Bolter

The Bolter and it's variants are some of the most powerful hand-held weaponry in the Imperium.The Bolter is a weapon synonymous with the Adeptus Astartes, and rightly so. However, although the Space Marines are it's primary user, the Bolter finds itself in use in military organisations throughout the Imperium. The weapon is fearsome, with explosive rounds capable of ripping through or blowing apart a foe.

Appearance
The Bolter is a large rifle-type weapon. It has a much greater mass than most standard-issue rifles such as the Lasgun, although it is slightly shorter in length. Unlike most rifles, it lacks a stock at the end, resulting in a grip much like a pistol's. This may be because the chunkiness of a Space Marine's armour would make aiming with such a stock impossible. Thus, the stock is removed, allowing for the weapon to be aimed without impeding movement.

Ammunition
The Boltgun's ammunition is solid-slug in nature. However, unlike most slug weapons, which feature a propellant charge which when ignited forces the bullet out of the gun, the Bolter's ammunition is self-propelled. It features it's own built-in solid-propellant fuelled rocket. This is ignited when the trigger is pulled, propelling the bullet at speed towards the target. The propellant itself is shaped to control the bullet's direction and speed. However, normally a rocket-propelled bullet will warp the barrel due to pressure of gasses. The Boltgun uses an ingenious method to prevent this.

As well as the rocket-propellant, a tiny amount of conventional charge is also included. This is just enough to force the bullet out of the barrel, and ignote the bolt's rocket-propellant. The used conventional charge casing is then ejected from the breech for the next round. The rocket-propellant is carefully timed and shaped to ignite just after leaving the barrel, alleviating any possibility of pressure build-up. The bolt then accelerates away towards the target undre its own power.

The standard boltgun ammunition is designed to penetrate the target and then detonate, causing immense damage to the target and leaving little opportunity for survival. The standard slug consists of:
 * An outer casing containing conventional charge
 * A solid-fuel rocket propellant base
 * Mass-reactive fuse. Has a split-second timer to delay detonation upon impact until ater the shot penetrates the target.
 * Depleted deuterium core. This is a very dense material, adding weight and thus velocity to the round when in flight. This aids in the bolt's penetration of the victim.
 * Hardened diamantine penetrating tip. This allows for the bolt to penetrate most armour before detonation.

Construction
The Bolter is complex to produce and requires dedicated maintenance, which prevents it being issued more widely throughout the Imperial Guard. Its is far more susceptable to dirt and mishandling than the basic Lasgun issued to Guardsmen. The bolters also need far more logistic organisation than the standard lasgun due to their ammo consuming manner of fire.

Variants
Over the millenia, the Bolter has been improved and changed many times. There have been hundreds of variants, but only a few have made any radical difference. All of these have the same basic features, but each have different additional features (depending on the pattern) to improve it. The current standard-issue Bolter for the Space Marines is the .998 Godwyn pattern Bolter. Some other variants include:

Bolters

 * Ultima Pattern


 * Crusade Pattern


 * Filienostos Pattern


 * Heresy Pattern


 * Godwyn Pattern


 * Astartes Umbra Pattern

Ammunition

 * Standard Bolt: Designed to penetrate a target and then explode. Features are explained earlier.


 * Inferno Bolt: The Deuterium Core is replaced by an oxy-phospher gel which ignite on impact. This causes fires as well as the explosion. However, due to the reduced mass, armoure penetration is compromised slightly.


 * Hellfire Bolt: The Deuterium Core is replaced with a mutagenic acid vial. This is similar to the Inferno bolt, but with a highly corrosive acid instead.


 * Metal Storm Frag shell: The mass-reactive fuse is replaced with a proximity fuse, and the Deuterium Core and Diamantine tip are replaced with increased high-explosives and a fragmentation casing. This means the bolt explodes when it nears an enemy, creating a lethal rain of shrapnel. Effectiveness is compromised when fasing armoured foes.


 * Stalker Silenced Shells: Propellant base and conventional charge replaced with gas cartridges for silent, but low velocity, firing. This is perfect when stealth and precision are required.

As well as the different types of ammunition, there have also been several different types magazine to keep those bolts in. The standard magazine is the sickle-mag.


 * Sickle Magazine: Standard magazine. Holds 20 to 30 bolts


 * Straight Magazine: A straight version of the normal clip. Holds less ammunition (only 10 to 20 bolts), but is very easy to load.


 * Drum Mag: These are a relatively rare sight in the 41st millenium. This is due to their unreliability; they have a tendency to jam. On the upside, they do carry 40 to 60 bolts. Despite the frequent jamming, they still brook some favour with local Hive Gangs or militia.


 * Chain Loaded: This is when there is no clip used at all, and the bolts are simply belt fed. It doesn't really count as a magazine at all! Because the chain is exposed to the air, it can frequently clog with dirt or dust. This can, like the Drum Mag, lead to jamming. This 'Magazine' type is almost never used within the Imperium, although it is very commonly used by the Chaos Space Marines of the Ruinous Powers.


 * Duplus X: Despite the somewhat cheesy name, this type of magazine is quite popular amongst local law enforcement or Hive Gangs. It involves two standard magazines which are attached together by some means. This means when the wapon has to be reloaded, the user can simply turn the clip around and insert the other end. This type is rarely produced officially, moreover it is 'manufactured' by those who use it.

Other Bolt Weapons
Although the Bolter is the Adeptus Astartes's weapon of choice for it's Tactical Squads, it is by no means the only bolt weapon. As well as the variants of the standard Bolter, there are several different bolt weapons.


 * Bolt Pistol: A pistol-scale version of the Bolter. Because of the reduction in size, the propellant charge needs to be reduced. This results in a reduced optimum range, although the hitting power remains unaffected. However, the Bolt Pistol remains a very popular sidearm for the Astartes as well as those organisations who can afford to maintain them.


 * Storm Bolter: The Storm Bolter is basically two bolters fused together to form a double-barrelled bolter. Originally, several thousand years ago, it actually was little more than two bolters stuck together and with their firing mechanisms fused together. Such weapons are used by the Chaos Space Marines frequently. The Imperium however started official production of the Storm Bolter long ago. Ammunition is reminiscent of the Duplus X magazine.


 * Heavy Bolter: This is comparable to a heavy machine-gun equivelant of the Bolter. Frequently used as a support weapon by Space Marine Tactical Squads, it provides a withering hail of fire. In terms of mass it is much larger than a bolter, and can maintain a much larger rate of fire. It's ammuntion matches the weapon's increase in size, and is even larger than a normal bolt. This not only means that the explosive charge can be increased, but the propellant is also. This means that it has an increased range as well is even greater hitting power. The Imperial Guard frequently use this weapon as well. It is a popular weapon mount on battle tanks such as the Leman Russ, providing them with anti-infantry protection. Although the weapon is far too heavy to be carried around by a single normal man, the Imperial Guard still utilises it in squad support roles. They are carried around in two-man weapon teams.