The Patriot

The Patriot was a carbine made specially for The Boss, who used it during the Cold War.

In-game, the Patriot is described as a modified version of a Colt XM-16E1, with a shortened barrel and the stock removed. It was designed to create a carbine that combined the feel and quick handling of a handgun with the force of a rifle. The relatively light weight meant that the Patriot had a strong recoil, and was notoriously difficult to aim. The fact that The Boss used it one-handed was a testament to her skill. It used 5.56 x 45mm ammunition and was fitted with a hundred-round drum magazine. It was rumored that the Patriot had infinite ammo and never needed to be reloaded, according to Sigint, because the internal feed mechanism was shaped like an infinity symbol. The blast of the muzzle was said to resemble the sound of a threatened rattlesnake, and that no one who heard the sound would live to tell the tale.

The Patriot handles very similarly to the XM16E1; however, it is lighter, slightly silenced, demands less stamina, has infinite ammo, and the front sight and fire selectors have been removed. The Patriot can only be fired on full-automatic mode. While the Patriot does indeed have noticeable recoil, it is strangely lighter than the XM16E1's, the AK-47's, and even the Scorpion's. This is probably because the Beta C-Mag weighs it down. The already-light recoil can be controlled by crouching or going prone.

Naked Snake was given the Patriot after defeating The Boss at Rokovoj Bereg, where he uses it to eliminate her. He carried it with him back to United States, where he laid it upon The Boss's grave in respect.

Later, as Big Boss, he would go on to use the Patriot for himself, somehow procuring it during Operation Peace Walker.

Trivia

 * The Patriot is in fact based on a rather obscure M16 variant called the M231 Firing Port Weapon, a weapon first produced in the 1980s and designed to be fitted to the hull gun ports of early Bradley IFVs. The Boss' version has a much shorter barrel (indicating it to be based on the early 11-inch barrel FPW prototype rather than the 15.Vlcsnap-5750483.png-inch final version) and uses a modern Beta C-Mag, designed in the mid-80s.
 * Bullets from the Patriot are seen to tumble end-over-end after exiting the barrel, a phenomenon which would only normally be associated with Derringer-like weapons and would result in terrible ballistics and penetration. This is most likely an error caused by misreading information about bullet performance; many bullets are designed to tumble inside an organic target after impact to increase the size of the wound channel they produce, but not before. However, early models of the M16 family of rifles were rifled so tightly that the bullets would indeed tumble end over end and upon impact with a human target would cause grievous wounds and even amputation due to their radical impact patterns.
 * After completing Metal Gear Solid 3, beginning a new game on the same difficulty causes the Patriot to appear in Naked Snake's backpack. Calling Sigint with the weapon equipped causes him to ask where Naked Snake got it (since The Boss is still alive and using the Patriot). Naked Snake tells Sigint not to worry about "the details".
 * It is completely feasible that Big Boss uses his Patriot in both Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2. Both times he is seen wielding a machine gun and when Big Boss makes his appearance in Metal Gear Solid 4, he is shown carrying his Patriot with one hand (although he does not fire it).
 * The Patriot can be used by Old Snake in Metal Gear Solid 4 after unlocking it by earning the Big Boss Emblem, then saving the endgame data ("Epilogue: The End"); the weapon will be available in subsequent playthroughs using the corresponding save file. It can also be acquired through a certain password in the Extras Menu (pkhhnwhsjt). When it is used, a part of the "Snake Eater" Theme can sometimes be heard.
 * When The Boss uses The Patriot, she uses one hand while Naked Snake had to use both hands. However, in his later years of life as Big Boss, he uses the weapon with one hand, like The Boss. Like his father in his younger years, Solid Snake uses the weapon with both hands.

Appearances

 * Metal Gear 
 * Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake 
 * Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
 * Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
 * Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker