Rifts Up Close: NG-101 Rail Gun

By Tim Willard

Northern Gun has long been secretive over where they acquired their advanced manufacturing facilities. As a company they began producing "modern" weaponry during the Second Dark Ages, and the Northern Gun armed convoys and the deals that the convoy masters made ensured that more than one settlement made it through the horrific years.

The NG-101 was offered as far back as -33 PA to settlements. The weapon was heavy compared to the old M-31 Rail Gun Systems, but sold for cheaper, and often a caravan master would allow the trade of one M-31 rail guns for 2 NG-101 systems. Many believe that Northern Gun has a huge stockpile of old US M-31 railguns somewhere, but if they do, no trace of them has been seen.

Made of first generation hyper-alloys, the NG-101 is bulky, heavy, and has a blocky, unfinished look. However, the weapon, while not as effective as the M-31/C-40R, is less ammunition and energy intensive.

The barrel uses a single pair of magnetic accelerator rails, however, the NG-101 does not use the standard magnetic barrel pressure injection system, but rather uses a magnetic bolt system to thrust the rounds in. This leads to a shuddering roar when the weapon is fired, with heavy recoil, but as the weapon is designed to be used as a fixed weapon, or carried by a borg or power armor pilot, this drawback is largely ignored.

The barrel shroud is made of non-magnetic hyper-alloy, usually neo-aluminum/vanadium mix, with a built in Farraday Cage to keep down EM leakage. In addition the end of the barrel has a "flash deflector" that disperses the ionized gases in the barrel, rendered to near plasma heat by the passage of the rail gun rounds, in order to cut down on muzzle flare caused by the weapon.

The weapon does not use the M-31/C-40R cased round feed system, but rather a standard machinegun belt of individual rounds with "breakable links" that fly off the round as the round is pushed from between the belt links by the magnetic piston. This results in a hail of belt links showering from the left side of the weapon out of the ejection port. The weapon fires 20mm shells in 30 round bursts.

The weapon has a single safety/semi/auto selector on the right hand side of the weapon that is more a lever than a selector switch. This occasionally jams in the auto mode after extended use.

Heat transfer is a problem, with the barrel shroud reaching temperatures of 180 degrees Fahrenheit after a few minutes of fully automatic firing. If the weapon is fired for longer than 10 minutes, the barrel is usually swapped out by the assistant gunner and laid aside to cool. (A trained operator can swap out the barrels in 15 seconds, and it takes 4 minutes for the barrel to cool) Third party weaponsmiths often add in heat venting into the forward shroud to extend the barrel's endurance by more than 300%.

The stock is made of armor-plast, with the standard recoil spring system, which does show signs of mechanical failure after several years of use, and which has to be replaced roughly every five years. However, like most parts for the NG-101, the parts can be manufactured locally and easily, and are not too expensive if bought from Northern Gun.

The NG-101 has low muzzle velocity compared to other rail guns, only 2860 m/s, almost half that of the M-31/C-40R, but the ablative armor defeating method works quite well, as the NG-101 shows superior burst grouping than most railguns its size and weight.

The weapon has three power conduit systems, allowing a secondary or teteriary powerpack to be added to the system. Unlike a lot of Black Market or independent weapons manufacturers, there has never been a problem with degradation of the power conduit leads or sockets.

The NG-101 has remained exactly the same since it was first offered, with only wear on the weapon's mechanical systems showing the age of the weapon. It was not until 45 PA that Northern Gun actually started stamping serial numbers on the weapon.

The weapon is a favorite of borgs and power armor soldiers, as the weapon can be directly plugged into their internal reactors. While heavy, the weapon is intimidating looking and highly effective.

In 62 PA Northern Gun released several hundred of these weapons with Russian alphabet characters on the frame, but these were quickly recalled, with a 2 for 1 offer made to those who had "mistakenly" bought a series of weapons meant for use by "D-Bee's in South Texas." The weapon is virtually identical except for the cryllic lettering.

The NG-101 does not come with a scope, relying on open sights, however it does have picatinny rails on the sides and top of the barrel, and on top of the upper receiver, allowing a user to add their own additional equipment to the weapon as they desire. Many sellers offer picatinny mating rails for free in hopes of making sales on expensive (and often useless) add ons.

The NG-101 has a pintle mounting post on the bottom of the weapon, to allow it to be used with a tripod or on a vehicle ringmount, and many users alter the system by replacing the trigger assembly with more modern parts.

Rumor has it that in 102 PA, Northern Gun plans on discontinuing all sales of the NG-101, although they will still sell parts for it.

Weight: 128 lbs
Length: 58"
Caliber: 20mm
Muzzle Velocity: 2860 m/s
Maximum Range: 2000m (6000 ft)
Maximum Effective Range: 1350m (2050 ft)
Typical Combat Range: 500m (1500 ft)
Magazine Capacity: Belt Fed
Manufacturer's Cost: 14,000 Cr
Wholesale Cost: 45,000 Cr
Manufacturer's Recommended Price: 70,000 Cr
Black Market Price: 80,000 Cr
Wilderness Price: 22,000 Cr