# How Many Rounds Does a Bolter carry?



## Hopwood6360 (Feb 16, 2009)

Ive always wondered; how many rounds does a full bolter magazine carry, and where do they carry extra clips? thanx in advance!


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## 1001st Son (Feb 28, 2009)

I'm guessing that they've got about 30 rounds per standard sickle clip, and maybe 50 or so in a drum. And as for where they carry them, I'm guessing on their belt if there isn't a compartment inside their backpacks.


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## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

In Inquisitor, there are several Marks of Bolter. The MkIV Sickle Bolter is what the current Space Marine Models use.

Check here, on page 58 for some background on the Bolter and the different kinds of both Ammunition and types of Weapons that are present .


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## jaren (Jul 7, 2008)

if you look at fluff yes 30 rounds is right, if you look at model size the *magazines* (not clips), clips are internal fixtures to hold rounds that are non removable, magazines fully encapsulate a round for protection before firing.

but the models look like they could hold 5.


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## Huffy (Nov 25, 2008)

I'll second that 30 rounds/clip


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

30 rounds of 75cal bullets, able to be wielded by marines, sisters, and humans.........not bloody likely, fluff or not the magazine would be far too long and heavy for combat use, look at how long a 32 round mag of 9mm bullets in an MP-40 is, you can't even lay down without turning the weapon sideways, yes we can stack them into magazines differently these days, not just a straight line, but thats still gonna make the mag at least 15-16 inches long (assuming each round is about 1" wide, which it most likely would be pretty close to)

personally I think its more like Chaos gate, 12 round sickle mags seem plausible to me, 30 = a big no no


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## Lord Justicar Gideon (Mar 3, 2009)

I got this from the Warhammer 40,000 Lexicanum. It may not be totally accurate, since it can be edited by anyone, but it might be correct. Here goes;

The Boltgun may have one of four different magazines. These include: 
- Sickle - Standard magazine, 20-30 rounds 
- Drum - 40-60 rounds, Prone to jamming 
- Straight - 12-20 rounds, Easier to load 
- Duplus X - Two sickle magazines strapped together


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## The Son of Horus (Dec 30, 2006)

Lexicanum is clearly wrong. 

Insignium Astartes, Codex: Space Marines (4th & 5th Editions), Codex: Dark Angels, Dark Heresy (and the Inquisitor's Handbook suppliment) and Index Astartes: Creation of a Space Marine variously list the magazine sizes as such:


-Bolt Pistol magazines hold six rounds. Some bolt pistols (typically non-Astartes issue) can chamber a seventh round, though it is not recommended. 

-A standard sickle magazine for a boltgun holds twelve rounds.

-A drum magazine for a boltgun holds twenty rounds. 

-A belt of ammunition for a boltgun is typically twenty-four rounds-- modern boltguns in Imperial military service are not designed to be belt fed-- belt-fed bolters are relics of past millenia and are common in the hands of Chaos Space Marines and the like.

-A storm bolter drum holds twenty-four to thirty-six rounds depending on pattern.

-A heavy bolter drum holds thirty-six rounds. 

-A heavy bolter belt fed by a backpack power supply holds two hundred rounds.


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## imntdead (Apr 21, 2008)

The sickle magazine on the space marine models doesn't seem long enough to hold 30 rounds so I am gonna say it is 20 rounds. For the Chaos Marine models there are a few belt fed Bolters with 14 rounds exposed and there is room for at least 10 more rounds before the loading chamber so that's 24 rounds. Now the belt on the chaos marine bolters is just a little bit longer then the sickle magazine so thats why I believe 20 rounds would be about right. k:


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## Inquisitor_ball (May 12, 2008)

Actualy a good chunk of the fluff says Godwyn patten bolters hold 16 rounds standed. fired in single, burst or full auto, ( burst being 3 shots) However it changed with the bolter type and amunition HOWEVER remember that you can fit most bolter types with special mags including drum fed. - In short its a bit like asking "How many shots does an AK have". Without including type or Special mag its a bit random.


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## Unknown Soldier (Oct 24, 2008)

Putting on my nerdy gun hat for a second, the bolter mags can be most easily compared to Saiga 12 shotgun magazines and Barrett M82 magazines - which hold 12 gauge shells and .50 caliber rounds respectively.

