M6G magnum

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

- Unnamed UNSC personnel

The M6G Personal Defense Weapon System (abbreviated M6G PDWS), more commonly known as the M6G Magnum, is a United Nations Space Command infantry firearm.

Background
The M6G PDWS is the dual wieldable successor of the M6D Pistol and the M6C Magnum seen, respectively, in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 and is introduced in Halo 3 as the standard UNSC sidearm. It is a good weapon on its own and is somewhat similar to the M6D from Halo: Combat Evolved, but with less power per shot, lower magazine capacity, a slower rate of fire, no scope, and slightly less range. The M6G has increased accuracy and per-hit damage as compared to the M6C Magnum, but it has a much slower rate of fire. Just like the M6D and the M6C, the M6G will kill any unshielded enemy in a single headshot.

Summary
The M6G Pistol is a semi-automatic, recoil-operated, magazine-fed, dual-wieldable, magnum caliber handgun. It fires 12.7mm x 40mm SAPHE (Semi-Armor Piercing High Explosive) rounds from an 8-round magazine at a velocity of 427 m/sec (1302.35 ft/sec) and has slightly less power than the M6D.

It has a rather low rate of fire (being only about 2 rnds/sec or 120 rnds/min) with great accuracy and range (being 50 meters or 152.5 feet). It also does not have a scope. The M6G is the descendant of the earlier M6 models, combining the dual-wield aspect of the M6C, accuracy and per-shot damage between those two, and decent magazine capacity.

Physical Description And Appearance
The M6G Pistol is a semi-automatic UNSC handgun designed in a conventional layout (magazine fits into the grip). It fires 12.7mm x 40mm SAPHE (Semi-Armor Piercing High Explosive), bullets and has an 8-round magazine which does not fit flush into the housing. The magazine is housed in the handle of the weapon as most semi-automatic handguns are.

The M6G has a polymer handle, making it comfortable in the user's hands, along with a titanium alloy body, and fires using the short recoil principle. The M6G must first be cocked before it can start firing. The slide, located on the top of the weapon, is used to chamber a round. Once the first round is fired, the recoil (gases from previous rounds) forces the slide to move back and forth until the magazine is empty. Once the mag is empty, the slide locks back and the magazine is dropped (using the mag drop button located on the handle).

Once a new magazine is placed in the housing, the slide catch, located above the handle, is pushed down and the slide launches forward chambering a round (not shown in-game). The ejection port is located directly on top of the gun. The M6G has a rifled barrel that is 11.7 cm (4.6 inches) long and has an overall length of 26.70 cm (10.5 in.).

It is somewhat similar to the M6D and the M6C. The M6G has a chrome top with a laser dot sight (although it doesn't seem to be functional); the barrel seem to be longer than both M6 models. It also has a rather large trigger guard that encompasses the entire handle and helps prevent dropping. The safety is located directly above the handle on both sides, allowing ambidextrous usage. This weapon, like the M6C, is dual-wieldable.

Like many other weapons, the M6G has writing on it, most notably a serial number such as "MMR7121978." It also has the name of the manufacturer, Misriah Armory, as well as the type of ammo.

Changes From The M6D And M6C

 * Dual-wieldable (unlike the M6D)
 * No scope (M6D had a scope)
 * Increased damage per hit (higher than M6C Magnum, less than M6D)
 * Increased accuracy (from both)
 * Lower rate of fire (than both)
 * Reduced magazine capacity (8 rounds vs. 12 for the M6D & M6C)
 * The coloring has changed from the M6D and now looks more like the M6C

Observations
The M6G is designed primarily for ruggedness and reliability. Some believe that weight and magazine capacity should have been higher on that list. This weapon is issued mainly to officers and vehicle/weapon crews. It is not considered a primary weapon.

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.” [1]

“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 As and Bs are way more comfortable to shoot, but you don’t see many of them outside of civilian security forces anymore .”

Trivia

 * Like the M6D, the M6G has Asian calligraphy stamped on the barrel, but in this case, they are Korean hangul, not Japanese kanji.
 * This weapon has an additional melee attack but the same reload animation as the M6C.
 * The words Misriah Armory are written on the side.
 * Much like the first level of Halo: Combat Evolved, in Halo 3, you start out with a MA5C Assault Rifle, and a secondary weapon, the M6G.
 * The M6G has a Marathon symbol on the grip near the back.
 * Although Bungie has confirmed that there is no scope on the M6G, it does feature an unusable laser-dot sight.
 * Since the M6G fires a .50 round similar to the .50 AE fired by the Desert Eagle (though not identical, the M6G fires a 12.7x40, while the Desert Eagle fires a 12.7x32) and the overall similar pistol size and design, the M6G and its predecessors the M6D and M6C are considered to be the 26th century equivalents of the Desert Eagle.

Related Articles

 * M6 Sidearm Series
 * Misriah Armory