Bolt Pistol

A Bolt Pistol is a smaller version of the Bolter in standard use by the Space Marines and other Imperial forces such as the Oders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas. The current standard pattern in use is the Astartes Mark III. The weapons are also used by many other Imperial forces as well as the Chaos Space Marines. A Bolt Pistol is commonly used in conjunction with a close combat weapon by Space Marine officers, Veterans and Assault Squads to make them into melee combat specialists.

As a Bolter weapon, the Bolt Pistol is favoured over the Laspistol due to its improved killing ability, although it is less reliable and generally holds fewer shots in its magazine than a Laspistol. A Bolt Pistol magazine carries only 6 to 10 rounds of standard Bolt rounds, each weighing about 0.08 kilograms and with a diameter of .75 calibre (19.05 millimetres). The pistol is able to fire either a single shot or a short, three-round burst.

While standard Bolters are rarely used by the forces of the Imperial Guard, Bolt Pistols are quite popular amongst the Commissariat, and are frequently used by junior Imperial Guard officers and non-commissioned officers in place of their regular-issue Laspistol sidearms if they are lucky enough to be able to acquire the rare Bolt Pistol sized for nomal human hands. It is likely that Bolt Pistols used by the Imperial Guard are smaller than the Astartes Mark III, based upon the observations of the Inquisitor Thaddeus.

Notable Bolt Pistol Patterns

 * Godwyn-De'az Pattern - The Godwyn-De'az Pattern Bolt Pistol is the standard pattern of Bolter used by all of the Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas since their formation in the 36th Millennium. This pattern has been in use by the Sisters of Battle since that time because it remains more reliable and more potent than any other pattern of Bolt Pistol developed for use by the Sororitas. The Godwyn-De'az Pattern is designed to be used by a normal human and thus is much smaller than an Astartes Bolt Pistol. This pattern of Bolt Pistol is designed to make use of the Sarissa as an attachment. The Sarissa is a vicious, curved, bayonet-like blade that can transform the Godwyn-De'az Bolt Pistol into an effective close combat weapon even as it retains all of its ranged functionality.
 * Godwyn-Ultima Pattern - The Minotaurs Astartes are known to have used Godwyn-Ultima Pattern Bolter weapons during the Badab War. It is unknown if they made use of Godwyn-Ultima Pattern Bolt Pistols as well.
 * Mark II Angelus-Ves
 * Mark III
 * Mark VII Ultra Pattern
 * Ryza-Ultima Pattern - This pattern of Bolt Pistol was used by the Star Phantoms Astartes during the Badab War.
 * Spectris Pattern - This pattern of Botl Pistol is known to have been used by the Marines Errant during the Badab War.
 * Tigris Pattern - There are many types and patterns of the mighty and iconic Bolt Pistol used by the Adeptus Astartes, and the Tigrus Pattern Bolter is one such variant. First discovered in the depths of Forge World Tigrus, the Standard Template Construct (STC) data for this sleek weapon was quickly disseminated throughout the Imperium before the outbreak of the shadowed Horus Heresy. This noble bastion of Mars suffered irreparable damage at the hands of the Traitor Legions, yet the Bolters and Bolt Pistols that bear its name continue to see service in the 41st Millennium; revered and honoured as ancient relics of Mankind’s lost glory.
 * Ultima Pattern - This pattern of Bolt Pistol was used by the Mantis Warriors and the Fire Hawks Astartes during the Badab War. The Minotaurs also used Ultima Pattern Bolter weapons during that conflict, although whether they also made use of Ultima Pattern Bolt Pistols is unknown.
 * Mark II Ultima Pattern
 * Mark III Ultima Pattern
 * Umbra Pattern - The Umbra Pattern Bolter is one of the earliest patterns of Astartes Bolt Pistol and was produced in large quantities early in the Great Crusade for the Space Marine Legions. It is still manufactured in the forges of some present-day Space Marine Chapters, including those of the Mantis Warriors, Executioners and Carcharodons Chapters, who made use of them during the Badab War.
 * Umbra-Magnus Pattern - This pattern of Bolt Pistol is known to have been used by the Mantis Warriors and Carcharodons Astartes during the Badab War.

