Rusty
Purveyor of Fine Weaponry
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Intent: To create a carbine for the Galactic Alliance's SOF Group
Development Thread: If Necessary
Manufacturer: Rusty's Custom Firearms and Cutlery
Model: CCR-1 (Compact Combat Rifle-1)
Affiliation: Galactic Alliance
Modularity: Top rail allows for interchangeable optics
Production: Limited
Material: Plastoid, durasteel, slugthrower components
Classification: Slugthrower
Size: Handheld
Length: 72 cm
Weight: 3.2 kilograms
Ammunition Type: 6.5mm Grendel
Ammunition Capacity: 25 round detachable box magazines
Effective Range: Battlefield
Rate of Fire: Semi, burst, auto
Special Features: Compact bullpup design allows for a full length barrel on a carbine-length weapon. 6.5mm Grendel ammunition offers excellent stopping power with less recoil than a modern design. Long stroke gas piston operating system is exceptionally reliable in even the toughest conditions.
Strengths:
- The bullpup design allows the weapon to use a full length barrel and still remain relatively compact. A longer barrel means greater accuracy and muzzle velocity, and is vital for getting the most out of the 6.5 Grendel.
- The 6.5 Grendel is an intermediate round that has excellent performance characteristics, even when compared with larger rounds such as the 7.62x51 NATO.
- The long stroke gas piston is one of the most rugged and dependable operating systems ever devised. You can get it muddy, sandy, or even leave a ham sandwich in there and it'll run like clockwork.
- The bullpup design is awkward to use at first, and takes a considerable amount of training to get used to. Reloading is especially trick, as the magazine well is located at the rear of the weapon.
- The plastoid casing must be removed to get to the internals of the weapon, which can be difficult under fire. In the event of a malfunction that requires disassembly, the user is better off switching to their sidearm until they get a few moments to bust out the toolkit.
The heart of the CCR-1 is the long stroke gas piston operating system. Firing gasses are redirected from the barrel into a gas tube, where they shove a piston backwards. This actuates the bolt, ejecting the spent round and chambering a new one. This operating system is extremely reliable, and can stand up to all manner of abuse. Not much can stop a system like this from firing, and when combined with the plastoid casing that keeps as much dirt and grime out of the weapon's internals as possible, it's nearly unstoppable.
That said, if a malfunction does occur, and it can't be fixed by cycling the bolt and dropping the magazine, it can be very difficult to fix under fire. It's a conscious tradeoff between ease of access and supreme reliability. Other weapons, such as those based on the AR-platform, are much easier to disassemble, but the direct gas impingement system is also orders of magnitude less reliable, so that functionality has to be built into the weapon. The CCR-1 will almost never jam assuming even minimal maintenance, however, and was designed to further minimize the chances of fouling at the expense of ease of access.
The bullpup design allows the weapon to have a full length barrel while still being relatively compact. The longer barrel makes the weapon more accurate, though it should be noted that the operating system generates more movement than direct gas impingement, which degrades accuracy on automatic fire. A full length barrel is essential for getting the most out of the 6.5 Grendel, which performs excellently when fired through one, but experiences a marked drop off in performance through carbine-length barrels.
The bullpup design is not without its drawbacks, however. The unconventional layout might allow it to be more compact, but by shifting everything around, it requires the user to learn a whole new set of muscle memory in order to effectively use it. Reloading can be especially tricky, as the magazine well is located towards the rear to the weapon, and can be awkward to get to. Since the 6.5 Grendel can only fit 25 rounds into a standard sized magazine as opposed to the 5.56's 30 rounds, reloads will be more frequent. Training on reloads is especially critical, if the user hopes to be effective in combat.
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