The Saiga is a single stack, whilst the Barrett is a staggered double stack. I'd say in order to get 20-30 rounds of .75 inch bolter rounds in such a short magazine (as represented by the GW modellers), it would have to be quad stacked like the Spectre M4 sub-machine gun or the new Russian AK quad mags.

The US military is experimenting with 'folding' ammo, to make the rounds shorter, so it might be a variation on that.

Either that or there's some special Warp / teleportation thingy inside the mag that allows you to put in so many rounds without taking up space.


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## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

Can't find my reference for Bolters but Bolt Pistols can hold between 6 and 10 Rounds.

Ref. Imperial Munituorum Manual


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## Rahmiel (Jan 3, 2009)

Enough to get the job done.


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## Hopwood6360 (Feb 16, 2009)

ok ok so we got the amount of ammo per magazine pretty much squared away. but where would they keep extra magazines, becuz clearly one or two mags will not be enough to engage large forces. when i compare the size of a mag from a bloter to the size of the pouches on the marines they dont jive so what gives where do they keep'em. id rly like to see some kind of chest rig for the space marines. i usually try to add as many pouches to each model i have to make them seem completly loaded down with ammo. keep it goin guyz i like were this thread is goin.


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## Inquisitor_ball (May 12, 2008)

actualy most of the pouches are ammo, plus you have the drops of ammo for extended campaign. most of the vehicles carry spare bolter ammo as well.


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## 1001st Son (Feb 28, 2009)

Unknown Soldier said:


> Putting on my nerdy gun hat for a second, the bolter mags can be most easily compared to Saiga 12 shotgun magazines and Barrett M82 magazines - which hold 12 gauge shells and .50 caliber rounds respectively.
> 
> The Saiga is a single stack, whilst the Barrett is a staggered double stack. I'd say in order to get 20-30 rounds of .75 inch bolter rounds in such a short magazine (as represented by the GW modellers), it would have to be quad stacked like the Spectre M4 sub-machine gun or the new Russian AK quad mags.


Guess I've gotta whip out a gun-nut hat of my own...

Behold the bolter of our age! The Atchisson Assault Shotgun, or AA-12. And it even has a grenade round akin to the bolter's ammunition.










Just thought I'd throw that one out there. Mainly because it's awesome. XD


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## Hopwood6360 (Feb 16, 2009)

i need me one of those right there


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## jaren (Jul 7, 2008)

Stella Cadente said:


> 30 rounds of 75cal bullets, able to be wielded by marines, sisters, and humans.........not bloody likely, fluff or not the magazine would be far too long and heavy for combat use, look at how long a 32 round mag of 9mm bullets in an MP-40 is, you can't even lay down without turning the weapon sideways, yes we can stack them into magazines differently these days, not just a straight line, but thats still gonna make the mag at least 15-16 inches long (assuming each round is about 1" wide, which it most likely would be pretty close to)
> 
> personally I think its more like Chaos gate, 12 round sickle mags seem plausible to me, 30 = a big no no



i will be extending on this.

super gun nerd/nut hat on.

one caliber, written as 1.0 caliber is one inch exactly, that is as large as any single small arm round will get before the caliber sizing and method changes into large gun calibers (read naval artillery). as that the bolter round is .75 caliber, read as seventy five cal, but truly point seven five caliber. a 30 round mag in straight line stack would be roughly 24 inches long including the magazine, thus probably 22 inches exposed below the bolter, that would be cumbersome to say the least, even for a marine.

the best guess is that 16 is right for a normal banana magazine, this would make for 13 inch mags and 11 inches visible below the bolter, much more manageable by a marine, or anyone for that matter.

as for the ammunition storage i would see some slot in between the pack and back the breastplate not to far off, that or just as like everything in the models, the scale is a little off.


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## Marte (Mar 6, 2009)

1001st Son said:


> Guess I've gotta whip out a gun-nut hat of my own...
> 
> Behold the bolter of our age! The Atchisson Assault Shotgun, or AA-12. And it even has a grenade round akin to the bolter's ammunition.
> 
> ...


Love that shotgun. Last time i checked i think it has had limited service with the Marines. Still this is what i think the modern day bolter is more like :mrgreen:


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## Unknown Soldier (Oct 24, 2008)

Ha! You dare to put on a nerdy gun hat bigger then mine?!

