Ranking the 20 Fastest Killing Guns in Call of Duty History

Fast firing guns in Call of Duty come in many shapes and sizes, and some are certainly better than others. Today I'm paying tribute to the best of the best: what I think are the 20 best bullet hose guns in Call of Duty history. These are guns with super high fire rates that are also fun to use and powerful, guns with manageable recoil and a passionate following in the community. There have been plenty of fast firing guns that were not all that useful, like the Waffe from World War II or the Uzi from Black Ops, but this list is about the ones that got it right.

20. The M249 SAW in Call of Duty 4

I would call this one of the original bullet hose guns in Call of Duty. It was an LMG with a blazing fire rate and pretty ridiculous recoil, but an insane time to kill if you could keep it under control, or if you ran the cheesy hipfire build. On larger maps the M249 would struggle, but on smaller maps like Shipment and Vacant you could do some serious work. I think it's a proper way to get this countdown going.

19. The Spitfire in Black Ops 4

This was a love it or hate it SMG. It had an amazing fire rate and a really intimidating firing sound that would make people move out of your way if you could stay on target, giving it a pretty quick time to kill. On the other hand, base damage was very low, and Black Ops 4 had the longest time to kill of any Call of Duty by my reckoning, so if you weren't a good shot who could control the recoil, you probably didn't like this thing. Personally I thought the Spitfire was fun and had that classic bullet hose feel, even if a lot of people thought it was trash.

18. The Mac 10 in Black Ops Cold War

This was one of the first DLC weapons added to Cold War, and it was a beast in both multiplayer and original Warzone. It was almost game breaking in Warzone because Raven did not have time to properly test it before it went live. The fire rate was high and the damage was absurd for how little recoil it had. Everybody knew it was busted and knew it was going to get nerfed, so we were all spamming it as hard as we could for maximum XP before the nerf hammer hit.

17. The FAD in Modern Warfare 3 (2011)

I know I hated this thing, and I know a lot of people probably hated it too, but there are plenty in the community who insist to this day that the FAD was a beast. Since it technically had one of the fastest fire rates ever on an assault rifle, I'm putting it at 17. Handling was iffy and damage was very inconsistent, but if you were playing hardcore or treating it as a mid range powerhouse, it was okay. And no, the F2000 is not making this list, so if that was your expectation, it's not coming.

16. The Vesper in Black Ops 3

The Vesper was extremely up and down across the life cycle of Black Ops 3, so 16 feels like a good spot for it. Fire rate hovered at 1,200 rounds per minute and the firing sound was one of the best in that game. Unfortunately for fans, Treyarch could not stop adjusting the damage value, so some days it would melt people and other days it would do nothing. Despite that inconsistency, it had a pretty passionate fan base, and I know some of you would be upset if I left it off.

15. The Ripper in Call of Duty: Ghosts

This is one of the most iconic guns from Ghosts. It was actually a DLC weapon, which some people forget, and it was the first proper hybrid weapon in Call of Duty history, with an AR mode and an SMG mode you could toggle by holding the weapon swap button. The AR version had a moderate fire rate, but the SMG mode is where it earned the Ripper name, shredding through anybody in your path with recoil that wasn't hard to control. I'm surprised there has not been a real remake since, beyond the Ripper Evo in Infinite Warfare, which was more of a futuristic reimagining.

14. The PPSh 41 in Vanguard

This gun has appeared in so many Call of Duty games, and even though I am not a huge fan of Vanguard overall, I will admit this version was good. It fired at 1,000 rounds per minute with pretty manageable recoil and good damage, which made it one of the most popular weapons in the game for the longest time. Sledgehammer was dealt a rough hand during that development cycle and you could tell where corners were cut, but their interpretation of the PPSh deserves props.

13. The Chainsaw in Call of Duty: Ghosts

By default the Chainsaw only fired at 850 rounds per minute, the slowest fire rate on this list, but with Rapid Fire attached, which everybody ran, that jumped to over 1,000 RPM and turned it into a monster. This hipfire LMG came with 80 rounds loaded and a tight hipfire spread, letting you spray at anybody who stepped in front of you. Despite the massive magazine and crazy fire rate, it also had a three shot kill range, so it worked best in tighter areas and on smaller maps rather than out in the open.

12. The PP90M1 in Modern Warfare 3 (2011)

The MP7 was the most popular SMG in that game, but the PP90M1 had a solid following, largely because of its fire rate that made it satisfying to melt people in the blink of an eye. It also had that massive tube magazine with a smooth reload animation. Handling wise it had it all, with recoil that wasn't crazy and instant ADS speed, making it a ripper up close and at mid range if you were hitting your shots. It wasn't as popular or probably as good as the MP7, but it was one of the best bullet hose SMGs of the Call of Duty golden age.

