Commonly called the Bolter, the Bolt Gun is the standard armament of the
Space Marines, a popular army in
Games Workshop's
Warhammer 40k game. It fires
Mass-reactive shells, which rather than exploding on imact penetrate the target and explode inside, causing massive damage. The extremely messy effect of this sort of ammunition can be seen in the opening sequence of
Ghost in the Shell. The gun also comes in small
pistol and large
machine gun versions.
Not to be confused with a
captive bolt gun, a device for killing farm animals, which uses gas pressure or a large spring to force a metal rod into the brain of the animal.