Doomingsland
05-04-2007, 22:03
DR-87 Advanced Special Applications Carbine
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v383/Doomingsland/dr87uberstock-1.png
Pic by MassPwnage (naturally)
Design History and Overview
Following the conquest of Iudaea (Kahanistan) by the Imperium Doomanum, martial law was established in major cities, such as Najaster. These areas were predominantly controlled by Imperial light infantry units. With most combat taking place within the cities occuring indoors, primarily revolving around 'takedown' operations by the Imperial Army, such as raids on apartments of suspected insurgents, the weapon of choice by Imperial troops was, and for good reason, the DAC-97 sub machinegun.
Chambered for the .40 DDI cartridge, initial performance of the weapons was pleasing to the soldiers that were issued the weapon. However, insurgents were increasingly found to be equipped with trauma-plate equipped body armor, allowing for the insurgents to take multiple hits to the upper torso from DAC-97 equipped legionaries. This resulted in the wounding and killing of several legionaries, thus promting some field experimentation on the part of the Imperial Army.
Imperial troops began taking DR-83 rifles with them on takedown missions, and these never had a problem putting down armored insurgents thanks to the larger 6.7x53mm cartridge used, and it was also demonstrated that the round had superior overall stopping power compared to the .40 DDI round; however, the main tradeoff was that the rifle lacked the maneuverability of the DAC-97 in confined spaces. Now that Imperial troops had witnessed firsthand the superiority of a full-sized rifle cartridge in close quarters scenarios as opposed to a pistol cartridge like the .40 DDI, they wanted something that packed that same punch, but in a smaller, easier to handle package like the DAC-97.
The initial forray into a short-barreled 6.7mm weapon was made by the armorer of III Cohort, Legio CVI in Najaster, Optio Regus Ignatius. An experienced gunsmith and armorer, Optio Ignatius, on his own as a side project, single-handedly designed and built a prototype upper reciever for the DR-83 rifle, featuring a short 14.5" barrel. Upon showing the finished product to his immediate commander, Centurion Pontius Herminius, he quickly recieved permission to requisition the resources to produce a total of six more upper recievers, enough to equip an Urban Tactical Response Team.
Shortly after the last of the recievers had been put together, they were put into action against a suspected insurgent hideout. During that engagement, an estimated twelve insurgents were killed by Imperial troops, with another three being taken into custody. Of the insurgents killed, three of them were wearing body armor equipped with ceramic trauma plates, which the 6.7mm rounds fired from the shortened DR-83s had no problem penetrating on a two-round burst, with the rest wearing either soft body armor or no armor at all.
This initial field test, followed up by several others, earned the attention of Tribune Titus Fidelis, commander of III Cohort. Tribune Fidelis, member of a wealthy Patrician family, was intrigued by the concept of a compact 6.7mm weapon. With the permission of Opio Ignatius, the design was requisitioned, the specifications sent to Elysium Armory with an order for two hundred weapons. All of this was paid for out of pocket by Tribune Fidelis, who began equipping his troops with the weapons within a month. In the coming months the weapons would be successfully employed against Kahanistani insurgents, prompting several other units to adopt the weapon. Six months after the initial field testing of the prototype weapons, the weapon was formally accepted into the Imperial Army as the DR-87, serving as a special issue weapon to Urban Tactical Response Teams as well as to patrols serving in occupied Kahanistani cities, replacing the DAC-97 in those roles.
A large order was placed by the High Command to Doomingsland Defense Industries for the DR-87 Advanced Special Applications Carbine, and it is currently phasing out the DAC-97 in all roles previously served by that weapon. It has also found favor with Imperial special operations units due to its compact size and stopping power, and sheer versatility.
