Introduction
A long time ago (actually around June of last year), I created a slight dumpster fire of a post called Weapon Categories in Unturned II [Long Post]. It was well-received, but several categories that I suggested were debated…rather hotly. I’ve since amended the categories and criteria in this post. Enjoy. Also, text wall warning.
Generalized Categories and Criteria
1) Rifles
The most common and arguably the oldest of these categories, rifles are also among the most varied types of firearms, with specialized subtypes for long range precision marksmanship, close range room-clearing, and everything in between.
Criteria for classification as a rifle are as follows:
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Rifling: The firearm in question must have rifling in the barrel.
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Rifle Cartridge: The weapon must fire either an intermediate for full-sized rifle cartridge, for example the 5.56×45mm and 7.62×51mm rounds are both rifle rounds. Notable exceptions include low-powered rifled rounds also used in pistols, such as the .22 Long Rifle and .17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire.
2) Shotguns
Shotguns differ from rifles in that instead of firing metallic cartridges, they fire shells, which contain a number of projectiles known as shot, hence the name shotgun. This in turn also makes them devastatingly effective against unarmed targets at close range, and partly eliminates the need to aim accurately. Shotguns may also fire slugs, which are much more effective at longer ranges. Shotguns may be either smoothbore or rifled.
Criteria for classification as a shotgun are as follows:
- Shotshell: The firearm in question must be able to shoot shotshells, regardless of what type of projectile is actually inside the shell.
3) Handguns
The most generalized category of firearms, handguns are short-barreled firearms, generally designed with the purpose of being either a backup weapon or one for self-defense. Certain cut-down firearms and firearms firing larger rounds can also be classified as handguns as long as they fit the size requirement.
Criteria for classification as a handgun are as follows:
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One-Handed Operation: The weapon must be able to be held and fired in one hand.
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Lack of a Stock: The weapon must be purpose-designed without a shoulder stock. Detachable stocks are an exception to this rule.
4) Machine guns
Machine guns are fully automatic firearms, usually firing either intermediate or full-power rifle cartridges, and are designed for the purpose of sustained fire support or suppressing fire in mind.
Criteria for classification as a machine gun are as follows:
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Rifle Cartridge: The weapon must fire either an intermediate-sized rifle cartridge or full-power rifle cartridge. Note that in this case, weaker cartridges such as .22 Long Rifle do not qualify.
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Full Auto: The weapon must be capable of fully automatic fire. The weapon may be selective-fire, but only if one of the firemodes is fully automatic.
5) Carbines
Carbines are long gun firearms with a shorter barrel than rifles, designed for the purpose of either lighter weight and portability or better range and stopping power over a handgun. Carbines may use either rifle cartridges or pistol cartridges, examples which chamber the latter are known colloquially as pistol-caliber carbines.
Criteria for classification as a carbine are as follows:
- Small Size: The weapon must be either be shorter than a rifle, but larger than a handgun. Note that simply attaching a stock to a handgun does not turn it into a carbine, unless the stock is one of several modifications included as part of a carbine conversion kit.
Subcategories and Criteria
1) Assault Rifles
A concept first pioneered by the Germans with the StG-44 after research showed that most contemporary rifles were overpowered for most combat engagements withing 400 meters, assault rifles are designed to combine the firepower of a light or submachine gun with the range and accuracy of a rifle, and are the mainstay of almost all modern armies.
Criteria for classifications as an assault rifle are as follows:
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Selective Fire: The weapon must have at least two firemodes between semi, auto, and burst.
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Rifle Cartridge: The weapon must be chambered in an intermediate-sized rifle cartridge.
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Magazine Fed: The rifle must be fed primarily by detachable box magazines.
2) Battle Rifles
A post-WWII term coined to differentiate between automatic rifles that fired full-power rifle rounds and those that fired intermediate-sized cartridges. These often possess much more stopping power than assault rifles due to their larger cartridge sizes, however as such they alos have much more recoil.
Criteria for classification as a battle rifle are as follows:
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Selective Fire: The weapon must have at least two firemodes between semi, auto, and burst. Burst-fire battle rifles are rare, but not unheard of.
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Rifle Cartridge: The weapon must be chambered in a full-power rifle cartridge such as 7.62×51mm.
