Type-52 Pistol

The Type-52 Pistol (commonly known as the "Mauler") is a Jiralhanae "sidearm" used by the Infantry and Security forces of the Covenant Loyalists.

Introduction
The Mauler is a cross between a shotgun and a revolver pistol. It is not as powerful as the UNSC M90A shotgun, but its compact design allows for dual wielding, doubling the firepower. Like most Brute weapons, the Mauler has a blade mounted on its underside, which allows for slightly more damaging melee attacks.

Tactics for wielding a Mauler


The Mauler is generally unable to inflict the one-hit kill damage that the shotgun does, unless dual wielded at point blank range. It is possible to replicate the "shotty's" lethality with fast reflexes at close range. To do this, you must first be within melee distance of your target. Fire your first shot and immediately follow up with a melee attack. This will often dispatch the opponent instantly. Although that is not entirely true, it is possible to score an instant kill; you just have to be "in your face close". If you master this skill, you will be able to shoot the target before he has time to react. Take care when using this tactic against a shotgun-wielding opponent; he will usually not need to melee you after his first blast. This does not work against overshielded opponents. While dual-wielding a pair of Maulers, one double-blast at close range will kill most enemies. Staggering your shots can be effective as well, but this seems to work best when you're outside of melee range. Duel-wielding this weapon in tandem with a Plasma Rifle, Plasma Pistol, SMG, or Spiker is a highly effective combination. Drain your opponent's shield (preferably with one of the Plasma weapons), then move in and shoot. If you are reloading your Mauler when you have one of these combos, drain his or her shield with the other weapon and melee. It doesn't matter that you drop your weapon, just pick it up after the enemy is dead.

The Mauler also has one of the fastest reloads in Halo 3, so remember to take advantage of that. Even when dual-wielding, it will reload quickly.

Unless duel-wielded, the Mauler is the weakest of other close-range weapons, such as the Shotgun, Gravity Hammer, or Energy Sword. Thus, you should never attempt to have a close-quarters fight against someone who has any of these other weapons. Switching to another, longer-range weapon, is often a smarter option.

Tactics while facing a Mauler


When facing a player armed with a Mauler, the best tactic is to stay back and take him out from a distance. As with the shotgun, energy sword, or gravity hammer, the weapon is virtually useless at longer distances. The official Halo 3 strategy guide states that, "Firing the Mauler at an enemy from anything other than extreme close range is akin to insulting his mother: it's all just hot air and noise and is only going to make him mad". Do not get too close unless you have a devastating close-range weapon of your own. Recommended counters are:


 * Long Range: Beam Rifle, Sniper Rifle, and the Spartan Laser. Be carefull, the mauler is small, so hard to know what the player is wielding. Use long range only if you know the player is carring a mauler.


 * Medium Range: Battle Rifle, Covenant Carbine, or Support Weapons such as the AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun or Missle Pod


 * Short Range: Shotgun, Energy Sword, Gravity Hammer, Flamethrower, and SMG

Trivia

 * The Mauler was originally the name of the Brute Chopper in the early stages of Halo 3's development.
 * There are sixteen pellets in one Mauler cartridge.
 * The original Covenant Mauler appeared in the Pre-Xbox version of Halo as a Covenant weapon, it can be seen here beginning at the 2:49 mark.
 * The Mauler is one of the 6 Brute weapons.
 * The Mauler, like the Brute Shot and Spiker, is based on primitive Brute technology, not Forerunner technology, like the other Covenant weapons. it doesnt fire plasma. Similar to the human technology, it fires "bullets".
 * The Mauler bears a strong resemblance to the Mauler pistol in Perfect Dark (for Nintendo 64).
 * Players often refer to this weapon as the Brute Shotgun, or, the Mini Shotgun.
 * The reticule of the Mauler seems to be about the same as the reticule of the Plasma Rifle and SMG when dual-wielded.
 * In Halo 3 multiplayer, you do less damage per shot when dual-wielding the weapon than when single wielding. This is not noticeable when an opponent has either no shield or normal shields (taking 1 and 2 shots to kill, respectively), but with no damage modifiers and an overshield, it takes one more shot to kill while dual-wielding than while single-wielding.  A 4x overshield resists 4 single-wield or 5 dual-wield shots.
 * The Mauler is based on the UNSC M90 Shotgun.
 * The Mauler is very useful for destroying Brute armor.
 * It's name, Type-52 Pistol, could be a reference to 7. 5+2=7
 * When viewed front-on and at a distance, an orange glow is emitted from the 'barrel' of the Mauler.
 * The Mauler is speculated to be half of the power of the UNSC Shotgun.
 * The Mauler acts similar to the 007 "Rouge Agent" Mamba Shotgun.
 * Dual-wielding the Maulers as well as a usage of the Shotgun can single-handedly stop an Energy Sword lunge within close-combat, which makes it extremely useful against Sword users on small maps.