M395 DMR

This article is about the Halo 4 model of the DMR. For the Halo: Reach variant, see M392 DMR.

The M395 Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR) is a gas-operated marksman rifle designed by Misriah Armory and used by the United Nations Space Command.^[1]^[2]

Overview

The M395 DMR is the successor to the M392 model, which was used throughout the Insurrection and the Human-Covenant War. Though the M392 was discontinued from Marine Corps and Navy service in favor of the BR55 series, the M395 is fielded by all branches of the UNSC. It is used primarily by light infantry scouts requiring powerful, long-range precision fire.^[1]

Design specifications

The M395 is an air-cooled, magazine-fed, gas-operated semi-automatic bullpup rifle that fires 7.62x51mm ammunition, with a maximum effective range of 950 meters.^{[note 1]} It accepts a fourteen-round detachable box magazine in contrast to its predecessor's fifteen-round magazine. Unlike its predecessor (capable of semi-automatic and fully automatic fire) the M395 is restricted to semi-automatic fire.^{[note 2]} The weapon's mounted optic is capable of 3x magnification. The ambidextrous magazine release buttons are located directly above the magazine well, behind the trigger. The safety, also ambidextrous, is mounted slightly behind the trigger.

Gameplay

The DMR takes one more trigger pull to kill than the battle rifle, thus having a slightly slower kill time. However, due to its semi-auto fire mode, 3x scope magnification, and lack of functional bloom, the DMR is more effective at longer ranges. This makes it much more desirable on larger maps with open sightlines. The DMR falls short of the Lightrifle's long range effectiveness, but is still somewhat flexible at medium and close ranges and has a larger magazine. Arguably, this makes the DMR one of the most utilitarian weapons in Halo 4.

Differences from M392 DMR in Halo: Reach

Minor cosmetic changes (mainly to the grip and the sight), slightly increased length, altered firing sound and reloading animation.
One less round per magazine.
Default extra magazine limit decreased from 4 (60 rounds) to 3 (42).
The M395's bloom in Halo 4 does not affect the weapon's accuracy as much as it did for the M392 in Halo: Reach. This allows for the user to pull the trigger as fast as the gun will fire with little penalty for not pacing shots. This was possibly done to help the DMR to compete with the Lightrifle, which has no visible bloom. This also makes it much easier to use than the previous DMR model.

Trivia

In the final release version of Halo 4, the HUD icon for the M395 is actually that of the M392 DMR from Halo: Reach. Ironically, some pre-release screenshots of the game show a different HUD icon depicting the correct version of the weapon, albeit lacking the front sight.
As with the M392 DMR in Halo: Reach, the M395 erroneously ejects spent M634 X-HP-SAP shell casings rather than the M118 7.62x51mm round it actually uses. In addition, the weapon's in-game model lacks an ejection port.
The UNSC Infinity Briefing Packet erroneously states that the M395 uses a fifteen-round magazine.^[3] While this is true of the M392, the M395 carries fourteen rounds.

Gallery

Concept art of the M395 DMR
Concept art of the M395 DMR, final build
Old HUD icon of the M395 DMR
An old render of the M395 DMR. Note the missing front sight and blurred UNSC insignia.
An old schematic of the M395 DMR. Note the missing front sight.
A first-person view of the M395 from an earlier build of Halo 4
Updated HUD icon incorrectly showing the Halo: Reach-era M392 DMR
A profile of the M395 Designated Marksman Rifle
An M395 DMR with the "Noble" skin
An M395 with the "Monocle" skin
An M395 DMR with the "Bones" skin
The view through the DMR's scope
A view through the M395 DMR's scope
Another view through the M395 DMR's scope
John-117 wielding an M395 in Halo 4
Commander Sarah Palmer holding an M395
Agent Jameson Locke holding an M395 in Halo: Nightfall
An M395 DMR render from in Halo 5: Guardians.

Videos

List of appearances

Halo 4 (First appearance)
- Spartan Ops
Halo: Escalation
Halo: Nightfall
Halo 5: Guardians

Note

^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named range
^ Unlike the M392, what appears to be the M395's fire-selector switch has only two settings; the first is represented by a horizontal line and the second is represented by two parallel, diagonal lines. This is presumably the rifle's safety switch given the lack of any apparent safety elsewhere on the weapon. The first and second positions settings would thus correspond to Safe and Fire, respectively.

Sources

^ ^a ^b Halo 4 Official Site: Ordnance + Armor
^ Game Informer: The Arsenal of Halo 4
^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named brief

[range-3] Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named range

[select-fire-4] Unlike the M392, what appears to be the M395's fire-selector switch has only two settings; the first is represented by a horizontal line and the second is represented by two parallel, diagonal lines. This is presumably the rifle's safety switch given the lack of any apparent safety elsewhere on the weapon. The first and second positions settings would thus correspond to Safe and Fire, respectively.

[O.2BA-1] Halo 4 Official Site: Ordnance + Armor

[GI_522012-2] Game Informer: The Arsenal of Halo 4

[brief-5] Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named brief

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[2]

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[note 2]

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