M6C magnum

The M6C Personal Defense Weapon System, otherwise known as the M6C Magnum Sidearm, is a United Nations Space Command sidearm. It is a variant of Misriah Armory's M6 handgun series.

Design Details
The M6C Magnum Sidearm is a short-medium range UNSC handgun that was distributed to members of the UNSC Marine Corps, particularly members of vehicular crews. This model has been up-sized to be used by Spartans in MJOLNIR armor. Even though the Spartan issue pistols are larger than the standard-issue variants (~117%) they can still share magazines. The M6C is a semi-automatic, recoil-operated, magazine-fed handgun. It has DA, or double-action only trigger and fires the M228 12.7mmx40mm SAP-HP round (Semi-Armor Piercing, High Penetration) from a 12 round magazine. It has a considerably high rate of fire (6 rounds/sec or 360 rounds/min) with a limited maximum effective range, being able to hit a target accurately at only about 20 meters. The M6C is considered to be the weaker of the currently usable M6-series models in that it has reduced accuracy, a shorter effective range, and lower efficiency rate against shielded, armored, and soft targets.

The M6C uses the short recoil principle. Because it is semi-automatic, the gun will cock itself after every shot due to recoil and will continue to do so until the magazine is empty. The recoil comes from the gases of the rounds fired. The gases force the slide, located on the top of the gun, backward. The slide goes all the way to the rear, absorbing the force of the gases and bringing the spent casing with it via the extractor. Once the ejection port is completely opened, the ejector throws the spent casing out of the weapon. Of course, before the first round can be fired, the round must be chambered. This is done first by inserting a magazine with ammunition into the grip of the weapon and second by pulling the slide back completely and letting it launch forward, chambering a round on the way. When the round is chambered, the extractor goes over the rim of the cartridge casing, allowing for positive extraction upon firing. There is a small, red rectangular box on the flat back of the slide that protrudes slightly when the weapon is cocked. Once this is done, the safety, located at the back of the slide on both sides, must be switched off or the weapon will not fire. Once all the rounds have been spent, the slide catch, a rectangular lever located above the trigger, is forced upward and “catches” the slide by a little notch. To reload, the empty magazine must be removed. This is done by using the magazine release button which is located on the grip. Once the empty mag is out, a fresh one can be inserted. Once the fresh mag is inserted, the slide catch is pressed downward and the slide chambers a round.

Ammunition
The M6C Magnum, uses 12.7x40mm (.50 caliber) Semi-Armor-Piercing, High-Penetration rounds. These rounds have a jacket of copper or nickel which encloses a more frangible metal projectile that will deform shortly after penetration. When the round hits a hard object such as body armor, the jacket will temporarily help maintain the shape of the projectile so that it has a better chance of penetration. A second impact against bone or solid muscle mass inside the target's body is usually enough to complete the jacket's rupture, at which point the projectile mushrooms and fragments into smaller pieces, causing a large number of wound channels and maximizing damage. These rounds are typically more effective against infantry as opposed to armor-piercing rounds due to a larger dump of KE, resulting in a better terminal ballistic profile, and also to the process described above, with an armor-piercing round speeding through the target's body without causing as much trauma, creating a scenario where a wounded enemy can still be an effective combatant until they bleed out. Ammunition packets for the M6C Magnum are labeled in the same blue color as all other M6 sidearm ammunition packs. However each ammunition pack has a different shade and text to denote the type of ammunition used.

Advantages
The M6C PDWS is a defensive sidearm allowing for successful engagement at close range. The M6C Magnum's 12.7mm ammunition does a considerable amount of damage against flesh based infantry; the large caliber bullet, along with its cartridge size, yields a large amount of kinetic energy; coupled with its high rate of fire and its semi-armor-piercing ability makes the M6C a choice sidearm against unshielded infantry over short distances.

Disadvantages
The M6C PDWS, when compared to the strength of other versions of the M6 Magnum series, is considered the weaker of the military issued sidearms. Its inability to engage infantry at medium or long ranges is the weapons main disadvantage; for this reason the M6C is mostly issued to vehicular crews as the weapons nature serves a more passive defensive role. The weapon’s accuracy when compared to the other M6 models, is about 1/5 as accurate as the M6D PDWS, having a large shot spread at close ranges. This, combined with its minimal damage against current shield systems, makes it a poor weapon of choice when used in offensive situations. The M6C's default ammunition has no secondary effects, limiting its effectiveness against heavily armored infantry.

Influences
One possible influence on the design of the weapon is the Walther P99.

Changes from the M6D PDWS in Halo: Combat Evolved

 * The M6C has a much faster fire rate, but far less stopping power.

Campaign

 * In Campaign, the M6C is best used when dual-wielding another weapon such as an SMG or Plasma Rifle, supporting the automatic for a quicker kill or being used to headshot an enemy after their shields are down.
 * Headshots (which are always a 1-hit kill except against shielded or helmet-wearing enemies) are essential for effective use of the M6C, since torso shots do mediocre damage. A single M6C bullet does about the same amount of damage as a Battle Rifle round, except the M6C is semi-automatic and has a mag capacity of 12 rounds whereas the Battle Rifle fires in bursts and uses 36 round magazines.
 * Dual-Wielding the M6C with a Plasma Pistol is arguably the best combo in the game.

Multiplayer

 * The M6C is a very weak weapon, taking 13 shots to take out a SPARTAN's shields alone, making for a total necessity of 14 bullets to kill a player by a headshot, although if the last shot to the shields hits the head, the bullet passes through the shields killing him instantly. Taking out a shield and killing another player with body shots takes 21 rounds, making almost two clips spent on the one person.
 * If there is no other option available, dual-wield the M6C with another weapon to maximize the chances until a stronger weapon can be found.
 * If forced to use a single M6C be sure to get up close to the enemy player, fire to lower his shields and then melee attack for an effective kill.
 * Using the Plasma Pistol with the M6C is often one of the easiest ways to assure a kill as the Plasma Pistol lowers their shields, making a headshot with the M6C an instant kill.

Trivia

 * The Halo 2 Post Game Carnage Report Breakdown Tab on Bungie.net erroneously lists the weapon as the "Magnum M6G Pistol".
 * The M6Cs bears a remarkable resemblance to the Walther P99 pistol, though the latter handgun is much smaller than the former.

List of appearances

 * Halo 2
 * Halo Wars
 * Halo Legends
 * Homecoming
 * Halo: Helljumpers
 * Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
 * Headhunters
 * Halo: The Flood (2010)