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Magazine Fed: The rifle must be fed primarily by detachable box magazines.
3) Sniper Rifles
A specialized, purpose-built precision rifle designed for use by snipers and other sharpshooters to engage long-range targets. Most sniper rifles are either bolt-action or semiautomatic.
Criteria for classification as a sniper rifle are as follows:
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Telescopic Sight: The weapon must either be designed for use with or at the very least accept a scope.
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Rifle Cartridge: The weapon must be chambered in a full-power rifle cartridge such as .300 Winchester Magnum.
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Action: The rifle must be either bolt-action or semiautomatic.
4) Designated Marksman Rifles
A specialized type of rifle designed to fill in the gap between dedicated snipers and regular infantrymen. Designated marksman rifles, or DMRs, are almost always semiautomatic and usually have a smaller engagement range than sniper rifles.
Criteria for classification as a designated marksman rifle are as follows:
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Telescopic Sight: The rifle must be able to accept a scope as an attachment. However, these optical sights usually have a lesser magnification than sniper scopes.
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Rifle Cartridge: DMRs can be chambered in either intermediate or full-power rifle cartridges.
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Action: The firearm must be either semiautomatic or very rarely, selective-fire.
5) Antimaterial Rifles
A specialized rifle designed for use against military equipment such as radar installations and light vehicles, usually chambered for very large rifle cartridges. Due to their design they are also equally effective against personnel at longer distances than what can be achieved using a conventional sniper rifle.
Criteria for classification as an antimaterial rifle are as follows:
- Large Cartridge: The weapon must be chambered in rounds that are larger than full-power rifle cartridges, such as .50 BMG and 14.5×114mm.
6) Submachine Guns
Submachine guns, or SMGs, are fully automatic firearms firing pistol-caliber ammunition. These have been largely replaced in modern use by assault rifles, but are still used by special forces and law enforcement. Personal defense weapons usually fall into this category.
Criteria for classification as a submachine gun are as follows:
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Pistol Cartridge: The weapon must be chambered in a pistol-sized cartridge such as .45 ACP, or a low powered rifle cartridge such as .22 Long Rifle.
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Full Auto: The weapon must be able to fire in full auto. It may or may not be selective fire.
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Magazine Fed: The weapon must be fed by a detachable box magazine.
7) Light Machine Guns
Light machine guns, or LMGs, are machine guns designed to be employed by an individual soldier as an infantry support weapon at the squad level. These may be fed by either a belt, clip, or magazine.
Criteria for classification as a light machine gun are as follows:
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Rifle Cartridge: The firearm must be chambered in either an intermediate or full-power rifle cartridge.
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Full Auto: The weapon must be capable of fully automatic fire. The weapon may be selective-fire, but only if one of the firemodes is fully automatic.
8) Medium Machine Guns
Medium machine guns, or MMGs, are machine guns designed for sustained fire support. Due to their weight and size, these are often employed in either fixed defensive emplacements or in vehicles.
Criteria for classification as a medium machine gun are as follows:
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Rifle Cartridge: MMGs must be chambered in a full-power rifle cartridge.
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Full Auto: The weapon must be capable of fully automatic fire. The weapon may be selective-fire, but only if one of the firemodes is fully automatic.
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Sustained Fire: The weapon must be capable of providing near-continuous or frequent bursts of fire without overheating. The weapon may or may not have certain measures implemented in its design to facilitate this, such as liquid cooling or a quick-change barrel.
9) General Purpose Machine Guns
General-purpose machine guns, or GPMGs, are a type of machine gun that be adapted to light machine gun and medium machine gun roles. These typically are air-cooled and feature a quick-change barrel, and can be configured for use with bipods, tripods, and other mounts.
10) Heavy Machine Guns
A class of crew-served machine gun, heavy machine guns, or HMGs, are chambered in large-caliber rifle rounds. These are designed to have increased penetration and destructive power against vehicles, aircraft, and light fortifications. Due to their weight and size, they are usually employed in fixed emplacements, tripods, or wheeled mounts.
Criteria for classification as a heavy machine gun are as follows:
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Large Caliber: The weapon must be chambered in rounds larger than full-sized rifle cartridges such as .50 BMG and 12.7×108mm.
