G3

The Heckler & Koch G3A4 is a variant of the G3 (Gewehr 3, or Rifle model 3), a selective-fire battle rifle capable of semi-automatic and full automatic fire, chambered in 7.62x51mm. The action is a unique roller-delayed blowback system, resulting in a consistent and accurate weapon.

History
The G3's history started during World War II, when the Mauser factory designed an assault rifle, a low-price alternative to the StG44 and its intended replacement. However, production was never carried out during the war. Afterwards, Germany was banned from producing military weapons, causing the designers to begin building the G3 in Spain. The Spanish firearms company CETME, with blueprints and input from Mauser designers, created the CETME rifle. Although originally favoring the FAL over the CETME, the West German Army soon after began to take an interest to the CETME. In the late fifties, the Bundeswehr adopted the rifle as the G3. Since then the rifle underwent significant modifications to keep it up to date and has been adopted by many forces worldwide. In the Spanish and German militaries, the G3 has been nearly completely replaced with the G36 rifle. The G3 rifle was also the basis for other H&K weapons in the post-war West German arsenal, such as the MP5 submachine gun and the PSG-1 sniper rifle.

Single Player
The G3 is a common gun in Single Player. It can be found in all SAS missions and the later USMC levels. It is fully automatic, unlike its multiplayer variant. It is one of the most powerful single player weapons available, dealing a maximum of 160 damage, and a minimum of 100. It has moderate recoil, but it doesn't matter in most cases as it is a one hit kill at most ranges. This makes it a great substitute for your pistol/empty primary weapon.

Multiplayer
In multiplayer, this gun is unlocked at 2nd Lieutenant (Rank 25). It is a semi automatic rifle with high damage (30-40 damage), low recoil and very high accuracy.

The G3 excels in Hardcore mode, where it delivers 1 hit kills at any range without stopping power (assuming the target does not have Juggernaut), and is always a one-hit kill if stopping power is used. If the first shot misses, the low recoil of this gun means the player will be able to track their target and hopefully deliver a killing shot. Some people do prefer the M14 in Hardcore, because it does not need Stopping Power for one-hit-kills against Juggernauts.

As with all assault rifles (excluding the MP44), the attachments available include the Grenade Launcher, the Red dot sight, the Silencer and the ACOG scope. When an ACOG scope is used, this gun receives a larger zoom than other guns with an ACOG scope, so it is a better gun to use with an ACOG scope. However, the silenced G3 still possesses a bug in its knifing, causing the stab attack's delay in dealing damage to be 1.3 seconds instead of 0.13 seconds. This makes a stab kill to the front nearly impossible, as most enemies will kill you long before the damage is done, but it does not affect the slash.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
The G3 is set to return in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It was spotted during the aircraft graveyard mission with Red Tiger Camouflage.

Trivia

 * When you have a M203 Grenade launcher attached to the G3, the weapon gets a new muzzle flash.
 * The G3 is actually incompatible with the M203 grenade launcher unless using mod tools, such as one found with the M203 PI, which is designed to be attached with other weapons such as the G3 or even the AK-47 and MP5. The grenade launcher originally meant for the G3 is the HK79.
 * Some say that this is the "big-brother" of the MP5; it has the same iron sights and cocking mechanism. In fact, the G3 is the basis of MP5, HK21/23, PSG-1, and MSG-90. It is also very similar in appearence, however, the fully automatic version deals more damage, with a lower rate of fire. When disassembling a G3 and an MP5 next to each other, the MP5's parts would actually look exactly the same as the G3's, although of a smaller scale, of course.
 * It is the most popular weapon used by players with rapid-fire or modified controllers, due to its high power and low recoil.
 * The weapon in Multiplayer game fires semi-automatically, thus making it more similar to HK91, the semi-automatic version of the same weapon.
 * The actual reload time and the reloading animation for a loaded reload are about 0.5 seconds off, meaning you actually reload before the magazine is even inserted.
 * The mulitiplayer version of this weapon can be compared to the G43, since both have good power, high accuracy, and low recoil.