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Guns, known as slug throwers, are inferior to blasters in most regards, adding the complexity of bullet ballistics that blasters don't deal with. But specialized units, improvised guerilla forces, and mercenaries make use of slug throwing weapons so there is a place for them in the Star Wars universe.

While most slug throwers cannot pierce a Stormtrooper's armor, they can absolutely annihilate Jedi as melted bullets can create deadly shrapnel and can't be reflected back at the shooter like a blaster bolt could.

There have been a few situations where it seems feasible slug throwers were issued as standard equipment to standing armies, such as when Order 66 was carried out by the Grand Army of the Republic. I have not seen any such accounts but it's big universe far, far away and there may be examples I haven't heard of.

Were guns ever made standard issue equipment of a standing army?

PausePause
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  • Hi, welcome to SF&F. Are you looking for answers based on Star Wars canon only, or would you accept Legends sources? Also, I think the last question you link to doesn't have any answers that cite canon sources; all the answers are speculative. – DavidW Mar 18 '21 at 21:53
  • I suppose I'd be fine with Star Wars legends. I don't know the difference between the two so it isn't a big deal to me. As to the second point, it is confirmed that slugs melt and turn to shrapnel, as the link to the Slug Thrower wikia page provides a citation to a Star Wars comic with such information – PausePause Mar 18 '21 at 22:18
  • How broadly would you define "standing army"? I have a perfect example of them being used in combat on a significant scale, but it's by irregular bands of guerillas - organized, but not really a formal army as such. – Cadence Mar 19 '21 at 01:46
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    Incidentally, Order 66 was a success because it was a surprise. Stocking large amounts of specialist anti-Jedi weaponry ahead of time for no real reason would not be conducive to surprise. – Cadence Mar 19 '21 at 01:48
  • @Cadence post it if you’d like. I’m interested about the use of slug throwers in general, but that would be too broad. I think organized guerrilla forces just barely fit within the scope of this question – PausePause Mar 19 '21 at 05:28
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    Surely slugthrowers were used as standard issue before the invention of blasters. Would you include such a time period or are you only asking about cases in which slugthrowers were used instead of blasters? – Null Mar 19 '21 at 13:08
  • @Null is there even any records of the period before blasters were invented? But yes, that would still be within the scope of this question – PausePause Mar 19 '21 at 15:11
  • @Cadence. Oh yeah, it was really such a surprise, especially when in the "Contingency Orders for the Grand Army of the Republic", the only order (that we know of) where the acting Supreme Challencor could directly execute without it going through any other bodies for review was the one where you kill all the Jedi. Pretty sus. – SpyBoxOnline Mar 20 '21 at 23:58

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One example of widespread use of slugthrowers was on Haruun Kal, featured in the Legends novel Shatterpoint. Slugs (in both handheld and vehicle-mounted forms) were the standard-issue weapon of the planetary militia, and both sides in the guerilla Summertime War used them.

In this case, the main reason for using slugthrowers was their lower technological base; Haruun Kal has metal-eating bacteria that were notorious for ruining the circuitry inside blasters, whereas the mechanical action of a typical slugthrower was resistant (though not immune) to the bacteria.

Although a fair number of slugthrowers ended up pointed at Jedi over the course of Shatterpoint, there's no indication that they're substantially better than blasters. There is the slight advantage that slugs can only be blocked by a lightsaber, not reflected as a blaster bolt can, but neither is particularly suited to fighting Jedi.

Cadence
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