For the similarly named weapon, see M27.

The M21 is a sniper rifle featured in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and has a brief cameo in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. It is a semi-automatic weapon that is, in many respects, a scoped version of the M14.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Edit

M21
Console(s)	m14_scope_woodland
Damage	80 (SP), 70 (MP)
Damage Multipliers	Head: 3, Chest: 2, Limbs: 1 (SP) Head: 1.5, Chest: 1.1, Stomach: 1, Limbs: 1 (MP)
Magazine Size	10 rounds
Unlocked at	Level 7
Starting Ammunition	30 rounds, 70 rounds (with Bandolier)
Maximum Ammunition	100 rounds (SP), 60 rounds (MP)
Reload Time	2.5s loaded, 3.1s unloaded
Range (explanation)
Recoil	None (SP), Low-Medium (MP)
Penetration	High
Fire Mode	Semi-Automatic
Used by	SAS, USMC
HUD icon

"Semi-automatic sniper rifle. Effective at long range."

— Weapon description

CampaignEdit

The M21 is found in two versions, regular and suppressed. The regular version is found in "Heat" and in "One Shot, One Kill" with woodland camouflage. The suppressed version is found in "Blackout" and "All Ghillied Up". This suppressed version cannot be found in multiplayer.

While playing in "The Bog", and "All In" missions, the M21 with unique desert camouflage can be used (never seen in any other singleplayer or even in multiplayer) by using the give all or give m14 scoped console commands (Console commands only work on PC)

MultiplayerEdit

The M21 is unlocked at Level 7. It is the second sniper rifle to be unlocked. The M21 has the lowest damage multipliers, but its low recoil and fast fire rate make it very easy to fire multiple rounds very quickly. This means that if the first shot is a miss, or does not kill the target, the shooter still has the opportunity to get the kill. Unfortunately, this can lead to the bad habit of trigger mashing, which can result in a lot of missed shots, wasting valuable ammo. It is more effective to aim and fire accurate shots individually, unless spraying is more beneficial, such as in close quarters combat. When fitted with an ACOG Scope, the M21 has almost no recoil, making it the most suitable sniper rifle for close quarters combat. Some say that for this purpose, it would be more practical to use the similar M14 rifle, as it has a larger magazine and less idle sway. But some maintain that the low recoil compared to the M14 makes it more suitable for a medium range rifle. Additionally, the M21 is unlocked much sooner (level 7) than the M14 (level 46).

Many consider the M21 to be the best sniper rifle in Hardcore modes due to its low recoil and the fact that all sniper rifles are one hit kills if a direct hit is landed. Statistically, the M21 and Dragunov are the best for Hardcore. The M21 has less recoil, and the Dragunov has slightly better wall penetration. If Deep Impact is used, the difference is not noticeable and the M21 becomes the clear winner.

The M21 shares ammo with the G3, M14, M40A3, and R700. Note that the M21 can be reload canceled easily because the actual load time and the animation are different, meaning it can actually be reloaded before the player inserts the magazine.

Old School ModeEdit

The M21 appears in Old School Mode with 20 magazine ammunition and 10 reserve ammunition.

• Ambush - It appears with an ACOG Scope beside the building with a staircase at the Marine spawn, near the AK-74u and RPG-7.

Weapon AttachmentsEdit

• ACOG Scope

GalleryEdit

For Attachment images, see M21/Attachments.

For Camouflage images, see M21/Camouflage.

M21 with a ghillie camo, in "F.N.G."

Scope reticle.

Unused scope reticle texture.

Unused scope reticle with Night Vision Goggles enabled.

The M21

Reloading the M21.

Silenced M21, used in "Blackout" and "All Ghillied Up".

The Desert Camouflage M21, seen by using the give all cheat in "The Bog".

M21 with the singleplayer Woodland Camouflage.

Smith equipped with an M21.

The M21 in third-person.

The camouflaged M21, featured in One Shot, One Kill, in third-person.

The unique M21 featured in All Ghillied Up in third-person.

Add a photo to this galleryAdd a photo to this gallery

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3Edit

The M21 appears in the hands of both Captain Price and Captain MacMillan during a flashback to Pripyat in the opening cutscene of "Return To Sender", though it is unusable otherwise.

Trivia Edit

• The M21 is the only sniper rifle seen with a suppressor in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
• If the sensitivity is set to high and if player looks to the right, the right side of the gun is not fully rendered, possibly to reduce on-screen geometry and save memory.
• Below the scope on a M21, IW (Infinity Ward) is printed on the metal.
• Despite being patched on other consoles, the M21 in the Wii and PC versions of Modern Warfare still increases the player's sprint time by 75%.
• The M21 used by Smith has the Dragunov firing sound.