Overall Design
The DR-87 is based on the highly versatile DR-83 frame and is fully compatable with DR-83 lower recievers. Both weapons are cosmetically similar, featuring many of the same parts. The main difference between these two weapons are barrel length, and method of operation. Rather than the 18" barrel used by the DR-83, the DR-87 uses a 14.5" barrel. The barrel itself is free floating, allowing for even greater accuracy. In order to compensate for recoil as well as reducing muzzle climb, the barrel is fitted with an advanced muzzle brake/flash suppressor. While this does increase the sound produced when firing the weapon, this is traded off with vastly reduced muzzle climb and lessened recoil, as well as a highly reduced muzzle flash. While the weapon is generally issued with a muzzle brake, the barrel itself is threaded, allowing for the shooter to swap it out with a variety of other accesories, such as flash or sound suppresors. However, customers have the option of having the weapon shipped with a simple flash suppressor as opposed to a combination flash suppressor/muzzle brake. While this would increase muzzle climb, noise produced by the weapon would not be nearly as bad. The barrel is forged from 4150 chrome molybdenum steel and given a black finish, producing an excellent component.
The other primary difference between the DR-83 and DR-87 are their methods of operation. The DR-87, unlike the '83, uses a short-stroke gas piston as opposed to the long stroke piston utilized by the '83; like the DR-83, however, the DR-87 features a balanced operating system utilizing a counter-piston, greatly reducing recoil with fully automatic fire and, as a result, increasing accuracy. The short-stroke gas system produces superb results in the area of reliability (tests by the Imperial Army put 10,000 rounds through the weapon without a single failure). Unlike most rifles, this configuration is not reliant on a tight fit with the bolt group. Rather, it uses rails along with irs recoil spring guide rod and short stroke piston to help keep the carrier in line, while leaving ample room for debris to fall. An adjustable gas regulator also allows for the rate of fire of the weapon to be adjusted.
Of course, the use of a large round such as the 6.7x53mm cartridge in a small package like the DR-87 produces several problems, most prominent of them being recoil. To compensate for recoil, the DR-87 maintains a number of systems. The most obvious system is the flash suppressor/muzzle brake, mentioned previously in the section regarding the barrel. Aside from this, there is a specialized recoil reduction system built right into the weapon. Consisting of a high-density polymer insert, this device cushions the bolt group on its return stage, greatly reducing metal-on-metal impact in the weapon's operation, greatly reducing felt recoil.
Also aiding in recoil reduction is a high-strength buffer spring located in the collapsable stock of the weapon, which complements the two aforementioned systems. The stock not only features six different positions for adjustable length, but also features an adjustable cheek piece that allows the shooter to adjust for height (this cheek piece can also be adjusted for length). However, the biggest different between this stock and previous versions are that this one is capable of folding, making for the most compact variant of the DR-83 to date. A rubber pad can also be fixed to the butt, further reducing felt recoil.
Both the upper and lower reciever of the weapon are machined from a solid 4140 steel forging. While this method of manufacturing is more difficult, it produces a far more rugged, superior component. Tests by the Imperial Government on DR-87 recievers found that they were capable of withstanding tremendous pressure. Other components of the weapon, namely the furniture (i.e. handguards, pistol grip, etc.) are constructed of high-density polymer, producing strong but lightweight components to go along with the nearly indestructable reciever.
The actual vented handguard maintains an advanced integrated rail system. This consists of four rails: a top rail, which runs along the whole the the weapon, two side rails, allowing for the mounting of flashlights, and a bottom rail. This allows for numerous accesories to be added: a forward assualt grip are generally mounted on the bottom rail to allow for easier handling of the weapon, while flashlights and lasers are often mounted on the side rails. The top rail can accomodate numerous scopes along with other accessories. The pistol grip is highly ergonomical, allowing for easy use and added accuracy.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v383/Doomingsland/loldoomiesightsxq51.png
In regards to sighting systems, the DR-87's own iron sights (DR-83 iron sights) are quite superb. Tritium sights, good for both day and night combat, are used with this weapon, using rear peep sights (drum-based, similar to those used by Heckler and Koch designs) and front flip-up post sights, allowing for quick and easy range and wingadge adjustment for open engagements over long distances. These sights feature an MOA of 1.25, allowing for accurate fire over long ranges.
