Kizae Type 154 (Weapon)

The Kizae Rifle Type 154 is a twelve shot, tube magazine-fed, pump-action rifle designed as a replacement for the vastly outdated Type 124.

History
At the outbreak of the first Sterlina-Zeliph war, the military of Zeliph was armed with outdated trapdoor breech loading rifles that had been in service for nearly 30 years at that point, and were hardly a step up from their service rifle from nearly another 30 years before that.

When Sterlina attempted invasions through land and sea armed with the magazine-fed SS1130-RA, prototypes for military rifles that fed through a magazine were quickly put together, tested, and put into production by the Kizae Arms Manufacturing Company within a year of the war's start.

The weapons were based upon the mechanisms found in civilian hunting weapons, using existing incomplete stocks from the Type 124, with mild reshaping and refinishing to differentiate the two more easily.

As more examples of the weapon made it into the hands of soldiers, the playing field for the ground infantry grew to be more level. Their slide action rifle was far faster to cycle and held more charges in the magazine than the 1130-RA, though the charges were weaker as it utilized the charge from their previous rifle out of necessity.

The war seemed to be going in their favor, but in the following year their advantage would be neutralized by the addition of a box magazine to a new variant of the 1130 and a new anti-mage rifle, the SS1155-R. Following the discovery that the defensive tactics employed by their mages were ineffective against the new rifle, and more and more soldiers were armed with it as the war progressed, an armistice was signed that prevented any territory from changing hands.

Even following the war, the weapon performed extremely well, and was very reliable and durable. Following a switch to a slightly more powerful version of the G5.18x12mm charge that abandoned the grooves and tracks in favor of thinner walls that allowed for more internal crystal space, it became more popular and very well liked by soldiers in the Zeliph military both in and out of active service.

In the year AC1171, following the introduction of the Type 171 Heavy Rifle, the Type 154 was rechambered for a similar charge, though it was half of the length of the original in order to maintain the magazine capacity, to preserve the more mild recoil, and to not require any modifications to the action. The slide hook was also replaced with a ring to prevent it from becoming snagged on a soldier's uniform, which often resulted in torn fabric and a bent or broken hook.

These damages were usually inconsequential to the function of the weapon, but the change to a ring was more for maintenance and convenience. The ring was harder to use in a single motion, but also harder to damage and easier to operate.

Older models were sold as surplus to several nations, including the fledgeling nation of Greater Amazonia, Utopia, and Randghur's militias. Plenty of them were also shipped across the ocean to southern nations for use as civilian weapons.

Type 154
The Type 154 was rugged, reliable, and decently powerful despite the outdated ammunition it fired. This reliability was attributed to the fact that it was based upon weapons designed for hunting. Upon switching to a more modern charge, the rifle came into its own rather than being seen as a last ditch effort that was successful until it wasn't.

Type 154 with Slide Ring
Many years later during the process of rechambering the weapon to accept slightly larger charges, the hook used to cycle the weapon's action was replaced with a ring to aid in its longevity. Another small change was the removal of the spur on the trigger guard.

Internally, the walls of the magazine tube were made thinner to compensate for the increased charge gauge, causing it to be dented more easily.

Type 177
As the rest of the world moved away from internal magazines and towards detachable magazines, Zeliph would respond in turn with the Type 177 Light Rifle, a box magazine-fed conversion of the Type 154.

While it was intended to be fed from the box magazine, each rifle was issued a magazine well plug with an elevator attached that swapped the feed to the backup tubular magazine. The tube magazine was now capable of holding only nine charges as opposed to the twelve found in the older model, but could be loaded through the magazine well rather than loading through the ejection port.

Many soldiers carried with the tube empty to save on weight, but a few were known to have kept theirs loaded at all times despite easy access to additional box magazines.

Other smaller changes were a slightly longer stock, as there were complaints about having to hold it too close to the body. The tube magazine was shortened and the slide ring was moved forwards and made longer so it would both not interfere with the placement of the magazine well and allow the user's hand to rest inside during operation. Shorter six-charge box magazines were also issued with the rifle as a weight and space saving measure. These were seen as beneficial in situations where one might need to fire while prone, and by aerial mage corps who needed to save on weight to conserve energy.

Real Life Origins
The Type 154 has no basis in any real world gun.