Which guns will work on the moon ?

I have a duel in Moontown tomorrow and I need a gun that will work there.

What can you recommend ?

Does the power in the primer and main charge have enough of it's own oxidizer or does it need to get some from the atmosphere? If the answer is that it has enough, then use whatever you like, just be prepared the force of recoil, if directed up, might lift you off your feet some.

The ONLY gun that is know to be space-tested and Cosmonaut-approved is the

I've heard that the they sent ShotGuns with the cosmonauts but only for landing in wilderness areas. I've never heard that they were tested in

Any standard firearm will work. The ammo must be assembled in a vacuum, however. Air pressure in a cartridge loaded at atmospheric pressure might force the bullet out of the case. At minimum it could change the seating depth. Since the propellent has it's own oxygen supply, it will fire normally. You can expect rather different bullet trajectories than predicted by your ballistics tables due to the difference in gravity and the ballistic coefficient of the bullets you're using will, of course, be irrelevant in a vacuum.

Shelf life of your powder might be of some concern, if you plan to stay long. Critical chemicals may outgas from the powder, changing it's characteristics, rendering it useless or unpredictable. It would probably be best to store it indoors, in a presurized, cool, dry place, and loading it outdoors, just before each duel.

Good luck!

Bill Smith

The Makarov is still part of the basic survival kit in the Russian space

Gun Powder contains its own supply of Oxygen! No outside source is needed. Any cartridge firearm will work in a complete vacuum!

But, do you know where the smoke goes if you shoot a round on the moon?

Also, if you're on the moon, you'll probably need to recalculate your ballistics tables if you''re going to do any target shooting. Gravity is much less on the moon than on Earth.

The smoke falls to the moon surface. Particles have mass and thus weight, and there is not atmosphere to suspend the particles of smoke in. Ergo the smoke falls ultimately.

Yes, gravitational force is an important part of a ballistics equation. On that note, I wonder if here on Earth such computations for projectiles that travel extremely high take into account the lessened gravitational force.

I do know that long range artillery does take into account the earth's rotation while the projectile is in flight, so it wouldn't surprise me what else they calculate.

Well, the 16' naval rifles on, e.g., the Missouri, had to compensate for the curvature of the earth.