The trigger group is carefully machined and features an ultra-smooth pull, meaning that the shooter won't move the weapon nearly as much when squeezing off a round. This adds to the accuracy. Also aiding in accuracy is the use of a titanium hammer rather than a regular steel one.
Three sling points are located on the weapon, one on the stock itself, one on the handguard of the weapon, and one (visible in the picture) located beneath the stock cache. This extra sling point is designed specifically as an answer to a request by Urban Tactical Response Teams for a sling point more friendly to the use of tactical single-point slings.
The magazine cache is similar to most other rifles, requiring the magazine to be rocked into position in order to lock in. The DR-87, because it shares the same lower reciever as the DR-83, utilizes the same magazines. These magazines range in construction and design, with current magazines in use with the Imperial Army being constructed of black plastic and holding thirty 6.7x53mm rounds, featuring in-built notches and hooks to allow the magazines to be clamped together.
Loading the weapon follows as such: The shooter rocks the magazine into place until it locks in nice and tight. With that accomplished, he or she pulls back the charging handle, located on the right-hand side of the weapon. By doing this, a round is exracted from the magazine. The shooter then simply releases the charging handle, letting it slap forward. When the last round has been fired, the bolt stays back. When reloading the weapon, the shooter would insert the magazine and tap the bolt release, causing it to slap forward and chamber the first round. This allows for much quicker reload times, making for a more effective overall weapon.
The weapon features push-pin assembly and disassembly, allowing for the weapon to be quickly and easily field-stripped, breaking down into just four major components in a matter of seconds.
The ambidextrous selector switch is located on both the left and right side of the weapon above the pistol grip. This allows for extreme ease of access, allowing the shooter to switch rate of fire with the flick of the thumb, without taking his hand off of the pistol grip. The switch has four settings: 'SAFE', 'SEMI', 'BURST, and 'AUTO'. The weapon's burst function is a two-round burst, allowing for greater accuracy.
Cartridge
Drawing on experience from both the DR-31 and DR-78, designers and Doomingsland Defense Industries put together a round that would have managable recoil but superior kinetic energy and knockdown power. The result of this was a blending between cartrages: the 6.7x53mm Imperial cartrage. Standard issue cartrages use a 135-grain bullet. While it is more than twice as heavy as the 5.56x45mm NATO cartrage, it is still light enough to allow for superb kinetic energy from the long case, which is acualy a shortened, necked down 7.8x63mm case.
Using advanced quick burning powder and superb ignition with a steel case, the 6.7mm cartrage's combination of weight and kinetic energy produces what the Empire sees as the perfect round: excellent range, excellent penetration, excellent terminal performance. This allows for the penetration of body armor at long ranges while maintaining awsome knockdown power. When used in close quarters, the 6.7mm cartrage is positively deadly, piercing most body armor and dropping men with a single hit. When used in two-round burst, a kill is almost assured.
In order to penetrate armor and put down an enemy soldier, DDI designers came up with a blended metal bullet for the new 6.7mm cartrage. While this round is seen to have questionable results by some nation's militaries, blended metal rounds have served the Empire well through multiple wars with distinction, effectively penetrating body armor and causing horrific wounds.
Accuracy Results
*At 100 meters with standard issue ammunition, results reflect five-shot groups from the prone position with iron sights
Velocity- 2,637 feet per second
Best group- 2.31"
Worst group- 3.12"
Average group- 2.78"
DR-87 Carbine
Manufacturer- Doomingsland Defense Industries
Type- Carbine
Caliber- 6.7x53mm Imperial
Muzzle Velocity- 2,650 FPS
Operation- Balanced short stroke gas piston, rotating bolt
Barrel Length- 14.5 inches
Overall Length- 32.5 inches (stock extended) 19.5 inches (stock folded)
Weight- 8.3lbs unloaded/9.7lbs loaded
Feed- 30 round box magazine
Effective Range- 400 meters
Rifling- 4 grooves, 1:9 right hand
Rate of Fire- Adjustable for 600, 700, and 800 Rounds per Minute
Fire Modes- Semi Automatic, 2-round Burst, Automatic
Export Cost- $1600
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v383/Doomingsland/dr87uberstock-1.png
Pic by MassPwnage (naturally)
Design History and Overview
Following the conquest of Iudaea (Kahanistan) by the Imperium Doomanum, martial law was established in major cities, such as Najaster. These areas were predominantly controlled by Imperial light infantry units. With most combat taking place within the cities occuring indoors, primarily revolving around 'takedown' operations by the Imperial Army, such as raids on apartments of suspected insurgents, the weapon of choice by Imperial troops was, and for good reason, the DAC-97 sub machinegun.
