8-Gauge Magnum

The 8-Gauge Magnum (3.75") shell is a size of shotgun cartridge used in the shotguns of Misriah Armory's M45 Tactical Shotguns and Weapon System Technologies military-variant DTM series shotguns. This ammo type is also known as the Soellkraft Hippo 8-gauge magnum shell, relating to the cartoon hippo face decorating their exterior.

Overview
The 8-gauge cartridge was a type of ammunition most commonly employed in 19th century firearms with antiquated black powder propellant, considered by the 21st century to be oversized and overpowered for shotgun applications. Nevertheless, the round has re-entered common usage with military and security forces in the 26th century and serves a role as a munition for extremely powerful assault weapons. The shell is employed with both 0000 and 00 projectiles, both of which are buckshot ammunition, meaning that they fire a spray of small pellets or "shot" as opposed to a single bullet. In length, the cartridge is 3.75". Due to its sheer firepower, it is among the relatively few UNSC ammunition types that can be efficiently and consistently used to engage targets with personal energy shielding.

0000
8-Gauge Magnum shells filled with 0000 ("quadruple-ought") shot are the standard ammunition type for the UNSC's M90A and M45 series shotguns. Each of these projectiles leaves the barrel of an M90A shotgun travelling at 300-400 meters per second, and a shell of this type fired from an M90A has an effective range of 40 meters. Shells of this type used with the M45D shotgun have been known the bear the designation M296 SC and M296 TS. These shells feature a Soellkraft logo, with a small Soellkraft Hippo face encapsulated by a ring.

MAG 15P-00B
MAG 15P-00B (Magnum, 15 Pellets-00 Buck) are 8-gauge magnum shells filled with 00B ("double-ought buck") shot, and are frequently utilized with the M90 shotgun. According to the designation, each shell contains 15 pellets. It is considered extremely powerful in confined, close-range engagements, but loses effectiveness at longer ranges due to the dispersal of the shot, though at medium range the spread of pellets can be used to engage more than one target simultaneously. Shells of this type bear a variant of the Soellkraft Hippo logo in which the hippo is larger and is not encapsulated by a circle.

Trivia

 * The hippo on the outside of the casing was included as a gift to Matt Soell, a former employee and Community manager of Bungie Studios with an obsession with hippos (Hippo in Halo), and so the shell is named after him.
 * In The Art of Halo 3, the 8-Gauge Magnum shell is stated to have a length of 3.5". This contradicts all other sources, and is considered an error by this page.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Combat Evolved
 * Halo: The Flood
 * Halo: First Strike
 * Halo 2
 * Halo Graphic Novel
 * Halo 3
 * Halo Wars
 * Halo 3: ODST
 * Halo 2: Anniversary