(Aliens) - M41A Pulse Rifle

The "M41A Pulse Rifle" is a fictional firearm created for the world of Aliens. As described and seen in the film, the rifle fires 10x24mm, explosive tip, caseless, light armor-piercing rounds loaded into a 99-round magazine, although this is commonly downloaded to 95 to prevent stoppages. An LED readout on the right side states the number of rounds remaining in the magazine. In addition, the Pulse rifle is fitted with an underslung pump-action 4 shot 30mm grenade launcher and a telescoping stock.
The props (which were built from a sketch by Aliens director James Cameron) were built by British film armorers Bapty & Co. and consisted of an M1A1 Thompson for the main gun and a cut-down Remington 870 as the grenade launcher, which was mounted underneath the Thompson's barrel and covered with the forend and heatshield of a Franchi SPAS-12 fitted the 870's action. The weapon was finished with a futuristic, custom-made aluminum shell painted in "Brown Bess" paint (although due to on-set lighting, the guns often appear olive green in Aliens). Several practical weapons capable of firing blanks were constructed for the production, although only one "hero" prop had a functioning shotgun unit.
Following the completion of filming on Aliens, all but the hero weapon were broken back down. The surviving hero weapon subsequently went on to appear in Alien³ several years later, where it was once again fired on screen. For this appearance, the weapon's shroud was painted black.
The Pulse Rifles were originally going to be based on the Heckler & Koch MP5A3 submachine gun, using the weapon's 1970s-style straight magazine. However, Cameron wanted the rifles to produce large, impressive muzzle flashes on screen, and this was not possible with the MP5's 9mm round. Bapty instead suggested using the M1A1 Thomspon, as its larger .45 caliber round could produce the desired effect.
The "M41A Pulse Rifle" has been used in the following:
==Film==
Title 	Actor 	Character 	Note	Date
Aliens 	Sigourney Weaver 	Ellen Ripley 	 	1986
Aliens 	Michael Biehn 	Cpl. Dwayne Hicks 	 	1986
Aliens 	Bill Paxton 	Pvt. Hudson 	 	1986
Aliens 	Jenette Goldstein	Pvt. Vasquez 	 	1986
Aliens 	Al Matthews 	Sgt. Apone 	 	1986
Aliens 	Ricco Ross 	Pvt. Frost 	 	1986
Alien³ 	. 	Weyland-Yutani commandos	 	1992
Ready Player One	Olivia Cooke 	Art3mis 	 	2018
==Video Games==
Title 	Appears as 	Mods 	Note 	Date
Aliens vs. Predator 	 	 	Can occasionally jam 	1999
Aliens vs. Predator 2 	 	 	 	2001
Aliens vs. Predator 	M41A/2 Pulse Rifle 	 	Upgraded version 	2010
Aliens: Colonial Marines	 	 	No markings, appears as unusable props and pre-release promotional media	2013
Aliens: Colonial Marines	"Hudson's Pulse Rifle"	 	4-round burst only, with custom markings 	2013
Aliens: Colonial Marines	"Ripley's Pulse Rifle"	Taped to an M240 Flamethrower	Fully-automatic, no markings 	2013
Aliens: Colonial Marines	"M41A Pulse Rifle MK2"	w/ various attachments 	Fully-automatic, upgraded version 	2013
===Animation===
Title 	Voice Actor	Characters 	Notation 	Date
Love, Death & Robots - Season 1	 	Train guards	with barrel and handguard from USAS-12; "Blindspot" (S1E15)	2019
Category:Gun
Category:Rifle
Category:Fictional Firearm
Category:Assault Rifle