Chambered for the .40 DDI cartridge, initial performance of the weapons was pleasing to the soldiers that were issued the weapon. However, insurgents were increasingly found to be equipped with trauma-plate equipped body armor, allowing for the insurgents to take multiple hits to the upper torso from DAC-97 equipped legionaries. This resulted in the wounding and killing of several legionaries, thus promting some field experimentation on the part of the Imperial Army.
Imperial troops began taking DR-83 rifles with them on takedown missions, and these never had a problem putting down armored insurgents thanks to the larger 6.7x53mm cartridge used, and it was also demonstrated that the round had superior overall stopping power compared to the .40 DDI round; however, the main tradeoff was that the rifle lacked the maneuverability of the DAC-97 in confined spaces. Now that Imperial troops had witnessed firsthand the superiority of a full-sized rifle cartridge in close quarters scenarios as opposed to a pistol cartridge like the .40 DDI, they wanted something that packed that same punch, but in a smaller, easier to handle package like the DAC-97.
The initial forray into a short-barreled 6.7mm weapon was made by the armorer of III Cohort, Legio CVI in Najaster, Optio Regus Ignatius. An experienced gunsmith and armorer, Optio Ignatius, on his own as a side project, single-handedly designed and built a prototype upper reciever for the DR-83 rifle, featuring a short 14.5" barrel. Upon showing the finished product to his immediate commander, Centurion Pontius Herminius, he quickly recieved permission to requisition the resources to produce a total of six more upper recievers, enough to equip an Urban Tactical Response Team.
Shortly after the last of the recievers had been put together, they were put into action against a suspected insurgent hideout. During that engagement, an estimated twelve insurgents were killed by Imperial troops, with another three being taken into custody. Of the insurgents killed, three of them were wearing body armor equipped with ceramic trauma plates, which the 6.7mm rounds fired from the shortened DR-83s had no problem penetrating on a two-round burst, with the rest wearing either soft body armor or no armor at all.
This initial field test, followed up by several others, earned the attention of Tribune Titus Fidelis, commander of III Cohort. Tribune Fidelis, member of a wealthy Patrician family, was intrigued by the concept of a compact 6.7mm weapon. With the permission of Opio Ignatius, the design was requisitioned, the specifications sent to Elysium Armory with an order for two hundred weapons. All of this was paid for out of pocket by Tribune Fidelis, who began equipping his troops with the weapons within a month. In the coming months the weapons would be successfully employed against Kahanistani insurgents, prompting several other units to adopt the weapon. Six months after the initial field testing of the prototype weapons, the weapon was formally accepted into the Imperial Army as the DR-87, serving as a special issue weapon to Urban Tactical Response Teams as well as to patrols serving in occupied Kahanistani cities, replacing the DAC-97 in those roles.
A large order was placed by the High Command to Doomingsland Defense Industries for the DR-87 Advanced Special Applications Carbine, and it is currently phasing out the DAC-97 in all roles previously served by that weapon. It has also found favor with Imperial special operations units due to its compact size and stopping power, and sheer versatility.