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Full Auto: The weapon must be capable of fully automatic fire. The weapon may be selective-fire, but only if one of the firemodes is fully automatic.
11) Pistols
Note that in general use, the term pistol is henceforth to be used to refer to those of the semiautomatic type. All other pistols are to be distinguished by modifiers.
Criteria for classification as a pistol are as follows:
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Handgun: The firearm must be a handgun.
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Pistol Cartridge: The weapon must be chambered in either a pistol caliber or a low-powered rifle caliber also used in pistols, such as .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire.
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Semi Auto: The handgun must be semiautomatic.
12) Revolvers
A repeating handgun that has a single barrel and multiple revolving chambers as opposed to a pistol that has a single chamber. These are usually capable of chambering and firing more powerful rounds than other handguns.
Criteria for classification as a revolver are as follows:
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Handgun: The firearm must be a handgun.
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Revolver: The weapon must have multiple revolving chambers.
13) Machine Pistols
Machine pistols are either fully automatic or burst fire pistols, and are considered a special purpose weapon with limited utility. Due to their small size, machine pistols are almost uncontrollable by all but the most experienced of shooters. They may or may not have an attachment point for a shoulder stock.
Criteria for classification as a machine pistol are as follows:
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Handgun: The firearm must be a handgun.
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Selective Fire: The weapon must have a semi and either an auto or burst firemode.
14) Automatic Shotguns
An automatic shotgun is a shotgun capable of automatic fire, and can provide tremendous close-quarters firepower.
Criteria for classification as an automatic shotgun are as follows:
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Shotgun: The weapon must meet prerequisites for a shotgun.
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Full Auto: The weapon must have a fully automatic firemode.
Miscellaneous Classifications
1) Grenade Launchers
These are specialized firearms designed to fire special large-caliber rounds with special effects. Note that although certain grenade launchers can fire buckshot and flechette loads, they are not classified as shotguns. These can be further divided into the following:
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Standalone Grenade Launchers: These can operate independently, and can be either single-shot or multi-shot.
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Underbarrel Grenade Launchers: These are attached underneath a standard infantry rifle to provide a fireteam with a compact direct and indirect fire weapon. They are almost exclusively single-shot by design.
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Automatic Grenade Launchers: Also known as grenade machine guns, these are crew-served support weapons similar to medium or heavy machine guns with the ability to fire grenades in quick succession from a belt or magazine.
2) Rocket / Missile Launchers
These are man-portable weapons that launch unguided, rocket-propelled projectiles. These are most commonly anti-tank weapons, but can also be used against emplacements and personnel. They are not to be confused with missile launchers, which fire guided missiles.
3) Recoiless Rifles
A type of light artillery or man-portable launcher designed to fire a countermass from the rear to balance out the recoil of the projectile, often in the form of a backblast that can be lethal to anyone standing too close.
4) Turret Revolvers
A unique and rare variation on the revolver concept, utilizing a horizontally rotated drum on a vertical axis, in contrast to a traditional revolver, which revolved vertically on a horizontal axis.
Modifiers
Note that for the sake of simplicity, methods of operation for semiautomatic firearms such as blowback and gas-operated have been omitted, as are modifiers for certain obscure actions such as the falling block action and eccentric screw action, bullpups, and methods of reloading. Single-action and double-action has also been simplified to apply to only revolvers
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Bolt Action: The firearm is manually operated by working a bolt. Applies mainly to rifles, carbines, pistols, and shotguns. Bolt actions that cycle with just a single forewards-and-backwards motion are known as straight-pull bolt-actions.
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Lever-Action: The firearm is manually operated by working a lever located underneath the receiver. Applies mainly to rifles, carbines, and shotguns.
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Pump-Action: The firearm is manually operated by working the forend back and forth. Also known as slide-action. Applies mainly to shotguns, but can also apply to rifles and grenade launchers.
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Break-Action: The barrels firearm are hinged and the weapon is “broken open” to be loaded.
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Revolving: Used to describe a weapon utilizing revolving chambers without being a handgun. Applies to rifles, carbines, shotguns, and very rarely grenade launchers.
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Semiautomatic: The firearm fires and chambers a new round with each trigger pull. Applies to rifles, pistols, shotguns, carbines, and revolvers.
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Single-Action: The trigger performs the single action of releasing the trigger, the hammer must be cocked back after every shot. Applies only to revolving firearms.
