• @sheepy@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    492 months ago

    FN P90’s magazine turns the bullets 90 degrees by turning them with its feed geometry. It kinda looks like a slide for bullets if you squint hard enough. HK G11 uses about as many parts as in an average Swiss watch to do the same thing.

    • @zaphod@sopuli.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      152 months ago

      I wonder if the G11’s mechanism is so overengineered because it uses caseless cartridges.

      • @DaddleDew@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        18
        edit-2
        2 months ago

        There were far simpler caseless mechanisms devised. But the G11 fired caseless ammo, rotated it 90 degrees and more importantly had a burst mode where the barrel and magazine recoiled together continually throughout the 3 round burst, only returning to battery after the 3rd round was fired. That latter one added a lot of complexity.

        • @HackerJoe@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          English
          22 months ago

          It’s also pretty fast at about 2000 rpm in burst mode. If they hadn’t used caseless ammo this would have been a really reliable gun.

          Loading it by turning the fold out knob is a bit wonky though. No satisfying chambering clanks like with the M14 or G3. Probably a plus in real combat.

          It’s not even that caseless. The bullets sit in a rectangular box that contains the primer, propellant and a plastic cap to center it. The ammo really is the worst part of that thing.