1001st Son, the AA-12 is quite an old design and was already being produced in Korea as the USAS 12 (Stargate SG-1 fans will have seen it in the first episode featuring the Replicators). The Saiga 12 is a 12 gauge shotgun based on the AK-47 and is much lighter and less bulky then the AA-12. Plus you can go out and buy one if you live in the US.

Here is a nice video of it here -






Marte has included a picture of the OICW (Objective Infantry Combat Weapon) or 'Land Warrior' which is basically a combination of a 5.56mm assault rifle and a 20mm grenade launcher. However, due to the size and weight, (plus the 20mm rounds being a bit crap) this programme was ended by the US Military in 2004.

jaren, you're assuming the bolter mags are single stack rather then staggered double stack (or even quad stacked) and have only allowed an inch for the magazine spring and follower. However, I am impressed with your working knowledge and calculations.

The other main factor in a handgun style weapon that fires a .75 caliber round is recoil. This always makes me giggle -


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## Marte (Mar 6, 2009)

Actually Unknown Soldier that is a picture of the XM-25 i posted. Its the standalone 20mm airburst system from the OICW scaled up to 25mm. It is field testing at the moment, but i havent heard any news about it lately. You should check out some of the rounds that are being designed for it. All its needs is a nice Imperial Eagle and some purity seals.


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## jaren (Jul 7, 2008)

Unknown Soldier said:


> Ha! You dare to put on a nerdy gun hat bigger then mine?!
> 
> 1001st Son, the AA-12 is quite an old design and was already being produced in Korea as the USAS 12 (Stargate SG-1 fans will have seen it in the first episode featuring the Replicators). The Saiga 12 is a 12 gauge shotgun based on the AK-47 and is much lighter and less bulky then the AA-12. Plus you can go out and buy one if you live in the US.
> 
> ...



that is what i was assuming for worst possible scenario, single stack, if they are double stack like the ak or m-16 mags you could reduce the size by a good 2-4 inches depending.

and for the bolter round, as far as i know it is a chemical ignited rocke5t round, so it is fire threw chemical propellants and then a rocket motor kicks in after leaving the barrel to further accelerate the round, this will reduce the needed initial recoil to minimal since all is needed is enough to get the round out of the barrel and at a critical velocity for the rocket to kick in.

and on my knowledge, i was a GunnersMate in the USCG, so i hope i know my way about fire-arms :grin:.


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## Unknown Soldier (Oct 24, 2008)

Marte, of course you are correct, it is the XM-25, I bow to your wisdom. If they do get the ammo to work, it will be the equivalent of a bolter.

jaren, again, you are correct also, but on a previous thread discussion, it was the view that the bolter round left the barrel under conventional means so it could be used at close range to punch through armour and kill people before the rocket motor kicked in. Hence the recoil.

Having said that, the new Russian Balkan 40mm Grenade Launcher is using a rocket motor to propel it's grenades before they leave the barrel. (Which was one of the failings of the previous Gyrojet technology).


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## jaren (Jul 7, 2008)

yes, despite having a recoil, it wouldn't be near as bad as what people believe as that it is only need to propel it so far at a certain speed, this wouldn't need to propel it any further then maybe 5-10 feet beyond the barrel at any considerable speed.


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## solkan (Apr 24, 2008)

The Son of Horus said:


> Lexicanum is clearly wrong.
> 
> Insignium Astartes, Codex: Space Marines (4th & 5th Editions), Codex: Dark Angels, Dark Heresy (and the Inquisitor's Handbook suppliment) and Index Astartes: Creation of a Space Marine variously list the magazine sizes as such:
> ...


I was looking something unrelated up, and the figures quoted by the Lexicanum appear to be from page 60 of the 3rd edition rules. So the other, more recent books are probably better sources...


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## MyI)arkness (Jun 8, 2008)

You forget than space marines are 2+ metres tall giant hulks of muscles + even larger with power armor, so their gun size proportions should be taken into account accordingly, a normal bolter, as far as ive read in books, is barely liftable by a strong man, while bolt pistol can be used like a rifle by itself, if wielded by normal human, so those 30 ammo magasines dont seem so unrealistic.


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