseless ammunition, made of metal, plastic or ceramics, and are themselves constructed with plasteel, increasing their rate of fire and reliability. There are many different patterns and models of Autogun produced across the width and breadth of the Imperium. The typical Autogun may not be incredibly accurate or as reliable as Lasgun, but will make up for it with a higher rate of fire and cheap and readily available ammunition, standardized in preloaded clips.

There are innumerable models and variants of the Autogun in use around the Imperium, but most have caracteristics close to the average detailed below:


 * Length: approx. 125 cm
 * Barrel: approx. 55 cm
 * Weight: approx. 4.5 kg (empty)
 * Calibre: 8.25 long
 * Feed: 20 or 30 rounds box clip
 * Cyclic rate of fire: approx. 625 rounds per minute
 * Muzzle velocity: approx. 825 m/sec

History
At the time of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy at the end of M30, most members of the Imperial Army were issued with Autoguns, as the weapon proved easy enough to use and maintain for the average trooper, while at the same time being cheap and efficient enough to be furnished to the masses of human warriors. The only disadvantage of the Autogun were the nightmarish logistics problems to ensure correct re-supply in ammunition, hence the Autogun was phased out in favor of the Lasgun by the Departmento Munitorum in M32, as both weapons were roughly equal in efficiency and ease-of-use, but the standard Power Packs that powered the Lasguns could be easily recharged in the field where crafting more ammunition for the Autoguns proved arduous.

Use
Cheap and easy to produce even on very low-tech planets, Autoguns are a staple weapon across the Imperium, as widespread as the ubiquitous Lasgun. Durable, rugged and easily stocked with readily available ammunition, these weapons are a common sight especially in the rougher parts of the galaxy. The simple technology needed to manufacture Autoguns makes them common on frontier worlds and also with gang members on Hive Worlds. Autoguns are not as common as the Lasgun amongst Imperial Guard regiments, but they are still issued in substantial numbers, especially by second or third line Planetary Defence Forces or militias.

Known Patterns
Agripinaa pattern type II - A pattern hailing from the Agripinaa Forge World, this Autogun is chambered for the largest standard round in the Imperium, and posesse a simple fire selector allowing to fire single shots, three round bursts or on fully automatic. The oversized round grants the "Agripinaa Two" decent stopping power, range and precision, but at the cost of an excessive recoil and large muzzle flash. The Tech-Priests were forced to add a counterweight to the barrel to dampen the recoil's tendency to lift up the barrel on automatic fire, which resulted in an overall heavy and bulky but efficient weapon. Agripinaa pattern type III - Another pattern hailing from the Agripinaa Forge World, the "Agripinaa Three" is a slightly reworked version of the type II in order to speed up production. It uses the same heavy-caliber rounds, and suffer from the same drawbacks as its older cousin. The Type III only includes a basic iron sight and a flash supressor, but even with this supressor, the muzzle flash remains large and very visible.

M40 Armageddon pattern - This pattern is produced on the Hive World of Armageddon, and is regularly issued to local PDF and militia forces. Lightweight in comparison to other models, it only sports a 12 shot magazine.