Originally Posted by sven hassell

If we're going to include special purpose rounds then the goalposts are moving.You could start to include explosive rounds and then were talking rocket launchers.
I trust the judgement of 5.56x45mm.This guy seems to really know his onions!
So if you're reading this Louis,is there any weapon that is one man portable,that will fire a single kinetic round that will inflict more damage than a hispano from a RT-20..?

Well, this is a subject that i can put some input on. I'll need to research it since the largest caliber that I have fired is British .55 Boys. Which was fired from a 0.55 inch "Boys" Anti Tank Rifle Mark 1

That's about it. I've never fired anything bigger.

Well, to answer your question sven hassel I have no clue. This is a subject that I've never really looked into. I'm into large caliber weapons puts stuff on that scale is overkill in terms of my excitement. Am I aganist someone owning these weapons. Nope, Second Admendment. (Even though the BATFE has ruled that anything larger than .50 Caliber is illegal in civilian hands.)

These weapons fall under anti-tank rifles and anti-material rifles. Can you use these weapons against one person, yeah. But in the end, dead is dead. Whether you killed him with a .22LR or a hispano round from a RT-20 rifle.

I would say A USAS-12 with a preban 28 round mag
and loaded with 12 gauge hollow point-SLUGS
Or 12 gauge SABOTS

The gun as actually 360-400 rpm so basicallyit fires 6 or more rds in a sec
and costs $600

Originally Posted by Obvious

I would say A USAS-12 with a preban 28 round mag
and loaded with 12 gauge hollow point-SLUGS
Or 12 gauge SABOTS

The gun as actually 360-400 rpm so basicallyit fires 6 or more rds in a sec
and costs $600

Yeah, I'd already mentioned that one, LOL. But link me some data on the SABOTS that can be used the the USAS12, I'm very curious.

IMHO, the USAS12 (or any equivalently fast full-auto shotgun) would be the top contender for most killing projectiles put into the air in the shortest amount of time IF we're ruling out Artillery, Mortors, high explosive/special rounds, etc. Flechette-loaded would be the way to go if you want to shred the maximum number of people who may or may not be wearing bullet proof clothing, but then you have the Geneva Convention regulations.

In terms of sniper rifles, I think we definitely need more hard data and sources to differentiate.

If you're talking about a machine that throws a huge amount of lead into the air that is man portable. Than there is only one weapon.

MG42 Machine Gun

Simple. lightwieght, multi caliber, and battle proven. Also it is a long range weapon due to it's large caliber use.
7.92X57MM, 7.62X51MM, and .30-06 Springfield. All are full size rifle calibers capable of hitting targets one thousand meters away.

If you just want a lead spitting machine, than the US Navy MK 15 Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS - pronounced "sea-whiz").

More info can be read here at http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/weaps/mk-15.htm

In terms of long-range accuracy, the MG42 would certainly be superior to the USAS12, but on short range, you have to remember that each round from the USAS12 is going to potentially be multiple projectiles ... depending upon what type of rounds you've loaded. If I want a swath of death in front of me out to 40 meters, the USAS12 is the best thing I know of to accomplish it, and still be hand carried without using special rounds.

Granted, my preference is going to be for something with better range. Any joker with an M16 will kill me first at range. But is range important to the discussion?

I know the question was for man-portables, but since the Phalanx was mentioned I feel I have to suggest the German 80 cm K (E) railway gun Schwerer Gustav!

Did the germans really made those Monster vehicles? And put them on rails??

RK Fritz article on the history and deployment of the 80cm K(E) - New


A 1/20th scale model (120kg in weight!) - for sale

The 80-cm K (E), for all its size and weight, to say nothing of its 'overkill' firepower, went into action on only one occasion. It was originally intended to smash through the extensive Maginot Line forts but when the campaign in the West took place in 1940 the 80-cm K (E) was still in the Krupp workshops at Essen and, in any event, the German army bypassed the Maginot Line altogether. Thus when the 80-cm equipment had completed its gun proofing trials at Hillersleben and its service acceptance trials at Rugenwalde there was nothing for the gun and its crew to do. To justify the labour and effort of getting the huge gun and its entourage into action, the potential target had to justify all the bother involved, and there were no really large fortification lines left in Europe for the gun to tackle. The two major fortification systems, the Sudetenland defences and the Maginot Line, were both in German hands and it seemed that the 80-cm K (E), or 'schwere Gustav' (heavy Gustav) as it became known, was redundant even before it had fired an aggressive shot.

Wow! Wad a big tank! I wonder if the rails can support the weight!

Originally Posted by zander_0633

Wow! Wad a big tank! I wonder if the rails can support the weight!

Not a tank sir, that's an artillery piece. Its the infamous German "Railroad Gun", so called because you had to have a railroad to move that beastie around. While it was one helluva artillery piece, it was not very practical. If you needed artillery support somewhere not conveniently close to a railroad, you couldn't use that particular piece.

BTW the Paladin (or most any modern artillery piece) has the ability to pack the same level of destructve power as the German 'Railroad Gun' per round without resorting to nuclear munitions. Explosives they've been improvin.