M90 shotgun

"I believe that the sound of racking the pump of a shotgun is universally recognized as "kiss your ass goodbye"."

— Anonymous E2-BAG/1/7 serviceman

The M90 Close Assault Weapon System^[1]^[2]^[3] (M90 CAWS), is the United Nations Space Command's primary shotgun, and is one of the most effective infantry weapons used by front line forces.

Design Details

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M90 schematic.

The M90 shotgun is a pump-action weapon fed by two tubular, non-detachable magazines. The Weapon System Technologies DTM series shotgun is the most common shotgun employed by UNSC Special Forces, law enforcement agencies, and sportsmen. The M90 has been in service for over 27 years and its design has changed very little. The M90’s immense power, ease of use, and reduced capacity for puncturing the hulls of spacecraft over many other UNSC weapon systems with standard 0000 ammunition are greatly appreciated. The M90 is often employed in urban conditions where the tight spaces are conducive to the shotgun's wide spray for defensive purposes and CQB combat. The military issued DTM series comes standard with an adjustable stock and pistol grip, although there are different models like the WST DTM/LE model which has a solid stock and no pistol grip. The DTM series of shotguns are available in 20-Gauge and 10-Gauge for the civilian market; the 8-gauge is only sold to law enforcement and military agencies.

Ammunition

Main article: Soellkraft 8 Gauge Shell

The M90 Shotgun uses the Soellkraft 8 Gauge Magnum Shotgun Shell. This is an incredibly large round, not used by any modern military. Recoil has been said to be relatively low.^[1] It is assumed that shotgun technology must have been advanced enough to suppress the recoil.

Advantages

The M90 Shotgun fires 15 spreading pellets per shot. The combined force of each relatively weak pellet does a significant amount of damage against almost any type of infantry, and the wide spread of the pellets in certain situations can inflict shrapnel damage to multiple infantry. The M90 Shotgun's powerful 8 gauge round can punch through armor and Energy Shields easily, making the M90 a great weapon for taking on heavily armored infantry, and lightly armored vehicles. The M90's top loading system allows a user to reload the shotgun with speed and ease for quick firing.

Disadvantages

While highly effective at close range, the M90 is rendered useless at long range, and should therefore be used in conjunction with a medium or long range weapon. The shotgun's pattern is extremely loose, and fans out quickly; thus, at farther ranges, only one or two pellets out of the 15 might hit. The M90, being a pump-action shotgun, must be cycled after every shot before it can be fired again; the M90 must also be reloaded shell by shell and does not use any type of external magazine. This can make reloading time-consuming when in combat situations, but it is useful to be able to interrupt the reloading and shoot after you load a round. In close-quarter situations, the wide spread of the shell can potentially harm friendly infantry if the shotgun is fired at both the enemy and friendly troops. In real life, the recipient, being on the top, will never happen, as the inside is partially exposed, meaning it is vulnerable to rain. This will allow the magazine tube to become damp, and thus can cause malfunctions and also misfires.

Influence

The mechanical design of the M90 shotgun is loosely based on the South African Neostead shotgun which features dual six-round top-loaded magazines. The weapon features two integral tube magazines with a total capacity of thirteen rounds (6+6+1) and ambidextrous bottom ejecting shells. It is chambered for standard 12-Gauge 2.75-inch cartridges. The aesthetic design is a composite of multiple pump-action designs, most notably, the Mossberg 500.

Tactics

Campaign

One of the most dominating weapons in the Halo Trilogy, the Shotgun shows its most effective side in The Library in Halo: Combat Evolved and in Sacred Icon in Halo 2.
This weapon is easily the best choice in the game for taking out powerful enemies such as groups of Flood Combat Forms, Elites, and Brutes. Even on Halo: Combat Evolved Heroic difficulty, it is possible to take out shielded Elites with as few as two rounds, and only on Legendary do the Flood become capable of surviving a direct hit from the shotgun.
In Halo: Combat Evolved, you can perform what players call the "speed pump". In this method, the player must reload the shotgun almost instantly after firing each shot. After each time he/she repeats this procedure, the shotgun will be reloaded faster than the normal rate. As a result, the shotgun will inflict a seemingly unstoppable barrage of projectiles until there are no longer any shells left to spare. This method is extremely useful in the level, The Library, as well as the remainder of the levels after it.
In Halo 2, Brutes, Councilors and Ultra Elites are the only ones that can survive a point blank shotgun blast on Normal difficulty. Hunters can be killed by shooting directly into the exposed orange Lekgolo. However, on Legendary difficulty, any rank higher than a Minor Elite's shielding and health can withstand a point blank shotgun blast. Beware, for the Flood can wield shotguns to devastating effect, since they have an extremely long jumping range.
In Halo 2 Brutes also wield shotguns as trophies taken from dead humans. Use long ranged weapons to take them down on high difficulties, as a point blank range shot is fatal.

