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Subject: Where do Space Marines keep their ammo

I don't know how i came round to the subject it may be the bordem or that im flicking through the SM codex but it dawned on me where do they hold all their ammo when they are in the field. If you look at the minatures they only have whats in their weapon and even the ones whith ammo pouches have only 2 more mags so where do they hide it? Hmmmmmmm a tough one i think maybe there is a neophyte running around reloading them ha ha

Subject: Re:Where do Space Marines keep their ammo

I don't think they have to worry about extra ammo, the battles are so huge and have giant tanks and crap shooting all over the place I think just about everyone dies before running out of ammo. And if you live long enough you probably just pick the gun up from the dead guy next to infront of or behind you. Also they have a backpack.

Subject: Where do Space Marines keep their ammo

maybe in some battles but in the fluff there are times when its just infantry fighting for hours at least where does it all come from they are not orks who if there is something rattling around inside it will fire. Also their back packs contain a power supply, sensors and stabilisers

Subject: Re:Where do Space Marines keep their ammo

In some of the stories, when they start to get low on ammo, they switch the Bolters to Single shot than the 'Spray and Pray' setting. Or they Nick it from the late Holy battle brother sitting next to him.

Subject: Re:Where do Space Marines keep their ammo

Generally they keep their ammunition in their gun, I doubt they would bother taking a bolter if they didn't.
(Sarcasm off)
But honestly, the standard bolt gun mag holds what? 20-30 rounds? Lets go with 20. So usually they will carry one mag in their gun plus 2 for every ammo pouch (lets assume he has 2). Thats one hundred bolt gun shots. Now, let's look at space marine missions. Most of the time, it is reconnaisance, search and destroy, assasinations, rapid insertions, search and rescue. Now, most of the time 100 shots would do would it not? In the event marines do get bogged down and run out of ammunition, they carry combat blades.
However, when they are deployed en masse (which I assume is what you meant) I'm sure they would have plenty of support (tanks, gunships, what not). So after they arrive out of their pods, ammo and supplies would be dropped in once they establish a perimeter.
This is how I would assume it would go.

Subject: Where do Space Marines keep their ammo

Ok yeah that seams plausable enough thanks for clearing it up

Subject: Re:Where do Space Marines keep their ammo

No problem.

Subject: Re:Where do Space Marines keep their ammo

Plus they have a pistol. So it's all good.

Subject: Where do Space Marines keep their ammo

I still don't think 100 rounds is enough, the SAS go on reconissance missions with well over a thousand rounds each.

Subject: Where do Space Marines keep their ammo

nickmund wrote:I still don't think 100 rounds is enough, the SAS go on reconissance missions with well over a thousand rounds each.

Modern rounds are much lighter and smaller than bolter rounds though, and modern soldiers have the mystical powers of webbing to hold everything they need.
Also, In the Grim Darkness of the Far Future there is no time for Logistics!

Subject: Where do Space Marines keep their ammo

nickmund wrote:I still don't think 100 rounds is enough, the SAS go on reconissance missions with well over a thousand rounds each.

This is true (I have read many stories and accounts of SAS patrols, I remember that one of the troopers had a machine gun and its bullets took up most of the space in his back pack, and had to put some ammo in another troopers bag) but marines I would imagine would need less as they have a reputation for putting a round where it's needed. Thus, they would be able to pull of with a 100 rounds, something that would take thousands of rounds for the modern trooper.
E.g. You could spend over 200 rounds trying to take out someone in cover (Imperial guard combat doctrine *cough*) but it would take a marine one, thanks to the super human awesomness and painstaking training.

Subject: Where do Space Marines keep their ammo

Don't forget, Bolters fire .75 calibre mass reactive explosives. This is massive. Given a clip of 30 rounds (sickle mags hold up to 30), and a few extra mags in pouches, this is plenty of ammo for a short engagement against soft targets. They wouldn't even need to burst fire, which is the point of a bolter.
Putting a single .75 calibre bolt into a humanoid soft target, centre mass, would destroy that target, no question. This is also part of the Space Marine effectiveness - their standard weapon will obliterate a soft target with one round. Bolters terrify opponents.
Each Space Marine, with only 2 spare mags, should be able to kill around 90 targets. Given their accuracy, that's certainly likely. Coupled with the fact that they move in squads of 10, there's plenty of potential for killing in a short term battle. Long term battles, they'd move in ammo supplies.
This is all fluff though. In game, they're certainly a lot less effective.

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Subject: Do Space Marines make an effort to salvage gear from their fallen comrades?

