The Patriot

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

Information
The Patriot is a modified version of a Colt XM-16E1, with a shortened barrel and the stock removed. It was designed in order 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, with the internal feed mechanism 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 bullets didn't leave the gun straight; they flip and twist upon leaving the gun.

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 used it to eliminate her. He carried it with him back to the United States, where he laid it upon The Boss's grave in respect. It was also the only one of Snake's gear to return to the United States with him, due to Ocelot throwing out his backpack when confronting Snake on the WIG. Fifty years later, after the events of Liquid Ocelot's Insurrection, Big Boss appears before Old Snake in the same cemetery, holding the Patriot with one hand (although he does not fire it).

Behind the scenes
Because of Big Boss carrying the Patriot in the ending of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots as well as the gun Big Boss used in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, upon close inspection, resembled the Patriot, it has then been speculated that Big Boss used the Patriot during Zanzibar Land.

Shortly after Naked Snake gained the Patriot from The Boss upon defeating her, he says "A Patriot?" in reference to the gun, implying that there was more than one Patriot gun in existence besides the one The Boss used. On the other hand, Sigint mentioned in a radio call regarding the Patriot that it was one-of-a-kind.

Design and presentation
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 15.7-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, probably an effect of the weapon being chambered with the more common M855 rounds, although Kojima cited in the Director's commentary for the game that the tumbling effect was the result of its short barrel. The M231's barrel uses a different twist from the common M16 and M4 and therefore is only supposed to use the M199 round. When M855 rounds are chambered, the rounds tumble as seen in the video, which is a problem for accuracy at range, but probably neglible for close encounters. Given that the weapon's extreme firing rate and lack of stock, tumbling rounds are probably its least concern in terms of accuracy.

Gameplay
"The Patriot. An assault pistol developed for The Boss. Uses 5.56mm x 45 ammunition. The feeder mechanism inside the drum magazine forms an "∞" shape. Weight: 1.5kg."

- Patriot description in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

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). Snake tells Sigint not to worry about "the details." In-game, the Patriot has infinite ammo and never needs to be reloaded, which, according to Naked Snake, was due to the shape of the internal feed mechanism (∞).

"A hand rifle, and the primary weapon The Boss used against Snake when he was dispatched to assassinate her"

- Patriot description in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

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.

In Metal Gear Online, during the two year and three year anniversaries of the game, as well as the day of its shut down, all Metal Gear Online players participating in the anniversary event also gained the use of the Patriot.

"The assault pistol that The Boss, the Mother of Special Forces and mentor of Naked Snake, carried with her into her final battle. It is essentially a truncated M16 that has been fully revamped with custom parts. Because the Patriot fires rifle rounds from a pistol-sized frame, it is extremely difficult to control, bucking like a wild bronco in the user's hand. It never runs out of bullets - perhaps, as some say, because The Boss left a piece of herself inside it."

- Weapon description in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

In Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, the Patriot can be developed from design specs held by Kazuhira Miller, which are obtained during the "Date with Kaz" Extra Op. The description also references its infinite ammunition, although with a notably different explaination for it: claiming that it was because The Boss left a piece of herself inside it. In terms of the overall mission order, not counting the Monster Hunter related missions, the Patriot is also the last weapon/item to be developed in the R&D menu. Its development requirements after unlocking the design specs are an R&D level of 99, the completion of the M16A1 (w/shotgun) rank 4, and a member of R&D with the "Patriot" skill.

Appearances

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