M6G magnum

"The M6G is either the world’s biggest pistol or the world’s smallest rifle—I’m not sure which."

— Anonymous E2-BAG/1/7 serviceman

The M6G Personal Defense Weapon System^[1] (abbreviated M6G PDWS), otherwise known as the M6G Magnum Sidearm, is a United Nations Space Command infantry firearm, and is is one of the variants of Misriah Armory's M6 sidearm series. It is featured in Halo 3 and Halo: Reach.^[2]

Design Details

A render of the M6G in Halo 3.

A blueprint of the M6G in Halo: Reach.

The M6G Pistol is a semi-automatic, recoil-operated, magazine-fed, dual-wieldable, large caliber handgun. It is a later model of the M6 series pistols that was distributed to members of the UNSC Marine Corps, especially those of vehicular crews, The UNSC Marine Corps aviators are an example of this. The weapon has a polymer handle, along with a titanium alloy body and what appears to be an anti-corrosion nickel-plate finish, It is likely a striker fired weapon, as it has a hammer cocked indicator and no external hammer; Trigger mode is unknown. It fires the M225 SAP-HE (Semi-Armor Piercing, High Explosive) rounds from an 8-round magazine at a velocity of 427 m/sec (1302.35 ft/sec). It has a rather low rate of fire, being only about two rounds a second, or 120 rounds a minute. It has a decent effective range, being able to hit a target accurately up to about 50 meters. Its maximum effective range, however, is around 100 meters. The M6G is quite precise and has a very small shot spread at close to medium ranges. This combined with its decent damage against current shield systems makes it an acceptable weapon of choice when faced with shielded opponents. It has, however, a more effective against flesh and hard/soft armor, being able to kill targets in a single shot to the head or a few shots to the body.

Ammunition

The M6G uses 12.7x40mm M225 SAPHE (Semi Armor Piercing High Explosive) .50 Caliber Ammunition Magnum loads. These rounds have a jacket of copper or cupro-nickel around the projectile while the projectile itself is hollow and filled with an explosive compound and a delayed-detonation impact fuse. When the round impacts a target, the jacket will initially help the projectile maintain its shape, allowing it to travel into the target before detonating almost immediately after impact, causing massive tissue damage and system shock. Probable reasons for using semi-armor piercing rounds instead of armor piercing projectiles are both to prevent over-penetration of hostiles and decreasing the risk of friendly fire during CQB and urban combat, and their devastating efficacy against soft targets. The explosive properties of the rounds render them decently effective against personal shielding systems and are also capable of damaging lightly-armored vehicles.

Variants

The M6G comes in two models, the 'B' variant, and the 'C' variant.

'B' Variant

The 'B' Variant is a semi-automatic, and is also capable of firing as fast as the operator can pull the trigger. It is issued with a smart-linked KFA-2 x2 scope, has a short, stocky barrel, and a black polymer finish.^[3]

'C' Variant

The 'C' variant is of the general same general size and proportions, with exception to a slightly longer barrel, but is not issued with a smart-linked KFA-2 x2 scope, unlike the 'B' variant. Although still semi-automatic, the 'C' variant has a slower rate-of-fire than its counterpart, but has increased accuracy.^[3]

Advantages

The M6G is designed primarily for ruggedness and reliability. It is a very useful sidearm for close battles, and skirmishes. The UNSC has issued the M6 series of pistols as a standard sidearm because of its effectiveness against armor and shields, while retaining high impact force due to the high caliber and projectile mass. The M6G, like its predecessor the M6D, requires the same amount of skill to use, and a person who can effectually lead his shots, with a good understanding of how the weapon works will be able to take down targets with ease.

Disadvantages

The M6G, unlike the M6D, has a slower firing rate, and as such downing an enemy will take considerable time. If the person wielding it does not take into account of how the weapon works, or is unable to dodge enemy fire, they will be killed quickly by their opponent. Its eight-round magazine also puts the user at a disadvantage should a couple of rounds miss its target. A user must be precise and know at what range to engage the enemy or risk being killed.

Influences

One possible influence is the Desert Eagle. Though their outward appearances are different, both weapons are of similar size and caliber, and the slide of the M6G comprises the rear of the frame instead of the entire upper area, common with the Eagle. Another likely candidate is the H&K P7 series or the Steyr M. Another possible influence on the design of this weapon was the FP-45 Liberator, a weapon designed in the United States during World War II. The long handle, but short barrel is an obvious feature.

