Yet many .17 HMR rounds walk through basic kevlar and 1/4" steel plates. I find it hard to believe that they won't penetrate feathers unless it's being fired from a pistol. The key to high velocity, small calibers, is bullet design. You have to have the right core, or it doesn't do squat. Look at the difference between the military loaded 5.7mm and the civilian loaded 5.7mm. Keep in mind that technically the military loaded 5.7mm rounds are
legal to own as a civilian. FN choses not to sale them to civilians, but they aren't classified as Armor Piercing by the ATF's standards.
Where are the Deputy's stats at that you are talking about? The deputy from SR4: " The Deputy is a very reliable revolver favored by rough retro-types for its wild-west style. Its bullets are less devastating than those of the Ruger Super Warhawk." It's a revolver.
One of the big pushes for the 5.7mm is the simple ballistic pattern of a small high velocity round that relies on tumbling for its damage. It doesn't overpenetrate. It penetrates hard surfaces great, but it generally won't punch through a soft target. That's a big deal when it comes to firearms in an urban setting. The box of truth shows penetration tests for many
common round against drywall. Almost any traditional handgun round will go through you house unless it finds another target (furniture, stud, family member, etc.). Smaller rounds like the 5.7 are designed to ruble when they exit hard surfaces (or enter soft surfaces). Civilian 5.7 rounds tend to tumble into the floor after 3-4 sheets of drywall (two walls) compared to the. Even .22 LR tends to penetrate through 6 layers of drywall (3 walls).
As armor advances, heavier rounds are less attractive unless it is a military weapons designed to penetrate heavy armors. By the time you increase the effectiveness of a round to penetrate the newer armors, it yields a horrible risk of collateral damage on misses.
a longer barrel *would* make up for the difference, if that were the case, but it's not.
There is simply no way to know that. Even if SR artwork were 100% accurate, how do you know that the picture is a
standard Predator and not a troll modified or high power chambered predator? We don't know. The bottom line is that there is a way to explain the difference. It doesn't contradict the setting. Of course, we could always just say no, because we prefer our house rules.
As for multiple barrel lengths. Sure most revolvers are available in multiple barrel lengths. The game doesn't have rules for that, so we have to assume that the stats are for a standard. As a revolver guy, when I think "heavy revolver" I don't think 3" or 6" barrel. I think 8" like my Python or 9 and 5/8" like my grandpa's Anaconda. A six inch revolver is a normal revolver. A three inch revolver is a tiny revolver. Less than that you get into snubnose.