Multiplayer

The shotgun's effectiveness in multiplayer games varies depending on the terrain; indoors and in tight spaces, the shotgun is unbeatable, and some consider it superior to the Energy Sword, possibly because there is a slight delay between pressing the trigger and the slash of the sword, while the Shotgun is semi-instantaneous(There's a small gap between muzzle flash, and damaging the target). Most players can utilize this fact to earn a Bulltrue medal relatively easily, though caution should be exercised, as the timing is very difficult to master.
You have about one shot to kill your opponent after you ambush them. If you shoot and don't succeed in killing them, your opponent has a chance of recovering and killing you, most likely taking your prized weapon away from you.
Many players carry the shotgun and a weapon that is very effective at medium and above ranges such as the Sniper Rifle, Beam Rifle , Covenant Carbine, M6D Pistol, or BR55 Battle Rifle, thus making for a more flexible arsenal.
Continuous firing by using the magazine and loading one shell then firing does not affect the rate of fire significantly, prompting a few players to employ a tactic dubbed "shotgun sniping" as suppressive fire across medium-sized maps.
The Shotgun can finish enemies off safely and quickly by shooting them at a decently close range, then striking them with a melee attack immediately afterward, guaranteeing an instant kill.
When you have a shotgun, it is advisable to watch your team's sniper. That way you can defeat anybody that attempts to flank the sniper. It is easy to do this on The Pit.
It is best to carry a Battle Rifle with you, or some other medium to long range weapon. If not, have a teammate with you who will have one. On the maps Snowbound and Epitaph, many people prefer to wait by shield doors, preparing to ambush and instantly kill those who come through. If you're charging at at enemy while firing your Assault Rifle hoping to finish him off with a melee attack, and the enemy is charging at you but not firing, chances are he has a shotgun and plans to surprise you with it when you get within killing range, so be cautious.

Differences among games

Halo: Combat Evolved

The M90's incarnation in Halo: Combat Evolved is arguably the strongest version. It can hold 12 rounds, and the player can carry up to 60 more rounds for a total of 72 rounds. It has the longest and most realistic effective range of all the three models, and its fifteen tungsten pellets could kill, weaken or injure targets at short to medium ranges. Although it is more likely to kill a closer ranged enemy as the shotgun is weak on further distanced enemies, the shotgun could also kill nearly any infantry target at point blank range. It even has the capabilities to take on lightly armored vehicles, such as the Ghost effectively. Players could hold the trigger button down for continuous fire. To melee, the player swings the shotgun up and brings the butt of the weapon on someone's head/front. If the player fires the entire magazine or if the player picks up a Shotgun without a full magazine and fires it empty, the character model will cycle the shotgun's slide after reloading, although most players usually opted to reload after every shot. It reloads more quickly than in Halo 2.

Halo 2

In Halo 2, the M90 changed significantly from its predecessor. The only aesthetic difference is that the iron sights are green instead of blue, and the overall length of the barrel is shorter. The melee attack is much faster than in the original game, and the weapon is slung horizontally instead. Its performance is also drastically different as it can not kill targets at more than a few feet away, though a quick shoot-melee combo would usually kill an enemy very quickly. The player can only carry 36 spare rounds for a total of 48 rounds. Unlike the previous version, it has little power when used against vehicles, and like before, with the range decreased, its effectiveness against the Flood was reduced slightly. The weapon's action does not cycle after reloading, unlike the previous iteration of the M90.

Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST

The M90A is used in Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST. There are a variety of graphical and gameplay changes from the previous models. The blue iron-sights have been reintroduced, it has a longer barrel and the flashlight is now mounted on the side. Unlike the older models which had a 12-round magazine, the M90A only has a 6-round magazine. The player can carry 30 spare rounds for a total of 36 rounds. To make up for this, its effective range is far greater than that of the Halo 2 incarnation, as it can kill targets at two or even three times the range, depending on their health. The slide is always cycled after reloading, despite the fact that this would eject a round if one were already chambered. Like in Halo: Combat Evolved, the M90A is once again a powerful weapon for use against the Flood because of its increase in range and power, though the M90A may still require a player to shoot and melee a Flood target, depending on the type.

UNSC remarks

“The kick is milder with the As—not that it was that bad to begin with—sometimes progress just seems like change, if you catch my meaning.”
“The adjustable stock on the M90 works just fine, but I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for the DTM/LE model—old habits die hard, I guess."
“Actually, I think the jury is still out on whether it means ‘STFU and STFD’ or ‘you ain’t gonna make it.”
“The action I saw against the Flood on Delta Halo was pretty limited—thankfully—and you would think that the M90 would be the ultimate anti-Flood weapon, right? Except that a shotgun is effective because it delivers a massive shock to a delicately balanced system of organs and the Flood don’t have that delicately balanced system of organs —it’s like shooting a mike foxtrot tree! All you can really hope to do is disassemble them as rapidly as possible in the correct order.”
“The shotgun is a specialist weapon—it has its uses, but they are limited. Maybe it is more accurate to call it a tool, as opposed to a weapon?”

Trivia

Slang names for the M90 include "waste 'em", "deck clearer", "The Hammer", " Mop", "Broom", "Universal Translator", "High Stick", "Thunderer", "Betsy", "Equalizer", and "The Okay-47".^[4]^[5]
Halo: The Flood erroneously states that the M90 utilizes twelve-gauge cartridges.^{[citation needed]}
In the second issue of Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp, the captain of the Template:UNSCship retrieves several shotguns from a cryo chamber. In the first two panels, the shotguns appear to be M45s, though they resemble M90s in subsequent panels.
The M90A's flashlight is only seen in use in Halo 3: ODST's campaign level Data Hive by an unidentified NMPD officer.
One of the most powerful weapons against the flood, other than forerunner weaponry, or heavy UNSC infantry weapons

Gallery

The M90 as it appears in Halo: Combat Evolved.
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Profile view of the M90 Shotgun in Halo: Combat Evolved. Note the absence of a trigger.
Profile view of the Halo 2-era M90 Shotgun. As in the previous game, the weapon lacks a trigger.
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The M90 as seen in Halo 2.
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An in-game profile view of the M90 CAWS Shotgun in Halo 3.
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The M90 CAWS in Halo 3.
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The Shotgun as it appears in Halo Legends: Homecoming.
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The shell is being discarded from the shotgun. Note the hippo and the 8 GAUGE MAG written on its side.
A close-up of the M90 discharging a shell.
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A Marine using an M90.
The shotgun in the hands of Master Chief in Halo: Combat Evolved.
First-person view of the M90 Shotgun in Halo 3.
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John-117 holding an M90.