Overall Design
The DR-87 is based on the highly versatile DR-83 frame and is fully compatable with DR-83 lower recievers. Both weapons are cosmetically similar, featuring many of the same parts. The main difference between these two weapons are barrel length, and method of operation. Rather than the 18" barrel used by the DR-83, the DR-87 uses a 14.5" barrel. The barrel itself is free floating, allowing for even greater accuracy. In order to compensate for recoil as well as reducing muzzle climb, the barrel is fitted with an advanced muzzle brake/flash suppressor. While this does increase the sound produced when firing the weapon, this is traded off with vastly reduced muzzle climb and lessened recoil, as well as a highly reduced muzzle flash. While the weapon is generally issued with a muzzle brake, the barrel itself is threaded, allowing for the shooter to swap it out with a variety of other accesories, such as flash or sound suppresors. However, customers have the option of having the weapon shipped with a simple flash suppressor as opposed to a combination flash suppressor/muzzle brake. While this would increase muzzle climb, noise produced by the weapon would not be nearly as bad. The barrel is forged from 4150 chrome molybdenum steel and given a black finish, producing an excellent component.
The other primary difference between the DR-83 and DR-87 are their methods of operation. The DR-87, unlike the '83, uses a short-stroke gas piston as opposed to the long stroke piston utilized by the '83; like the DR-83, however, the DR-87 features a balanced operating system utilizing a counter-piston, greatly reducing recoil with fully automatic fire and, as a result, increasing accuracy. The short-stroke gas system produces superb results in the area of reliability (tests by the Imperial Army put 10,000 rounds through the weapon without a single failure). Unlike most rifles, this configuration is not reliant on a tight fit with the bolt group. Rather, it uses rails along with irs recoil spring guide rod and short stroke piston to help keep the carrier in line, while leaving ample room for debris to fall. An adjustable gas regulator also allows for the rate of fire of the weapon to be adjusted.
Of course, the use of a large round such as the 6.7x53mm cartridge in a small package like the DR-87 produces several problems, most prominent of them being recoil. To compensate for recoil, the DR-87 maintains a number of systems. The most obvious system is the flash suppressor/muzzle brake, mentioned previously in the section regarding the barrel. Aside from this, there is a specialized recoil reduction system built right into the weapon. Consisting of a high-density polymer insert, this device cushions the bolt group on its return stage, greatly reducing metal-on-metal impact in the weapon's operation, greatly reducing felt recoil.
Also aiding in recoil reduction is a high-strength buffer spring located in the collapsable stock of the weapon, which complements the two aforementioned systems. The stock not only features six different positions for adjustable length, but also features an adjustable cheek piece that allows the shooter to adjust for height (this cheek piece can also be adjusted for length). However, the biggest different between this stock and previous versions are that this one is capable of folding, making for the most compact variant of the DR-83 to date. A rubber pad can also be fixed to the butt, further reducing felt recoil.
Both the upper and lower reciever of the weapon are machined from a solid 4140 steel forging. While this method of manufacturing is more difficult, it produces a far more rugged, superior component. Tests by the Imperial Government on DR-87 recievers found that they were capable of withstanding tremendous pressure. Other components of the weapon, namely the furniture (i.e. handguards, pistol grip, etc.) are constructed of high-density polymer, producing strong but lightweight components to go along with the nearly indestructable reciever.
The actual vented handguard maintains an advanced integrated rail system. This consists of four rails: a top rail, which runs along the whole the the weapon, two side rails, allowing for the mounting of flashlights, and a bottom rail. This allows for numerous accesories to be added: a forward assualt grip are generally mounted on the bottom rail to allow for easier handling of the weapon, while flashlights and lasers are often mounted on the side rails. The top rail can accomodate numerous scopes along with other accessories. The pistol grip is highly ergonomical, allowing for easy use and added accuracy.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v383/Doomingsland/loldoomiesightsxq51.png
In regards to sighting systems, the DR-87's own iron sights (DR-83 iron sights) are quite superb. Tritium sights, good for both day and night combat, are used with this weapon, using rear peep sights (drum-based, similar to those used by Heckler and Koch designs) and front flip-up post sights, allowing for quick and easy range and wingadge adjustment for open engagements over long distances. These sights feature an MOA of 1.25, allowing for accurate fire over long ranges.
