M1 Lockram

The M1 Lockram is a semi-automatic rifle adopted by the Panamoan Army and Amphibious Panamoan Marine Corps as their official service rifle in 1936, designed by the talented Carl Heinkel Lockram. It gained global recognition in the infamous Global War.

## History

Before the outbreak of the Global War, the M1 Lockram was proposed by the Armed Forces of the Panamoan Republic as a new standard issue rifle that will replace the existing bolt action rifles in service. Another thing noted in the proposal was the bolt action rifles will be only used as Sniper rifles instead, as typical soldiers were generally overusing bolt actions in combat, Talented Panamoan gun designer Carl Heinkel Lockram was chosen for the project, as many praised his efficient and reliable designs. Although It was firstly chambered at the .276 Striker round, it was quickly criticized because barely any branch in the Armed Forces of the Panamoan Republic used the caliber, so if the Lockram was issued, ammo shortages will be frequently reported by soldiers, LFC then changed it to the .303 Springfield caliber, as there are millions of .303s currently available at their disposal.

LFC included a rifling twist of 8 Grooves, 1 turn in 4 inches Right-hand twist, to improve it's already impressive ballistic performance, precision, accuracy, penetration and lethality of the .303 caliber, and it's adjustable iron sights are useful to align it in different conditions of elevation and windage. It's also worth noting that all of it's metal parts are made of high quality machined  *Titanium Aluminide Alloy*, making them extremely durable, reliable and last longer, not to mention it's good as a melee weapon. The Walnut body of the weapon is fireproof, and highly reinforced, practically increasing it's durability. The Panamoan Army were the first to order 500,000 M1 Lockrams from Lockram Firearms Corporation. The Amphibious Panamoan Marine Corps (APMC), were the next to order.

It's essentially a Sniper rifle, said by Panamoan soldiers when they tested the weapon extensively. It's also worth noting that it is compatible with a Telescopic Sight, or an MK1934 Bayonet. The APMC finally received their order, but only replaced two thirds of the existing MK1903 Springfield bolt action rifles. Soldiers were highly positive about the fact that it's lightweight at **8.24** Pounds fully loaded, though some take advantage of the deadly accuracy by hipfiring the weapon, but it's still ill advised to fire the rifle from the hip.

The Nexus Global Warfare started at June 4, 1939, and the Evalkan Empire waged war against all other nations in the planet, while they were happy since the Panamoans were still unable to engage, they attempted to bomb the entire Crystal Harbor. These events prompted the Panamoans to enter and join the war. At least all Army and Marine units were readily equipped with M1 Lockrams, they outgunned their rivals, who used slower bolt action rifles, despite being a little more inaccurate. Some soldiers said that the "Ping" sound can attract the enemy, although this isn't always true, the sheer noise of any battlefield makes the iconic sound inaudible.

There's no flaws on the weapon, except for it's size, and it explains why soldiers hipfire the weapon at close ranges, or in desperate situations; Which lead to the development of carbine versions tailored for fast paced combat and urban warfare. While trench warfare become frequent in the NGW, the M1 Lockrams were attached with MK1934 Bayonets, to add effectiveness in close range combat, even if it had less accurate compared to the MK1903 Springfield and other bolt action rifles, it can be still used as a Sniper rifle.

### Global War

The rifle serves as the standard issue rifle of the Panamoan Army. It is found everywhere, but it becomes rare on urban areas; A common sight in the hands of APMC Marines, and the Panamoan Army so running out of ammo is not a concern. It also has an extraordinarily accurate hipfire accuracy, which was demonstrated by a few soldiers scoring headshots while hipfiring the rifle at mid range. It is also usedg mounted with a Telescopic Sight, MK1934 Bayonet, and a MK3 Rifle Grenade.

## Design

The M1 Lockram rifle is a .303 Springfield caliber, gas-operated, 8 shot clip-fed, semi-automatic rifle. It is 43.6 inches (1,107 mm) long and it weighs 8.24 pounds with it's en bloc clip of 8 Rounds.

The M1's safety catch is located at the front of the trigger guard. It is engaged when it is pressed rearward into the trigger guard, and disengaged when it is pushed forward and is protruding outside of the trigger guard.

The M1 Lockram was designed for simple assembly and disassembly to facilitate field maintenance. It can be field stripped (broken down) without tools in just a few seconds.

The rifle had an iron sight line consisting of rear receiver aperture sight protected by sturdy "ears" calibrated for 91–1,581 m in 91 m increments. The bullet drop compensation was set by turning the range knob to the appropriate range setting. The bullet drop compensation/range knob can be fine adjusted by setting the rear sight elevation pinion. The elevation pinion can be fine adjusted in 1 MOA increments. The aperture sight was also able to correct for wind drift operated by turning a windage knob that moved the sight in approximately 1 MOA increments. The windage lines on the receiver to indicate the windage setting were 4 MOA apart. The front sighting element consisted of a wing guards protected front post.

During Nexus Global Warfare the M1 rifle's semiautomatic operation gave Panamoan infantrymen a significant advantage in firepower and shot-to-shot recovery time over enemy infantrymen armed primarily with bolt-action rifles. The semi-automatic operation and reduced recoil allowed soldiers to fire 8 rounds as quickly as they could pull the trigger, without having to move their hands on the rifle and therefore disrupt their firing position and point of aim despite being less accurate than bolt action rifles. The Lockram's fire rate, in the hands of a trained soldier, averaged 90 accurate shots per minute at a range of 1200 Meters, "At ranges over 1000 Meters, a battlefield target is hard for the average rifleman to hit. Therefore, 1000 Meters is considered the effective range, even though the rifle is still accurate at much greater ranges."

### Specifications

* Length: 1,107mm
* Caliber: **.303 Springfield**
* Effective Range: 1200 Meters
* Weight: **8.24** Pounds (Fully Loaded)

## Trivia

### General

* The design was so revolutionary and effective that while it was simply replaced by a successor, the MN14 rifle in the late 1950s, descendants of the MN14 are still in use today. The rifle utilised an en-bloc clip for loading, allowing an 8-round internal magazine capacity.
* It can have the "Lockram Thumb" problem if the user is carelessly exposing their finger in the chamber.
* Soldiers rarely adjust the iron sights' elevation.
* It can be fitted with a telescopic sight in the side of the weapon.