I know during an extended battle they will take weapons or ammo from other dead Space Marines, but my question more refers to large scale, post-battle salvaging.
After a battle is over do the Space Marines go back to collect the bodies of their dead brothers and then keep the old armor(if it isn't destroyed) or weapons? There are relic items for each chapter that would surely be reclaimed if at all possible, but do they care about going back for random Brother Joe's bolter and helmet or does the Apothecary take the gene-seed and leave the rest to the vultures(or whatever alien equivalent is on the planey)? Are there servitors that head down to the planet after a battle to clean up, do they call in the Mechanicum to come in and scavenge useful bits, or do they just leave the mess for the new planetary government to deal with when they get there?

Subject: Do Space Marines make an effort to salvage gear from their fallen comrades?

Each chapter has different practices for what they do with the bodies, but they for sure recover fallen wargear. Power Armour becomes relics to the chapter when bits and pieces of it are worn by marines who do heroic things, after all.

Subject: Do Space Marines make an effort to salvage gear from their fallen comrades?

Mud Turkey 13 wrote:
I know during an extended battle they will take weapons or ammo from other dead Space Marines, but my question more refers to large scale, post-battle salvaging.
After a battle is over do the Space Marines go back to collect the bodies of their dead brothers and then keep the old armor(if it isn't destroyed) or weapons? There are relic items for each chapter that would surely be reclaimed if at all possible, but do they care about going back for random Brother Joe's bolter and helmet or does the Apothecary take the gene-seed and leave the rest to the vultures(or whatever alien equivalent is on the planey)? Are there servitors that head down to the planet after a battle to clean up, do they call in the Mechanicum to come in and scavenge useful bits, or do they just leave the mess for the new planetary government to deal with when they get there?

Absolutely. Many suits of power armour are repaired and used by other space marines, while some (which either cannot be repaired or are extra special) are kept as relics.

Subject: Re:Do Space Marines make an effort to salvage gear from their fallen comrades?

I guess servitors and chapter serfs would do most of the work, with techmarines to supervize. I don't think they'd be happy to let people outside the chapter touch their stuff, except for techpriests, maybe.

Subject: Re:Do Space Marines make an effort to salvage gear from their fallen comrades?

Look to your battle gear and it will protect you
--We guard it with our lives
Your armor is your Soul, and your Soul's dedication its armor
--The soul of a warrior is the shield of humanity
Honor the craft of death
--Only the Emperor is higher in our devotion
Honor the battle gear of the Dead
--We ask only to serve
--Part of the Catechism of Worship

Subject: Do Space Marines make an effort to salvage gear from their fallen comrades?

Nice! Thank you all for the information!

Subject: Re:Do Space Marines make an effort to salvage gear from their fallen comrades?

The fluff is kinda contradictory here. As you said, on one hand, you have relics thousands of years old, on the other, dumb thing about apothecaries is them supposedly ruining armour of the fallen every time to extract seed (instead of just opening it or something), then you have melta and plasma destroying gear with such ease you wonder how there any relics left after a century, never mind millennium. Unless said 'relics' are just tiny fragments of original plate left bolted onto brand new one.
And yes, most chapters does salvage everything (and I don't see why people above assume it's being done by serfs), bodies to bury, gear to repair, if only because the stuff is really expensive and you don't want to be in AdMech debt. In fact, some chapters are hated for salvaging the battlefields of other chapters to loot everything that was not nailed down.

Subject: Do Space Marines make an effort to salvage gear from their fallen comrades?

I'm sure I read in BL books during extended battles the suits of armour become mix and match as they replaced broken pieces with good ones from fallen allies.

Subject: Do Space Marines make an effort to salvage gear from their fallen comrades?

tumblebomb wrote:
I'm sure I read in BL books during extended battles the suits of armour become mix and match as they replaced broken pieces with good ones from fallen allies.

Yes, they are (you can even see it on tactical squad photo) but the problem is with supposedly 'intact', relic plates thousands of years old as seen on various captains and honor guard squads. Or weapons dating back to Heresy, especially relic chainswords that somehow were never parried by enemy power weapons. Funnily enough, for being more elite than other SM, Deathwatch and Grey Knights both sport gear that could have been made recently, no need to hand-wave stuff away.

Subject: Re:Do Space Marines make an effort to salvage gear from their fallen comrades?

Tiennos wrote:
I guess servitors and chapter serfs would do most of the work, with techmarines to supervize. I don't think they'd be happy to let people outside the chapter touch their stuff, except for techpriests, maybe.

Pretty much this as far as I know. Space marines have legions of servitors and serfs to do non-combat work. They simply aren't part of the game because they aren't taking part in battles.

Subject: Do Space Marines make an effort to salvage gear from their fallen comrades?

An effort to salvage? Marines are scavengers, reclaiming every last bit of technology they can from fallen comrades. They'll even sacrifice good men for the purpose of reclaiming disabled vehicles. After all, new marines can be made as long as you have enough geneseed in storage, and every marine carries the stuff for two new ones. They could make a lot of new marines if they didn't fight for a couple centuries, but getting them wargear takes work.
So yes, they will loot battlefields.