Battle Rifle

The BR55 Battle Rifle is a United Nations Space Command infantry service rifle and is the older of the BR55 series rifles (the HB SR variant being the newest, phasing out the original in Halo 3). The BR55 is first seen in Halo 2. It started active duty in 2525. It is most notable for its powerful three-round burst fire and accurate 2x scope, making it more efficient at farther ranges than the Assault Rifle.

Background

The BR55 Battle Rifle is a good, all-around weapon, being the much more accurate combat rifle that replaced the MA5B Assault Rifle from Halo: Combat Evolved. It is the older variant of the BR55HB SR Battle Rifle and is available in Halo 2. It is the counterpart to the Covenant's Type-51 Carbine and fires in three round bursts, similar to the modern M16A2 and M16A4 service rifles. It was designed for use during all combat situations.

Summary

The BR55 Battle Rifle, is a gas-operated, magazine-fed, mid-to-long range weapon capable of semi-automatic and burst-firing modes. Prototypes of the Battle Rifle were used in 2525 at Harvest, but it entered active service in 2524. The weapon is capable of fully-automatic fire, but only the three-round burst mode is encountered in game. In Halo 2 the Battle Rifle fires the M634 9.5x40mm X-HP-SAP round from a 36-round magazine, though in Halo 3 the weapon utilizes the 9.5x40mm KURZ. Additionally, the weapon features a scope attachment capable of 2x magnification. It does reasonable damage to enemies, being able to kill most within a few bursts (normally four when enemy is fully shielded). Its accuracy and range are also reasonably high, being able to hit a target from medium to semi-long ranges. It is highly recommended to always have one on hand on higher difficulty levels.

Advantages

Use the "four-shot tactic": three to the body and one to the head. Designated the BR55 Battle Rifle, it has reasonably high power, a decent rate of fire, and high accuracy with an electronic 2x telescopic sights attachment; it can be used to deliver three-round bursts at medium ranges. In multiplayer, three body shots and one head shot will kill a fully shielded opponent, assuming the player does not have an overshield. This weapon will kill an unshielded enemy in a single head shot. Target the head and a dot will appear in your reticule. This requires that only one of the three rounds, from a burst, actually hit an enemy. Therefore, it is possible to kill up to three unshielded opponents in a single burst if they are grouped close enough to each other, though this is an uncommon occurrence. However, right after you shoot, it is possible to only shoot one round rather than three bullets, with a melee attack to disrupt the burst.

Disadvantages

At longer ranges, it's necessary to minimize strafing movements when firing to avoid "splintering" the shot grouping too much. Since each "shot" is really a three-round burst, certain movements can break up your shot's grouping and greatly reduce accuracy. To avoid this, either swap it in for the Covenant version (Covenant Carbine), or get up to medium range. The Carbine has the same degree of firepower, and it lacks the splitting effect. This also affects accuracy when firing from a moving vehicle such as a Warthog (especially when firing at a 90-degree angle from the vehicle's heading).

The Battle Rifle is not as effective at long ranges. Each bullet also acts as a tracer which gives away the shooter's position. Also, the range is limited compared to the Sniper Rifle. It is also not effective against Sentinels, and does negligible damage against vehicles. Neither is it an effective weapon at close range, as the low fire rate and average stopping power of the weapon makes any fully-automatic weapon far superior in close-quarters combat.

The BR55 can have a certain disadvantage against Flood combat forms, in particular the Human variant. Both forms have a certain vulnerable spot on their bodies. This is the area of the body that the Infection Form has taken home in. For the Sangheili variant, this is the upper-center of the chest. The Human variant takes hold in the left shoulder area, noted by a large bump. The Combat Form can be brought down with a single shot by hitting this area, but the Battle Rifle is virtually useless shooting anywhere else.

Physical Description And Appearance

The BR55 is of bullpup design that fires a three round burst from a 36 round magazine (fully-automatic on Harvest) UNSC rifle that fires the 9.5x40mm X-HP-SAP round (see below). The magazine housing is built directly into the underside of the stock of the weapon and is located behind the grip.

This titanium alloy weapon is gas-operated with a rotating bolt. Therefore, the charging handle must be racked before the first round can be fired; this will put a round into the barrel. The charging handle used to chamber the round is located on the left side of the weapon and does not move during operation. Once the first round is fired, the gases from that round—and those to follow—impinge upon a gas piston, which pushes back the bolt carrier, rotating the bolt inside and continuing to chamber rounds until the magazine is empty. Once the magazine is empty, the charging handle (even though not illustrated in-game) can either be pulled back and locked or it can be fully cycled after a fresh magazine has been housed. If it is pulled back and locked, then it must be pushed forward once a fresh magazine is housed to chamber a new round. The magazine release button is located on both sides of the gun with an arrow pointing down towards the housed mag in the stock. The ejection port is located on the right side of the weapon. There is also a fire selector on both sides of the ammo display.

The BR55, having a rifled barrel, is 89.9cm long and is fitted with a scope for increased accuracy. The scope is mounted on the optics rail. The safety is also located above the handle of the weapon.

Ammunition

It is interesting to note the ammunition type used for the Battle Rifle. It uses a new 9.5 x 40mm Experimental Round. The 7.62 x 51 mm NATO round is a rather high-powered round used on the MA5B and on modern-day marksman rifles and machine guns. The 7.62 mm already has a history of having too much recoil because of the round's high power, which made it hard to fire in full-auto in assault rifles. Despite the Battle Rifle's shorter case size, the increase in diameter actually increases the amount of powder present. The level of recoil would be enough to drastically decrease accuracy and inhibit the ability to fire controlled bursts for standard Marines, although for Spartans it should not be a problem.

However, the size of the round would have a problem fitting in the 36-round magazine of the current Battle Rifle. If a Heckler Koch G3 (which is chambered in 7.62 x 51mm) has a standard magazine count of 20 and be the size that it is, it would be hard to see a cartridge much wider than the 7.62mm fit inside of a magazine of the Battle Rifle's size and with a capacity of 36 rounds. The Battle Rifle's magazine would have to be about twice as long as it actually is to hold that many rounds. This is a continuous pattern with UNSC assault rifles as a similar instance occurred with the MA5B. The MA5B has a magazine of 60 rounds chambered in the 7.62 x 51mm with a rather "small" magazine size, which looks to be smaller, than the Battle Rifle's magazine.

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