Ranger (weapon)


 * This article is about a sawed-off shotgun. For the US military faction, see U.S. Army Rangers.

The Ranger is a sawed-off double-barreled shotgun in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Unlike the regular Double-Barreled Shotgun, the fire key and the iron sight key each fire a barrel when pressed.

Single Player
The Ranger is most found in the level "The Hornet's Nest". To the Militia it is the most used shotgun, along with the Model 1887. They are sometimes used Akimbo, although this is very rare. It's always found Akimbo in Museum.

Multiplayer
The Ranger is unlocked at Level 42. The gun is unique in that its sights cannot be aimed down. Instead, the ADS-button fires the second barrel, similar to firing weapons with Akimbo. With the Akimbo attachment, the aim down sights button fires one shotgun while the fire button fires the other. Pressing the button again fires the second barrel of the respective shotgun. Thus, at most, Ranger users can only fire two barrels at a time. Akimbo is one of the more preferable attachments as it gives the user four shots without reloading, as opposed to only two without Akimbo. The attachment has little cost since the player cannot use the iron sights on the Ranger even without Akimbo. Being able to fire four shots helps at medium range when the target is too far away to be killed in one or two shots. It is also fairly accurate, despite what the Create-A-Class stats and common sense would say.

Akimbo Rangers are often seen in multiplayer due to their sheer power. Much of the skill using the Ranger requires knowing when to fire two barrels or only one when faced with multiple enemies and knowing when to fire two shells from one shotgun, which allows the player to reload only one shotgun with the other still available for defense. Akimbo Rangers greatly benefit from reload canceling, as the time the shells are loaded are about half the time the reload animation lasts. A good sound to remember is the first "click" when the first shell(s) are apparently loaded; this is when one should reload cancel.

A single Ranger can boast a few attributes that its Akimbo counterpart (or the other shotguns in the game) can't. The single Ranger has the ability of being able to kill enemies within its maximum and minimum range almost all of the time without the need of the perks Steady Aim and Stopping Power. Since each player has 100 health total, the Ranger's damage-per-shot is potentially overkill, and can even instantly kill those with Painkiller. It only requires a minimum of 4 pellets (3 with Stopping Power) in order to kill a user with Painkiller. But the setback of the single Ranger is the constant reloading, especially when using both barrels simultaneously.

While using the Ranger(s) is easy, knowing how to use the Rangers is crucial especially when using Akimbo, as the player will usually have no idea where enemies are, or how many there are. Therefore, it is recommended not to fire off all the shells into a single target, but rather, fire one off, and fire another if needed, then save the rest of the shells for just in case a group of enemies appear unexpectedly. Firing off all the shells into a single target can lead to ammo shortages, or a fatal encounter with an extra, unexpected enemy. To prevent fatal ambushes (with Akimbo), fire off only one side and during the reload for that particular side fire with the other side.

Weapon Attachments

 * FMJ
 * Akimbo

Trivia

 * The Ranger is the first unlockable shotgun in the Call of Duty series to be able to have akimbo.
 * The Ranger is one of the few weapons in the Call of Duty series that doesn't have any kind of sights.
 * One of the MW2 guide's recommended custom classes had a Ranger equipped with a silencer and FMJ to "keep her silent" and make up for lost damage because of the silencer. This is wrong, because there is no silencer for the Ranger, and also, FMJ does not increase regular damage, only penetration.
 * When prone with Akimbo Rangers, the right shotgun will be at an odd angle.
 * There is a challenge in the "Elite" section in Modern Warfare 2 called "Both Barrels" that requires the player to kill an enemy by firing both barrels at the same time.
 * The Create-a-Class picture has only one trigger, while the pickup icon has two.
 * When reloading Akimbo Rangers, the guns simply go off-screen & the shells are seemingly loaded in out of nowhere. This is easily noticable in the Museum by going prone & reloading.
 * When picking up Akimbo Rangers (Museum tested), the left Ranger will be drawn UP, as usual, but the right Ranger will be drawn DOWN, as if the weapon was coming off the player's back.