Gauss wpn jams

[maitrejeanth]

A saying that was probably already around in the time of Ramses II goes : " if a soldier can hold it, he will break it".

Can Gauss weapons jam and malfunction or are they the ultimate soldier-proof weapons that can suffer all kinds of ill-treatments while staying relialble ?

 

[mike wightman]

If it's got a hole in the end then dirt can get in, so keep the cleaning kit and while its internals are mostly electrical things can come loose, short circuits due to moisture getting in through cracks, microchips can fail and require replacement etc.

 

[The Oz]

The ammo feed could jam, too. One common cause of modern-day weapon stoppages is damage to or dirt in the tops of the extra magazines the soldier carries. Then (s)he tries to put one of those magazines into the weapon and "Behold!" it stops shooting. Not Fun....

This could easily happen to a gauss magazine, or the electrical connection from the magazine battery (which provides the power for firing, don't forget) could fail to connect, or the battery could be defective, or dead.

I can't imagine a "soldier-proof" weapon because soldiers are so ingenious. Even the rock (certainly the most basic weapon ever invented) can be defective.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Hmm...okay, tell me how a rock can malfunction

 

[far-trader]

I was wondering the same thing, and then it hit me, not the rock but one possibility...

Ogg drops rock in mud. Ogg picks up rock to throw. Oops! Rock goes squirting out of Ogg's hand. Classic ammo feed failure due to soldier neglecting to clean his weapon

 

[TheBrain]

I think it was Gen. Abrams who once said, "If you leave a soldier in the desert alone with an anvil and come back a few days later you'll find a soldier with a broken anvil."

 

[mike wightman]

...or Ogg drops said slippery rock on his own head - blue on blue

 

[Spiderfish]

Ogg is down Urk and Grunt return to rally point cave and regroup.