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Double-Action: The mechanism cocks the hammer automatically after firing. Not to confused with semiautomatic firearms, applies only to revolving firearms. Most double-action revolving firearms also have the ability to fire in single-action, however this is not always the case. To differentiate between the two, those revolvers that can only fire in double action are henceforth to be known as either double-action only or self-cocking.
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Single-Shot: Refers to firearms that only have a chamber, and must be reloaded after every shot. Can apply to rifles, carbines, pistols, shotguns, and grenade launchers.
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Muzzleloading: Refers to firearms that are loaded from the muzzle of the barrel as opposed to from the breech. Applies to rifles, pistols, shotguns, and grenade launchers. Muzzleloader are almost exclusively single-shot.
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Double-Barrel: The firearm has two chambers and barrels. Applies to shotgun and certain custom-made rifles. Double barrels are almost exclusively break-action.
Classification Guidelines
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Modifiers are always applied first, before any of the categorizations (i.e. bolt-action sniper rifle).
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Action modifiers are applied before others (i.e. break-action double-barrel shotgun).
Note that muzzleloading is an action multiplier (i.e. muzzleloading single-shot rifle). -
For clarification, all machine guns, including submachine guns and automatic grenade launchers, do not have any modifiers. Automatic shotguns also do not have any modifiers.
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Modifiers and classifications cannot be contradictory, for example a rifle cannot be both an assault rifle and antimaterial rifle at the same time, and a shotgun cannot be lever-action and pump-action at the same time. Note that semiautomatic revolvers do exist, and that these are neither single nor double-action.
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The classifier should always do prior research, and if need be, use modifiers and classifications that are not included within this post, such as sawed-off and dual-action.
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Classifications should be applied in order of the weapon’s designed purpose. For example, the General Liu rifle is both a semiautomatic rifle and straight-pull bolt-action, however due to its inended purpose it is to be either classified as semiautomatic or dual-action.
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The classifier should always refer to research for confirmation of a classification or modifier, and should always withhold judgement before finalization. For example, the KS-23M shotgun is classified by the Russian military as a “special-purpose carbine,” however it falls into the category of a shotgun.
Appendix A: Firemodes and Aimmodes
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Semiautomatic: The weapon fires one shot for each trigger pull.
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Burst: The weapon fires several shots after depressing the trigger. Can be interrupted by releasing the trigger prematurely. Three-shot burst is the most common type of burst.
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Automatic: The weapon fires continuously as long until the trigger is released or ammunition is exhausted.
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Double / Single-Action: Applies to revolvers. Changing the firemode changes the firearm to either single or double action, respectively. Single action fire grants a boost to accuracy at the cost of firerate.
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Fanning: Applies to single-action revolvers, or double-action revolvers that also have a single action mode. Essentially an automatic firemode for revolvers, however when firing the player cannot aim down sights. Cannot be used when dual-wielding, for obvious reasons.
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Slam-Fire: Applies to slide and pump-action shotguns. Similar to fanning, the shotgun will fire as long as the trigger is depressed, however this is not nearly as fast as even a semiautomatic shotgun. In contrast to fanning, however, the player can still aim down sights.
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Bump Fire: Applies to select semiautomatic rifles. An attachment known as a bump stock will allow the firearm to fire in a manner similar to, but not identical to fully automatic fire. When doing this, the player cannot aim down sights.
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Alt Aim: Applies to all firearms, an aimmode between hipfire and aiming down sights. Allows for better recoil control while still retaining some zoom, useful mainly for shotguns and machine guns. Akimbo weapons automatically have this aimmode.
Appendix B: Classification Exercises
A series of firearms for you to classify. Please refer to the criteria and classification guidelines. Share answers below and you will get a like if you are correct.
MTs-255
Thank you for taking the time to read through (or at least skim through) this post. Please leave any concerns, thought, and suggestions below, and note that this is by no means a complete and comprehensive guide, but rather one that’s simplified for the purposes of Unturned II. Obligatory poll here, by the way. 2019-04-24T04:00:00Z
- This is a good classification system for Unturned II.
- This is not a good classification system for Unturned II.
- Cannot decide.
- Was too lazy to read through the entire post, but long post so must be good.
0 voters
