Close Combat and Close Combat

Close Combat and Close Combat is a set of rules found on page 24 of Tactical Shooting. The 2nd "close" is in italics for emphasis.
It includes the rules Shooting in a Melee and Close-Contact Shots and Guns as Melee Weapons.
Presumably the 2nd italicized version (ie 'very close') as opposed to the 1st non-italicized (ie 'sorta' close) is meant to refer to the GURPS usage of the term in Tactical Combat where it refers to occupying the same hex: where distance between foes is at most 1 yard, as opposed to foes being in different adjacent hexes where distance can be up to 2 yards.
The introduction "Most nonmilitary shootings occur at distances under 7 yards" seems to insinuate that "less than 7 yards" (which for example counts as being 6 hexes away on the Speed/Range Table, not 7) is the "lowercased C" type of "informal close", as compared to an "uppercased C" type of "formal close" which is hex-sharing in GURPS terms.
==Rapid Fire rules==
special Rules for Rapid Fire under Rapid Fire vs. Close Stationary Targets has a "a Size Modifier high enough to completely counteract the range penalty" situation.
This refers to the Size and Speed/Range Table
This establishes a range criteria called Close Targets which is variable depending on Size Modifier affecting rounds which hit, though only on Stationary Targets.
*one possible interpretation to make this more interesting is to allow it to apply to non-stationary targets, but to add their speed penalty to the range penalty to determine a higher penalty which and SM bonus must offset to 0 or higher
**in that case though, it should not just be "hexes moved" but also something like Basic Speed added to that reflecting the speed at which limbs move (dodging, for example) in addition to hexes moved
This range obviously cannot apply where there is no range penalty at all, so this "nearly close" range ALWAYs includes 2 yards or less, for Size 0 or higher.
*For >2 to 3 yards (-1 to hit) it's only close for SM+1 or higher.
*For >3 to 5 yards (-2 to hit) it's only close for SM+2 or higher.
For SM0 creatures, in theory any range 2 or less is a "Closet Target", but this seems to ignore benefits that negative SM creatures should
For negative SM creatures, there might actually be "no true" close range, if taking the interpretation that "there can be no net penalty from range and SM sum" is the actual criteria.
*this should arguable apply to Targeted Attacks too, since those are effectively lower SM targets as well
Rather than giving no benefit at all to being small (just as easy to hit with all rounds as rapid fire) or infinite benefit (never hittable with extra rounds) one possible house rule to determine a 'middle ground' approach to this is for this purpose ONLY to allow bonuses to happen in the first column for weapons shooting from 1.5y or closer.
Those bonuses would simply be requirements to offset the negative SM penalties for the purpose of defining how many rapid fire shots would hit.
So for example, to use RFvCST against SM-0 requires shooting from 2 or less, but to use it against:
*SM-1 requires 1.5y (4.5ft) or less
*SM-2 requires 1y (3ft) or less
*SM-3 requires 2/3y (2ft) or less
*SM-4 requires 1/2y (1.5ft) or less
*SM-5 requires 1/3y (1ft) or less
*SM-6 requires 8 inches (2/3 ft) or less
*SM-7 requires 5" or less, etc.
These distances would fall below the threshold of GURPS combat rules (which only recognize "in the same hex") so they would mostly have no actual crunch / stat effect.
Adapting these to combat rules would require some kind of special consideration.
Obviously "gun is touching target" would be 0-distance and negate ALL possible SM considerations.
It may be hard to hold a gun progressively close to a target without accidentally touching them though, for situations where that would matter (such as a target having an aura which would melt your gun barrel through actual touch).
For example: going from -13 to -15 is 1/2 to 1/5 of an inch: going from 0.5 to 0.2 is being able to move -0.3 inches.
*if you moved twice as far as intended (0.6 instead of 0.3) you would accidentally touch the target
category:rules