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Redneck: In answer to your question - yes, setting the fuze to zero is extremely dangerous and is only done is real world emergencies (as in the bad guys are about to over run your position and have to be stopped now :!: ) and you can't duck Killer Junior like you can a flechette round.
All time fuzes have a built in 3 second delay before they function as a safety (so they can clear the tube), but you run the risk of the base of the round hitting you if the round goes off within 300 meters of your position. BTW, the P90 Personal Defense Weapon is made by FN and fires a special 5.7mm high velocity cartridge developed for it (not a .357 magnum) and is properly classed as an advanced submachine gun. FN also developed a pistol that fires the same round, the FN Five-seveN. |
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Answer: Yes, it has a 50 round detachable box magazine, which is translucent so you can check to see how much you have left (presuming you have enough light to see by of course).
A submachine gun firing a .357 magnum cartridge would definitely have loads of stopping power, but would have feed problems galore due to the rimmed round (this thing was developed for a revolver and only the Desert Eagle pistols have been a success with that cartridge). Your other problem, which is why FN went to a small high velocity cartridge, is that firing it accurately, round after round, requires a lot of training and practice as the tendency is to climb off of the target due to the amazing amount of recoil. That's one reason the the Brits dropped the .455 round after WWI and went to the .38 round (which turned out to be a bit of a dog, but that is another story). ![]() |
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The Thompson (in any flavor) was a very good submachine gun, although a bit heavy (M1928 - 10 lbs 12 oz/4.88 kg, M1/M1A1 - 10 lbs 9 oz/4.82 kg both weights unloaded). Of course, if you are firing a .45 cal round, you need some extra weight sometimes as you pointed out. However, I think the real success of the Thompson was its durability and reliability as a weapon and not its weight relative to full auto firing.
What really works when firing full auto is being able to keep the rounds on target. For that you need stability, either thru a mount (bipod. tripod, etc.), which really applies to machine guns and not submachine guns - or using short, controlled bursts. I have fired the M3A1 submachine gun, which is lighter than the Thompson at 8 lbs 3 oz/3.71 kg, and had very good success with my shot groups by using short bursts (3-4 rounds). Firing any submachine gun, or automatic rifle, on full auto is going to waste a lot of ammo, as you can't keep the weapon on target. There are supposed to be some electronic compensators on the market that act to slow the cyclic rate of fire to a controllable level for full auto, but I have never been able to see one in operation. |
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