Look to the codex, bolt pistols and other bolt weapons are frequent amongst the Guard. Seen wielded by Commisars, Officers, and elite alike.
I have no doubt the boltgun could be wielded by a desperate guardsmen but it would be heavy, high recoil and the guardsman would be untrained in its use. remember that bolts are rocket propelled for accuracy so I imagine the escape velocity doesnt have to be very extreme. The boltgun is also a valueable weapon well over a guardsman paygrade, The only scenario where I could see a standard guardsman using it is if he grabbed it from a dead space marine and steadied it on some cover.
I would say bolts do fire out like conventional bullets at first. The fact that the recoil of Astartes pattern bolters is enough to rip a man's arms out of his sockets shows this. And I don't recall any instances of bolts greatly losing effectiveness at extreme point blank ranges. All the rocket does is increase the penetrating power and range of the bolt beyond that of the initial shot. So, even without having rocket-propelled ammo, the bolter would still fire out bolts like a conventional .75 caliber super rifle. As for if an unassisted human can actually use an Astartes bolter in combat, I say no. Unless the person wielding the bolter is some hulking brute with peak human strength, he is not going to fire off a single burst before snapping his arms like twigs, no matter what kind of training or preparation he has.
This is a .95 calibur rifle. Im not saying guardsmen could effectivly use the weapon but i dunno about his arms ripping off.
Good point. I was also told that you can't shoot a 12 gauge with one hand. Maybe they just meant slugs. However, there's a significant difference between firing one shot, and opening up with a full auto. And keep in mind that the Bolter commonly doesn't have a stock so you can't brace it on your shoulder, adding to the difficulty. You can see how difficult it was for them to handle the recoil on that thing from a sitting position, fully braced. Could you imagine those guys trying to fire that thing standing, without bracing, and a barrel that's half the length? I have a sudden urge to watch gun recoil fails...
I definitely agree with you Dokta that a boltguns full auto would be near impossible for a guardsman to handle, but if a desperate guardsman grabbed the gun, placed it on a surface and fired single shots or short bursts he might be able to get the shots off without dying from its use. He would probably dislocate his shoulder and merit a trip to the hospital after its use. Definitly not a weapon he could stand and hip fire or aim, he would have to be prone.
Just an update, i found this. "The Space Marines are not the only warriors of the Imperium to carry Boltguns into battle, but the version carried by the Adeptus Astartes, the MK Vb Godwyn Pattern Boltgun, is by far the largest and most devastating. By comparison, the smaller patterns of boltgun carried by the Adeptus Sororitas or the champions of the Imperial Guard are pale reflections. So large is the Godwyn pattern that no normal man could heft one, let alone survive its unforgiving recoil." Source: http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Bolter In this youtube video the narrator references that it is considered heresy for an imperial guardsman to attempt to use a space marines boltgun, it is considered a weapon too holy for a lowly guardsman to touch. So I recant, forgive me brothers.
