W-34 Marksman Rifle

The W34 Marksman Rifle is the standard issue rifle given to the designated marksman in every infantry squad of the Imperial Tekkelien Ground Forces. It fires the same round as the TK-34 battle rifle, but has a longer, sturdier barrel to take full advantage of the power of its round. The rifle is built on the TK-34 platform and shares many similarities, but it is geared towards much more precise firing at longer ranges. The W34, like its family of 34-platform weapons, is widely exported and has a proven history in many conflicts. It is also available on the civilian market and is reasonably popular for competitive shooting and hunting.

## Service History

The W-34 was introduced alongside the TK-34 and Cr-34 rifles in 2834. It was considered an unusually advanced and precise rifle to be equipping on such a mass scale, but it had major implications for infantry on the battlefield. By adding a designated marksman to each squad, who was trained to take full advantage of the increased accuracy of the weapon, the number of enemy combatants killed greatly increased.

The first major conventional war to prove the rifle's usefulness was a minor conflict between the Empire and the Empire of Brazil. W-34 rifles were equally useful offensively and defensively, able to engage enemies without accurate return fire until they closed the range gap. The high quality of the rifles even allowed squads to respond to snipers with some success. Once cities were successfully occupied, they were fired from highrise buildings against forces attempting to counterattack.

### Human-Dominion War

During the Human-Dominion War, the W-34 stood out as a particularly effective weapon against the alien aggressors. Dominion weapons were devastating at close range, firing bolts of molten metal that functioned as a shear-thickening fluid. At longer range the metal cooled and solidified, losing accuracy as well. The squad marksmen of the Imperial infantry were able to exploit this weakness by staying as far as possible during offensive operations. However, the majority of the war was on the defensive, constantly holding the line in vital areas where retreat wasn't possible.

The most famous use of the W-34 was Lance Corporal Atlas Saheed, at Winged Hussar who played a key role in tracking down and ultimately killing the Dominion's supercomputer leader, ATMOS-7.

## Role

Basic Tekkelien infantry squad tactics involve designating one fireteam as the suppression element and the other as the maneuver element. The suppression element's job is to keep the enemy in place, and is given a grenadier to keep the enemy cowering in cover with explosives. The maneuver element is designed to move to a favorable location with a clear field of fire in order to wipe out the pinned down enemy. That element is given a designated marksman, who is trained with much greater skill at farther ranges to help inflict kills as quickly and precisely as possible.

When travelling as a squad, the designated marksman can also engage targets that are out of range of the other rifles until the other riflemen can close the gap and return fire. Occasionally in larger missions, the marksman is instructed to stay back in an elevated position and inflict kills on the enemy as the gunfight ensues.

## Design

The mechanism and overall layout of the W-34 was very similar to the base TK-34 rifle design. However, it had a number of key differences that allowed it to function much more reliably and accurate than its battle rifle counterpart.

### Barrel

The barrel of the W-34 was four inches longer than the standard. This allowed more of the gunpowder explosion to be contained within it, propelling the bullet faster. TK-34's have a noticeably large muzzle flash coming form excessive powder burnoff, and the longer barrel helps use it up. The barrel is also reinforced considerably to allow the use of match-grade ammunition. Particularly popular with special forces, match grade ammo uses a much heavier tungsten core coated in teflon to reduce barrel wear. It is also overpressure, using more propellant than would be safe for most rifles.

### Handguard

The barrel of the W-34 is expected to be free-floating, and not connected to the handguard. Connections to the handguard can cause the barrel to vibrate as the bullet passes through it, reducing accuracy. The barrel of the W34 does not come in contact with any part of the rifle besides the receiver.

### Stock

The stock of the W-34 is adjustable and considerably sturdier. It is made of a higher-quality material that is shaped to contour to the shoulder and get a better cheek weld, ensuring that the rifle has a more stable contact with the shooter to prevent inconsistencies in firing.

### Trigger

The W-34 receiver is noticeably smoother to an experienced shooter than a typical battle rifle. The trigger has a very light pull of around 4 pounds. This prevents the shooter from pulling the rifle off-target trying to fire it. The trigger is also two-stage, allowing the shooter to rest at a threshold before firing. It allows for an even smaller trigger pull in order to make the rifle move as little as possible.