Tactics

Campaign

The M6G is quite useful against most sparse targets that are encountered throughout diverse combat. Enemies such as Grunts and Jackals can be quickly dispatched with one well-placed shot to the head and enemies like Drones and members of the Flood can be dispatched in as little as 1-2 small, well-placed shots.
Brutes with no armor also go down in one shot to the head. However, when Brutes have armor, more shots are required to kill them. Hunters also require a large number of rounds to their exposed flesh to kill them.
The M6G's high-caliber rounds give it the ability to stumble non-berserk, unshielded enemies. This is most effective fired at the feet, when enemies like Brutes suffer the longest injury recovery time.

Multiplayer

Wielding a pair of Magnums performs quite well against shielded targets, but is restricted due to their rate of fire. Dual wielding a Magnum with other weapons such as an M7/Caseless Submachine Gun or a Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol is also quite effective as an SMG depletes shielding quickly, while the Magnum finishes the target off; a Plasma Pistol's charged shot will completely drain any shielding system allowing the Magnum to perform the lethal head shot.
Using a single M6G to take down enemy players will require you to know what you're doing, remember if going up against someone using a Battle Rifle stay at range but don't get too close. When going up against someone with an Assault Rifle, remember to keep backing away from the player. A Plasma Rifle works well with the M6G.

UNSC Remarks

"The M6G is either the world’s biggest pistol or the world’s smallest rifle — I’m not sure which."

"It’s strange. Normally a big bore means access to a greater variety of exotic munitions, but we just don’t see that variety in the field."

"The M6 has been around forever; the number of variants and configurations is dizzying... have you ever seen an M6J — the Army’s carbine variant?"

"The M6 has been in service for about a hundred and forty years... it’s amazing to think how little it has changed in all that time."

"The longevity of the M6 has always been more about pork barrels and Slipspace travel than reliability or the so-called brilliance of its design."

"The A's and B's are way more comfortable to shoot, but you don’t see many of them outside of civilian security forces anymore."

Trivia

The stamping on the side incorrectly labels this as a Model M6C rather than an M6G. In Halo: Reach It's labeled as an M6B (Model 6B).
Like the M6D, the M6G has Asian calligraphy stamped on the barrel, but in this case, they are Korean Hangul, not Japanese Kanji. It is also featured on the bottom of the magazine. The symbol 일곱 (il-gohb) , when reflected, translates to 7.
The words 'Misriah Armory' are written on the side. Similarly, the M6G has a Marathon symbol on the grip near the back.
Aesthetically, the M6G seems to be a combination of M6C's way of being held, and the M6D look and structure.
It is incorrectly labeled in the instruction manual as having 12 rounds per magazine, instead of the actual 8.
Unlike the M6D, when a full magazine is emptied, the slide of the M6G does not lock back to wait for another fresh magazine to be inserted.
Where the M6D had the 2x smart scope used for sniping, the M6G has a laser sight in the same spot. However, this laser sight is unusable in Halo 3, its only appearance thus far.
It costs 1615 cR. to make one Magnum pistol, more than a Flamethrower, which costs 1520 cR.
A single M6G shot does 15 damage points to a player, based on the 115 hit points a player is given (70 shielding points, and 45 body points).
The M6G pistol does about twice as much damage as the MA5C Assault Rifle; on Heroic difficulty, a human Marine dies after 24 assault rifle shots, or after 12 pistol shots.
A shot from the M6G pistol is marginally less damaging than a 3-round burst from the Battle rifle; it takes 12 pistol shots or 10 3-round bursts from the Battle Rifle to kill a human Marine on Heroic difficulty.
In an old poster related to the human weapons of Halo 3, the M6G is incorrectly labeled as an M6C.
This variant of the M6 appears to be a homage to the 44 Magnum Pistol in Marathon. Using the same number of rounds per magazine, the same rate of fire and duel wield capability and sporting an unusable attachment (44 with its scope and M6G with its laser sight). Even the reload time is the same.
The M6G in Halo: Reach has a nearly identical melee animation to the M6D pistol in Halo CE.

Gallery

A locker full of M6G sidearms, fresh from Misriah Mfg.
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A Marine holding the M6G.
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The reticule of the M6G.
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The M6G (Model C) as seen in Halo 3.
A rear view of the M6G (Model C). Note the Korean Hangul.
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Side profile of the M6G (Model B) as seen in Halo: Reach.