BR55 Heavy Barrel Service Rifle

The BR55HB SR Battle Rifle is a United Nations Space Command ground firearm.

Introduction
The BR55HB SR Battle Rifle is a variant of the Halo 2-era BR55 Battle Rifle and is being introduced into Halo 3. It is good all around weapon and is basically the same as the BR55 but has design changes. This weapon is seen in the Halo 3 Beta.

Summary
The BR55HB SR Battle Rifle is a burst fire, gas-operated, magazine fed, mid-to-long range weapon. It is relatively the same as the BR55 Battle Rifle but with some design changes. It still fires the 9.5x40mm X-HP-SAP (Experimental-High Penetration-Semi-Armor Piercing) round in three round bursts from a 36 round magazine and it still has a scope with a 2x magnification. Its power as well as accuracy and range are pretty much the same.

Physical Description and Appearance
The BR55HB SR Battle Rifle is a bullpup, burst-fire UNSC rifle that fires the 9.5x40mm X-HP-SAP(Experimental High Power Semi-Armor Piercing) round, which is actually a larger bullet than an assault rifle round, giving more power but also more recoil. It fires from a 36 round magazine which fits flush in the receiver. The receiver is built directly into the butt of the gun and is located behind the grip (known as a bullpup configuration). This gun fires in three round bursts due to difficult handling while firing automatically and actually is only fired 12 times before needing to be reloaded.

This titanium alloy weapon is gas operated with a rotating bolt and therefore must be cocked before the first round can be fired. The bolt used to chamber the round is located on the left side of the weapon and does not move during operation. From then on, the gases from the previous rounds rotate the bolt inside and continue to chamber rounds until the mag is empty. Once the mag is empty, the bolt (even though not illustrated in either Halo 2 or Halo 3)can either be pulled back and locked or it can be fully cycled after a fresh mag has been housed. If it is pulled back and locked,then it must be pushed forward once a fresh mag is housed to chamber a new round. The ejection port is located on the right side of the weapon.

The BR55HB SR, having a rifled barrel, is about 89.92cm long and has noticeable changes from the BR55. First off, it has a longer barrel for increased range and accuracy. It is fitted with a Trijicon ACOG style scope on a modified carrying handle and now also has a trigger guard. The safety is also located on the handle of the weapon.

The BR55HB SR makes its debut in Halo 3. It appeared in Halo 2 as simply the BR55.

Changes From The BR55

 * Modified carrying handle
 * New Trijicon ACOG style scope
 * New trigger guard
 * Longer barrel

Close Range
The burst fire makes it slightly disadvantaged in close-combat positions, though the melee usually takes care of this.

Medium Range
This is where the Battle Rifle excels. It takes 4 to 5 burst shots to take down an opponent and ensure a kill (head shots). Grenades at opponents feet always helps too.

Long Range
The scope comes in handy here.Scope in and use the same tactic as medium range. Try not to strafe to much or the shot will spread. Grenades at opponents feet always helps too.

Battle Rifle And SMG
An average combo, the SMG can be dual wielded with another weapon to double the fire power but with the SMG's short range and minimal damage, the Assault Rifle would be a better choice.

Battle Rifle And Assault Rifle
A good combo for offensive forays in open maps. The Battle Rifle can be used to clear out any opponents from far away, while the MA5C can be kept in reserve to deal with any who sneak in close to you.

Battle Rifle And Shotgun
Possibly the best over all combo. This allows for decent range and if anyone gets to close, the Shotgun backs the BR up nicely.

Battle Rifle And Sniper Rifle
The best Sniper combo to have, the SR can take care of higher ranking enemies at the long range, while the BR can deal with enemies at medium range and close range. If you hit your enemy Spartan/Elite it will bring the shield down instantly. Then all you have to do is switch to the BR and get a nice shot to the "dome".

Against The Covenent
The Battle Rifle is an excellent and powerful weapon against the Covenant. One shot to a Grunt or Jackals head results in an instant kill, which is very useful, especially on higher difficulties. On Normal, it takes about four bursts to kill a shielded Elite.

Ammunition
It is interesting to note the ammo used for the Battle Rifle. It uses a new 9.5mm x 40 Experimental Round. The 7.62mm x 51 round is a moderately large round used on the MA5B and on modern day marksman rifles and machine guns. The 7.62mm already has a history of having too much recoil because of the bullet's size, which made it hard to fire fully-automatically in assault rifles. Having a bigger bullet that is almost 2 mm wider would make recoil worse. Due to this theory, it would make sense to say that future technology might have some role in countering these effects. It could be safe to say also that due to the Battle Rifle's bullpup design, it could counter the recoil effects.

However, the 9.5x40mm ammunition used for the BR55 has less powder in each cartridge than the 7.62x51mm rounds used in the MA assault rifles. So despite having a large bullet diameter, the decrease in powder for each round would actually cause less recoil, making it very tolerable. A burst setting on the rifle would also reduce recoil, preventing the user from spraying a target with high-caliber ammunition, possible causing uncomfortable physical effects such as mild bruising and so on.

The size of the ammo would also have a problem fitting in a 36-round magazine of the current Battle Rifle. If a Heckler & Koch G3 (which is chambered in 7.62mm x 51) has a standard magazine count of 20 and being the size that it is, it would be hard to see a bullet much thicker than the 7.62mm fit inside of a magazine of the Battle Rifle's size and with a capacity of 36 rounds. Again, this might have something to do with future UNSC weapon technology. This is a continuous pattern with UNSC rifles, as a similar instance occurred with the MA5B. The MA5B has a magazine of 60 rounds chambered in the 7.62mm x 51 with a rather "small" magazine size, which looks to be smaller than the Battle Rifle's magazine.

Influences
The BR55 is largely based on the French standard issue FAMAS assault rifle, and also has features resembling the US Army's prototype XM8 rifles.

Character Compatibility
This is most likley what the compatibility will be in Halo 3.
 * Elites
 * Spartans
 * Brutes
 * Drones
 * Jackals
 * Flood Combat Form (Human)
 * Flood Combat Form (Elite)

Trivia

 * Technically speaking "HB" stands for "Heavy Barrel" (possibly indicating a more powerful round or more sustained fire). The "SR" stands for "Sniper Rifle" hinting at a higher zoom level (possibly meaning that it is the designated marksman varient of the BR55), making the previous suggestion of more sustained fire unlikely. Neither elements have been confirmed though.

Related Links
BR55 Battle Rifle