Less Common Bolt Pistol Patterns

 * Bolt Carbine (Ceres Pattern) - Bolt Carbines are relatively uncommon weapons that were first introduced into Imperial service after the design was rescued from a Space Hulk and pressed into production specifically for the Angevin Crusade. A Bolt Carbine is typically easier to wield than a full-size Bolter, due to its lighter, simpler construction and lower rate of fire. Without the multi-round burst ability common to many patterns of Bolt Pistol, a Bolt Carbine is incapable of the wholesale slaughter that characterises volleys of Bolter fire. However, their simpler design means that they misfire less frequently and are much easier to maintain. Bolt Carbines may use any form of special Bolter ammunition.
 * Ceres Pattern - Bolt Pistols are rarely found in use outside of elite Imperial forces like the Space Marines, and possessing one is a sign of status and power. They are sometimes passed down through the generations, becoming valuable heirlooms for noble Imperial families. Adorned with elaborate scrollwork and family crests, these devices are more relic than weapon in some dynasties. The Ceres Pattern of Bolt Pistol is one associated with the officers of the Imperial Navy and perhaps fittingly enough the one found most often in the arsenals of Rogue Traders. Ceres Pattern Bolt Pistols are specifically sized to fit the hand of a nomal-sized human.
 * Cinder Crag Forge "Mauler" - A singular weapon to say the least, the Mauler is a finely made Bolt Pistol designed for normal human hands, unlike the far larger, heavier calibre models intended for use by the Adeptus Astartes. Extremely sophisticated in design and made by necessity from the finest alloys and components, each Mauler is handmade and forged by the Servitor-savants of the Cinder Crag. Each weapon is uniquely tailored to the commissioner’s exact biometric data. The result is a weapon as implacably lethal as it is revered as an Imperial artefact.
 * Garm Pattern Service Bolt Pistol - Often brandished by Imperial Commissars, these large and intimidating weapons are designed to be carried unholstered and in easy sight of their charges. All Imperial Guardsmen, regardless of rank, know that their Commissar is watching their actions and is ready to grant summary execution to those found wanting in the Emperor’s eyes. A Commissar's Service Bolt Pistol is a constant reminder of what awaits those Guardsmen who fail in their duty.
 * Mars Pattern Mark II Scourge - Favoured by the Battle-Sisters of the Order of the Ebon Chalice at the Abbey of Dawn on Iocanthos, the Scourge Bolt Pistol comes equipped with a Sarissa as a bayonet fixture. The Sarissa's blade can easily rip open any Heretic in the hands of a power-armoured Adepta Sororitas warrior.
 * Guardian Bolt Pistol - Awarded to Deathwatch Space Marines of any rank for conspicuous gallantry, courage under fire, or actions above and beyond the call of duty, these finely made Bolt Pistols are as much a sign of status among Deathwatch Space Marines as they are a weapon. Any Space Marine wearing one of these Bolt Pistols on his person is immediately recognised as a veteran combatant who has gone above and beyond to protect Mankind from ravening xenos. When issued to a deserving Space Marine, his name and deeds are inscribed on the weapon by a Deathwatch Techmarine during the awarding ceremony. Each weapon is one of a kind, tailored specifically to the receiving Space Marine, and is his to keep when he returns to his home Chapter. Many Guardian Bolt Pistols that have not gone to the grave with their owners have found their way back into the Deathwatch armouries. These "foundling" weapons are never re-issued, but instead are enshrined in the Deathwatch data vaults along with the details of their owner’s glorious deeds.
 * Sacristan Bolt Pistol - This class of Bolt Pistol is produced under secret license for the agents of the Inquisition's Ordos in the Calixis Sector by the Fane of Orthlack on Scintilla, and is based on the ancient and venerated Godwyn-De’az Pattern of Bolter weapons used by the Adepta Sororitas. Although Bolt Pistols are both relatively rare and expensive to maintain, their great killing power is extremely valued, and the Sacristan, branded and sealed with the symbol of the Inquisition itself, is the chosen sidearm of many Inquisitors and senior Acolytes alike who see it as a mark of rank. Like Godwyn-De'az Pattern Bolt Pistols, Sacristan Pattern Bolt Pistols are sized to fit a nomal human hand.
 * Stalker Pattern Silenced Bolt Pistol - The Bolt Pistols used by the Space Wolves Chapter's Wolf Scouts are a modified version of the common Godwyn Pattern in use by Astartes across the Imperium. Fitted with a suppressor unit to dampen its sound and muzzle flash, and an optical sight to augment the user’s aim, the Stalker Pattern Bolt Pistol is intended for the sort of covert operations performed by Space Wolves Scouts.
 * Volg "Spitfire" - Little more than a crudely modified Lucifer Pattern Launcher, a handgun-like device common on frontier worlds for firing signal flares, tow lines and the like, the Spitfire was an innovation that, according to popular myth, was devised by an outcast Magnavar Tech-adept named Verey. The story has it that while she was exiled on Volg, she made the first Spitfires to help combat a swarming of giant Maw-flukes. The weapon proved both effective and popular, and the more talented of Volg’s arms dealers have been turning them out ever since. The Spitfire’s fame and construction has spread and some are even sold at inflated prices as real "Bolt Pistols" to those too provincial or naive to know better! Spitfires use modified rocket-propelled distress flares fitted with crude impact detonators in a pale imitation of a true Bolt shell, but are nevertheless still quite deadly. Spitfire rounds will ignite flammable materials and can set a victim on fire in addition to the normal explosive damage it dishes out.

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