Machine Gun (Columbia)

"Rain a hail of bullets upon your foes with The TRIPLE R!"

- Fink Manufacturing advertisement

Rolston's Reciprocating Repeater, commonly referred to as the Triple R, and known in game as both the Machine Gun and the  Repeater, is a weapon that features in BioShock Infinite. Both variants are available and used by Booker in-game, and are amongst the most commonly available weapons.

Machine Gun


The Machine Gun is the basic version of the weapon, used mainly by the Columbian Military and other factions allied with the Founders. It is incredibly common throughout the game, serving as a standard-issue weapon for Columbian soldiers and security forces, as well as finding use in the Vox Populi. It is the second firearm available to Booker, found shortly after the Raffle upon a crate, and used by the Police. It is a very versatile weapon, remaining reasonably accurate when fired in bursts, while dealing rapid damage in close-quarters when fired fully automatically. Also featuring clear ironsights and a relatively short reload time, as well as commonly available ammunition, the Machine Gun can serve as a jack-of-all-trades primary weapon throughout the game.

However, the Machine Gun's versatility is hindered by its low damage per shot, amongst the lowest of all available weapons in the game without upgrades. This means that sustained fire is required to deal significant damage against tougher enemies, which is difficult to maintain against enemies such as Crows, who will likely teleport away before any serious injury can be inflicted. The weapon also suffers from considerable recoil, meaning that the weapon loses effectiveness at longer ranges, and can even suffer at mid-range due to its aforementioned low damage per shot.

To use the Machine Gun most effectively, it is advised to empty ammunition into less powerful hordes of enemies, taking advantage of the abundance of ammunition available, and the speed at which the weapon can deal damage. It is also arguably effective against larger enemies if the player doesn't have a more powerful weapon at hand, as Firemen and Handymen tend to make easy targets, especially if stunned with Shock Jockey beforehand, allowing the player to deal a lot of damage without worrying about recoil. That said, it is advised to carry a more damaging weapon if using a Machine Gun, such as a Shotgun or Carbine depending on the environment, to allow the player to deal heavier damage against tougher foes at specific ranges.

The Machine Gun can hold up to 35 rounds in a magazine, plus 105 spare rounds.

If the player has purchased the Season Pass and has access to the Ammo Advantage Gear, the Machine Gun can have the largest clip size of any weapon in the game, greater even than the Peppermill Crank Gun. The Ammo Advantage Gear will increase the base clip size to 61 rounds. Taking the Clip Size upgrade will double this amount, giving the player 122 rounds per magazine. It should be noted, however, that this huge clip size will leave the player with very little ammo in reserve after reloading.

Repeater


This variation of the Triple R, known as the Vox Repeater, is used exclusively by the Vox Populi. It is distinct from its Founder counterpart by its extended magazine, altered front sight, and the distinctive red tape around the whole gun. It is first available after opening the Tear in the Good Time Club, lying upon several confiscated weapon crates, although ammunition for the weapon can be found before this point. It can be found reasonably often in the hands of Vox soldiers. It is similar to the Machine Gun as it fills the role of a fully automatic weapon, remaining similarly versatile. However, the Repeater boasts considerably higher damage per shot, as well as greater accuracy when fired fully automatically. This allows it to remain useful at much longer ranges than the standard Machine Gun, and can be used as a decent marksman weapon when fired in bursts.

However, this is offset by the Repeater's much slower rate of fire, hindering its utility in close quarters where the Machine Gun is much more useful. Indeed, the smaller magazine also reduces the number of shots that can be fired before reloading, although the lower rate of fire largely offsets this disadvantage. This also means that the Repeater also has a much lower overall ammunition capacity, as well as somewhat rarer ammunition. Thus, the weapon cannot be "sprayed-and-prayed" as the Machine Gun can, requiring more accurate and controlled fire.

The Repeater is arguably less useful against common enemies than the Machine Gun, but is nonetheless more effective in fighting hordes than other more powerful single-shot weapons, and it is recommended that the player still engages larger groups of enemies with the Repeater, only at longer ranges. The improved accuracy of the weapon means it can be used against heavier enemies at range, and although it is less accurate and deals less critical damage than the Carbine or Burstgun, it can still kill quite quickly if the player aims for headshots, or the heart of a Handyman, especially if enemies are first stunned by a Vigor.

The Repeater can hold up to 20 rounds in a magazine, plus 60 rounds in reserve.

Trivia

 * The Triple R bears resemblance to both the British Lanchester and German MP 18, of which the Lanchester was a copy. The latter was the first automatic submachine gun used in combat when it entered service in 1918, 6 years after the events of Bioshock Infinite take place.
 * It should be noted that the charging handle is on the wrong side of the gun compared to both cases (and most other early SMGs of the type, including the Japanese Type 100 and the British Sten).
 * It was first seen in the BioShock Infinite E3 trailer when Booker jumps off the Sky-Line, where it is located on top of a crate, and subsequently used a few times throughout the rest of the video.
 * Despite holding fewer rounds, the Repeater appears to have an extended magazine compared to the Machine Gun, although this could be explained by the larger caliber of the ammunition used. This particular magazine is similar to the "snail magazine" utilized on the MP 18 and the lengthened "artillery" version of the Luger P08 pistol.
 * When fired excessively, the Machine Gun's barrel jacket will become red hot. It will return to its original state after a few seconds. This is the reason why its users (Including Booker) use the magazine as a foregrip, rather than holding the barrel's jacket.
 * If the Machine Gun is equipped and the player goes to change their brightness, the back piece of the gun will show up in the brightness menu. This also occurs with the Sniper Rifle.
 * Stamped on the magazine housing is the date "1873", the year the Comstock Laws were enacted in the United States (which made it illegal to import, mail, or transport in interstate commerce obscene materials, including contraceptive devices and information on birth control, including anatomy pictures), the politician of which is the possible namesake of Zachary Hale Comstock. It is unknown if this is intentional or not.
 * The ammo cans for both variants of the Machine Gun have a belt of bullets sticking out of them. However, this belt seems to be absent from both variants when operated. No belt comes out of the ejection port, only the bullet casings.
 * Despite the difference in power and magazine shape, the ammo for both variants of the Machine Gun look the same in their respective ammo cans.