The trigger group is carefully machined and features an ultra-smooth pull, meaning that the shooter won't move the weapon nearly as much when squeezing off a round. This adds to the accuracy. Also aiding in accuracy is the use of a titanium hammer rather than a regular steel one.
Three sling points are located on the weapon, one on the stock itself, one on the handguard of the weapon, and one (visible in the picture) located beneath the stock cache. This extra sling point is designed specifically as an answer to a request by Urban Tactical Response Teams for a sling point more friendly to the use of tactical single-point slings.
The magazine cache is similar to most other rifles, requiring the magazine to be rocked into position in order to lock in. The DR-87, because it shares the same lower reciever as the DR-83, utilizes the same magazines. These magazines range in construction and design, with current magazines in use with the Imperial Army being constructed of black plastic and holding thirty 6.7x53mm rounds, featuring in-built notches and hooks to allow the magazines to be clamped together.
Loading the weapon follows as such: The shooter rocks the magazine into place until it locks in nice and tight. With that accomplished, he or she pulls back the charging handle, located on the right-hand side of the weapon. By doing this, a round is exracted from the magazine. The shooter then simply releases the charging handle, letting it slap forward. When the last round has been fired, the bolt stays back. When reloading the weapon, the shooter would insert the magazine and tap the bolt release, causing it to slap forward and chamber the first round. This allows for much quicker reload times, making for a more effective overall weapon.
The weapon features push-pin assembly and disassembly, allowing for the weapon to be quickly and easily field-stripped, breaking down into just four major components in a matter of seconds.
The ambidextrous selector switch is located on both the left and right side of the weapon above the pistol grip. This allows for extreme ease of access, allowing the shooter to switch rate of fire with the flick of the thumb, without taking his hand off of the pistol grip. The switch has four settings: 'SAFE', 'SEMI', 'BURST, and 'AUTO'. The weapon's burst function is a two-round burst, allowing for greater accuracy.
Cartridge
Drawing on experience from both the DR-31 and DR-78, designers and Doomingsland Defense Industries put together a round that would have managable recoil but superior kinetic energy and knockdown power. The result of this was a blending between cartrages: the 6.7x53mm Imperial cartrage. Standard issue cartrages use a 135-grain bullet. While it is more than twice as heavy as the 5.56x45mm NATO cartrage, it is still light enough to allow for superb kinetic energy from the long case, which is acualy a shortened, necked down 7.8x63mm case.
Using advanced quick burning powder and superb ignition with a steel case, the 6.7mm cartrage's combination of weight and kinetic energy produces what the Empire sees as the perfect round: excellent range, excellent penetration, excellent terminal performance. This allows for the penetration of body armor at long ranges while maintaining awsome knockdown power. When used in close quarters, the 6.7mm cartrage is positively deadly, piercing most body armor and dropping men with a single hit. When used in two-round burst, a kill is almost assured.
In order to penetrate armor and put down an enemy soldier, DDI designers came up with a blended metal bullet for the new 6.7mm cartrage. While this round is seen to have questionable results by some nation's militaries, blended metal rounds have served the Empire well through multiple wars with distinction, effectively penetrating body armor and causing horrific wounds.
Accuracy Results
*At 100 meters with standard issue ammunition, results reflect five-shot groups from the prone position with iron sights
Velocity- 2,637 feet per second
Best group- 2.31"
Worst group- 3.12"
Average group- 2.78"
DR-87 Carbine
Manufacturer- Doomingsland Defense Industries
Type- Carbine
Caliber- 6.7x53mm Imperial
Muzzle Velocity- 2,650 FPS
Operation- Balanced short stroke gas piston, rotating bolt
Barrel Length- 14.5 inches
Overall Length- 32.5 inches (stock extended) 19.5 inches (stock folded)
Weight- 8.3lbs unloaded/9.7lbs loaded
Feed- 30 round box magazine
Effective Range- 400 meters
Rifling- 4 grooves, 1:9 right hand
Rate of Fire- Adjustable for 600, 700, and 800 Rounds per Minute
Fire Modes- Semi Automatic, 2-round Burst, Automatic
Export Cost- $1600