M6C Personal Defense Weapon System

The M6C Magnum Sidearm is a United Nations Space Command pistol and is one of the variants of Misriah Armory's M6 sidearm series.

Introduction
The M6C Magnum Sidearm is an oversized single-handed UNSC pistol, firing 12.7x40 M228 SAPHP (Semi-Armor Piercing-High Penetration) rounds from a 12-round magazine. It is notable for its penetration against body armor, killing most unshielded targets, even Elites, in a single headshot. The M6C is only seen in Halo 2.

The M6C Magnum is a dual-wieldable, stripped-down version of the M6D Pistol of Halo: Combat Evolved, and is remarkably weaker than the M6D, lacking high-explosive ammunition. Also, it is less accurate than the M6D and lacks a KFA-2 x2 electronic scope, which has reduced its effective range significantly, limiting its usage mostly to short range combat.

Technical Specificiations
The M6C Magnum is a semi-automatic, recoil-operated, magazine-fed, magnum-caliber handgun. It is a semi-automatic UNSC handgun designed in an Uzi-style layout. It fires the 12.7x40mm SAP-HP round from a 12 round magazine that fits flush in the handle. The magazine is housed in the handle of the weapon as with most semi-automatic pistols.

The M6C is made of lightweight polymers and has a chrome barrel. The M6C fires using the short recoil principle and must first be cocked before it can start firing. The slide, located on the top of the weapon, is used to chamber a round. From then on, the gases force the slide to move back and forth, either directly or with the use of a piston, until the magazine is empty. Once the magazine is empty (although not illustrated in Halo 2), the slide locks back and the magazine is dropped (using the magazine drop button located on the handle), just like most modern semi-auto dual action pistols. 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 (also not illustrated in Halo 2). The ejection port is located directly on top of the gun.

The M6C has a rifled barrel, is 26.8 centimeters long, and has a rather large trigger guard that encompasses the entire handle. Its safety is located on the rear of the slide and is on both sides, allowing ambidextrous usage. This weapon is also dual-wieldable.

Combat
The M6C Magnum sees most widespread field deployment to vehicular crews, especially the UNSC Marine Corps aviators. It has been replaced by the more powerful M6G Personal Defense Weapon System in Halo 3.

The M6C can kill a fully-shielded SPARTAN-II or Elite in 13 shots to the head, although since the magazine had a maximum capacity of 12 rounds, it made single-wielding disadvantageous in most multiplayer combat situations. Prior to the 1.1 update for Halo 2, the M6C was slightly stronger, and could kill a fully-shielded target in 9 headshots.

It has a notably high rate of fire for a semi-automatic weapon, and also a somewhat high accuracy for an unscoped weapon with such high recoil, although it is inferior to its predecesor the M6D Pistol in terms of firepower and range and is primarily a close-range weapon.

Advantages
Dual Magnums (see below) are one of the most effective dual-wield combos in the game. The Magnum also works well in conjunction with an Plasma Pistol (due to the latter's shield-breaking abilities) or an SMG. The Magnum is very effective against most Covenant in Campaign, as well as the Flood (see below). It is also a good melee weapon due to the fact that it melees faster than almost any other weapon in Halo 2, due to its small size. It can also kill an unshielded enemy in a single headshot due to the large rounds.

Disadvantages
The M6C Magnum's primary limiting factors are its relatively poor accuracy, which restricts its usage to primarily close range, and its low damage per hit. Furthermore, it is not an effective weapon when wielded alone. It also has a relatively low magazine capacity, and takes a while to reload when dual wielding.

Against The Covenant
The Magnum can be very effective against certain members of the Covenant, particularly Grunts and Jackals, requiring only one headshot to eliminate them. It can kill Drones in just a few shots (four on Normal difficulty). It can also take down a helmetless Brute in a single headshot, though against Brutes with helmets, it takes about 3 shots to the head (2 to remove the helmet, and then the third for the kill). However, Brutes can absorb a large number of shots to the body from the Magnum before dying, rendering it relatively ineffective (this applies to most other weapons as well). The Magnum is also rather effective against Elites when dual-wielded (except on Legendary difficulty). On Normal difficulty, it requires 9 headshots to kill a Minor Elite and 14 shots to kill a Major Elite or Honor Guard Elite. Magnums are less effective agaisnt an Ultra, as their shields are twice as powerful as those of a Major Elite. However, on any difficulty, a single headshot will kill an unshielded Elite of any rank. Therefore, it is advisable to dual-wield a Plasma Pistol with a Magnum when fighting Elites, particularly higher-ranking ones (e.g. Ultras) and/or on higher difficulties. The Magnum has questionable efficacy against Hunters, requiring 13 shots to the exposed orange areas to kill one on Normal difficulty.

Against The Flood
The Magnum is very effective against the Flood. It can bring down Combat Forms with several shots to the chest. It can also blow their arms off with a single shot; shooting both arms off of a Combat Form will render it harmless and cause it to self-destruct after a few seconds. This is very useful especially when fighting multiple Combat Forms at once. The Magnum can also kill Infection Forms with one shot, and Carrier Forms with 2 shots.

Ammunition
The M6C Magnum is obviously the predecessor of the M6D Pistol, and it therefore has the cons that were resolved in the M6D. One of the cons was ammo types. The M6C uses .50 Semi-Armor Piercing, High-Penetration rounds, which are the exact same caliber as the 12.7 SAP-HE M6D only possessing different qualities. These rounds, although lacking the stopping power of the SAP-HE M6D rounds, are still quite deadly. They are somewhat effective against shielded opponents, and can kill unshielded opponents in a single headshot.

Dual Magnums
Dual Magnums are one of the most effective dual-wield combos in the game, and can kill an opponent very quickly. They are effective at close range (and the innermost part of mid range, to a lesser extent), and can kill a fully shielded Spartan or Elite in multiplayer in about 1.2 seconds (prior to the 1.1 update, dual Magnums could kill in under a second). Dual Magnums are extremely effective against most types of Covenant as well as all Flood forms at close range (see above).

Character Compatibility

 * Elites
 * Spartans
 * Marines
 * Grunts
 * Jackals
 * Drones (have animation, but never used)
 * Flood Combat Form (Human)
 * Flood Combat Form (Elite)

Note: You can give Magnums to Grunts and Jackals when you encounter the Flood on The Sacred Icon.

Trivia

 * Spare ammo packets for the M6C are marked in blue, unlike the M7's spare ammo packets which are marked in red.


 * Similar to the M6D, on the bottom of the magazine is a triangular piece that blends into the handle when the magazine is in place, this allows for the user to get a better grip on the gun, and if you look closely when wielding it in Halo 2 you will notice two fingers are wrapped around it. (Easiest to see in multiplayer)


 * The fact that this is a different pistol than the M6D seen in Halo: Combat Evolved may not be that the Marine Corps replaced it, but rather that Navy personnel are issued the M6D while Marines, being a separate branch of the military with separate administrative authority, are issued the M6C. Or perhaps the M6D was a limited issue specialist weapon assigned only to the crews and soldiers for the Spartan-II mission aboard the Pillar of Autumn. It is also possible that, due to dwindling or limited supplies and resources, soldiers are forced to rely on older technology than the newest models.