Editing Stubber (section)

==Disambiguation==
[[File:Autopistolclarifier.png|500px|right|thumb|The page of the Primer detailing what an autopistol may look like.]]
One of the pitfalls of Games Workshop is that they really don't have an internal canon police. To wit, the difference between Stub weapons and Auto weapons is rather blurry. Some authors write as though these technologies are one-and-the-same, citing only vernacular differences for the existence of multiple terms for ignited-gas slug-throwers (or sometimes totally writing out one term or the other!). The game itself is not an exemption, as edition-to-edition, codex-to-codex, and supplement-to-official author changes cause a mess of personal opinion writing over personal opinion, and some authors sling both terms with abandon, interchanging one for the other whenever they feel one term is becoming overused.

To clarify, it is generally agreed that there are both Stubbers and Auto-weapons. Stub technology tends to be lower-tech, 1860s-to-1940s/1950s style weaponry, with an air towards larger-caliber and higher stopping-power. Auto-weapons tend to be higher-tech, Cold-War-and-on style weaponry, which emphasize accuracy and fire rate. It's been suggested that any full scale cannons would be classified as Auto-weapons, however calling a battle cannon or macro cannon an Auto-weapon is a bit of a stretch. Bigger caliber and relatively slow rates of fire denote Stub weapons, until you hit the point where infantry can no longer wield them. Anything with explosive, tracer, frangible, or incendiary rounds are typically Auto-weapons. Muzzle-loaders like muskets or arquebuses are neither Auto nor Stub. Furthermore, autoguns are generally (but not always) described as firing caseless ammunition and also include such types of weapons as gauss rifles (the electromagnetic kind not Necron bullshit) and even gravitic propelled slugs.

A good example to use would be handguns: A stub pistol would be either a revolver or a semi-auto magazine-fed pistol, while an autopistol would be either a handheld automatic pistol or a burst-fire pistol. It could also be something along the lines of an Uzi, MAC-10 or any other SMG whose magazine is located in the grip, judging by the illustration of an autopistol given in the [[Imperial Infantryman%27s Uplifting Primer]]. High-tech, [[Shadowrun]]-esque revolvers are still Stub weapons, while Krieg-made automatic slug-throwing cannons are still Auto weapons by default, and hand-crank Gatling guns could go either way. Pepperbox-style breach-loaders would be neither, and futuristic ignited-gas projectile weapons are Auto weapons. Since GW is pathologically incapable of consistency, the Cult Mechanicus Tech-Priest Dominus carries a 5-round burst pistol called a macrostubber, even though its form factor and performance place it in the 'autogun' family. Though it likely probably fires similar rounds to a heavy stubber, they only match in power not caliber (how the fuck did that happen?), and it is the method of the weapon system’s function which distinguishes the type of weapon.



For further comparison between Stubbers and Autoguns, [[Autogun#Autoguns versus Stubbers|click here]].