Weapon type: Submachine gun Manufacturer: Bereiter Arms Operation: Blowback, full- or semi-auto fire Weight (w/o magazine): 2 kg Weight (30-round magazine): .8 kg Weight (50-round magazine): 1 kg Length (w/o stock): 40 cm (w/stock): 65 cm Caliber: 7 mm Type of Fire: Single shot, 4-round burst, or full-auto Rate of Fire: 1200 rpm Magazine: 30- or 50-round Magstar straight, pistol grip insert Reload Time: 10 seconds Effective Ranges (with/without stock, full-auto): Short: 15/20 m. Medium: 30/50 m. Long: 50/100 m. (with stock, single shot or burst): Short: 40 m. Medium: 100 m. Long: 150 m. Weapon Reliability: 92% Base Cost: Cb 90 Reload Cost (30-round magazine): Cb 6 Reload Cost (50-round magazine): Cb 10 B>Notes Bereiter Arms' M14 submachine gun was designed as an extremely light-weight and easily-concealable SMG with a very high rate of fire. As such, it is popular with MechWarriors as a personal on-board weapon; with security forces, intelligence agents, and bodyguards who want to carry an easily-concealed SMG; and with anti-terrorist, marine, or commando squads who need a lightweight weapon for room-clearing in urban or shipboard assaults. The M14's chief disadvantage, strangely enough, is its high rate of fire. At 1200 rounds per minute, a 50-round magazine will be emptied in two and a half seconds of full-auto fire, a 30-round magazine in a second and a half. While the manufacturer's claims suggest that the small (7 mm) round reduces recoil to the point where it is easily controlled even in one-handed operation, test reports indicate that the muzzle climb under full-auto fire is almost unmanageable, even with a two-handed grip and using the clip-on stock extension. The high rate of fire is also responsible for this weapon's most common malfunction--feed jam caused by failure to extract or eject a spent shell casing. These problems, common to all SMGs, are extreme in the M14 when "buzzsawed" at 1200 rpm. Trained personnel conserve ammo and accuracy by using single-shot or burst fire only. More Submachine Guns Introduction Bereiter M 14 Imperator Submachine Gun Rugan Submachine Gun Rorynex Submachine Gun Kogyo-Khorsakov Special Purpose Weapon, M-920 Thorvald & Koch Submachine Gun Back to BattleTechnology 2 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1987 by Pacific Rim Publishing. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com