11. The Fennec in Modern Warfare (2019)

I think this gun was meant to be the new universe's version of the classic Vector, and I think it did that well. The fire rate was up there and the recoil was manageable, and even though damage per shot was on the lower side, the time to kill was good because you were firing so quickly and it was easy to stay on target. It technically wasn't the fastest firing gun in the Modern Warfare reboot, but it was the most popular fast firing gun, which is why it lands at 11.

10. The FAMAS in Black Ops

You may have expected this higher, but I think 10 is fair compared to the guns still to come. It fired at 900 rounds per minute, one of the fastest rates in the original Black Ops, but still killed in three to four bullets, giving it an unbeatable time to kill in basically every scenario. It also had one of the best firing sounds in the entire Black Ops sub series. It lands here because plenty of other guns on this list fit the bullet hose description a little better.

9. The Stoner 63 in Black Ops

This was one of the only guns in the original Black Ops that fired faster than the FAMAS, and even though the recoil was a little unruly, it was one of my favorite guns in the game. It was a three shot kill no matter what, firing at 950 rounds per minute, which felt insane. I'm not sure why Treyarch slowed the fire rate down so much when it returned in Cold War. The only real downside I remember from the original was a magazine that was really, really small.

8. The MG42 in World at War

This was one of the few LMGs in Call of Duty history that could blow off enemy limbs. It was pretty accurate for a gun that fired this quickly, though it definitely slowed you down because of the weight, which tracks given that in real life the MG42 wasn't something a soldier would run around with alone. But historical inaccuracy aside, the World at War MG42 shredded through enemy players and had a great firing sound.

7. The MG42 in Vanguard

Vanguard's gameplay was not my cup of tea overall, but it did have some satisfying weapons, and this one was done justice. The fire rate here was even faster than in World at War, and you could slap up to ten attachments on it, giving it near perfect accuracy, more aggressive handling, or a huge magazine depending on your build. There were some crazy builds for the MG42 in Vanguard, and it was one of the most satisfying guns in the entire game.

6. The G18 in Modern Warfare 2 (2009)

It had drawbacks, namely crazy recoil and a somewhat long reload animation, but if somebody stepped in front of you while you were holding two, you won. The base damage of the G18 was kind of low for that game, but it fired at over 1,000 rounds per minute and you could dual wield it, giving it one of the fastest times to kill in the game if you ran Steady Aim. It returned in later Call of Duty games but got nerfed each time. The original Modern Warfare 2 version was absolutely iconic, and it's the gun I first dubbed a bullet hose about ten years ago.

5. The Death Machine, across the series

This one is cheating a bit because it has always been a kill streak or score streak rather than a standard weapon, but if we're talking bullet hose it has to be mentioned. It debuted in the original Black Ops as a secret kill streak you could only pull from a care package, then became its own standalone streak in Black Ops 2, returning in later Black Ops games as well as a guest appearance in Vanguard. It has always been a blast, and honestly nothing beats running around the battlefield with a giant minigun.

4. The Mini Gun (Micro MG) in Black Ops 4

This is basically what happens when you shrink the Death Machine down into SMG form. It was a small minigun that Treyarch put in the SMG category, and it functioned much like the Death Machine, spooling up like a turbo before spitting out a huge volume of bullets that dropped anyone in front of you in the blink of an eye. It was a bit of a balancing problem when first added, but then again so was basically every DLC weapon added to Black Ops 4.

3. The FMG9 in Modern Warfare 3 (2011)

This might be the most hated secondary weapon in Call of Duty history. It was actually pretty balanced on its own, but running two in akimbo made every single person in the lobby hate you. Fire rate sat at 1,000 rounds per minute with a base damage value of 40 a hit, and the akimbo FMG9s could kill faster than the servers could refresh, leading to a lot of insta kills and frustrating deaths. They were still fun to use, even after the accuracy got nerfed, especially in those chaotic infected matches.

2. The PPSh 41 in World at War

Going back through Call of Duty history, the World at War PPSh is the earliest example of what I'd call a proper bullet hose SMG. Back then absolutely everybody was talking about it, not just for the 1,200 rounds per minute fire rate but for the firing sound, which sounded like it was shredding giant sheets of metal and spitting the shards at the enemy. The damage stats weren't even that good, but with the drum mag and close range play you could melt enemies before they knew what was happening. It had to be top three.

1. The Scorpion Evo in Black Ops 2

This had to be the top spot. When you think of bullet hose guns, you think of the Scorpion, firing at 1,250 rounds per minute, and you could equip Rapid Fire on top of that. It could kill with as little as three bullets, giving it one of the fastest times to kill in Call of Duty history for an SMG, alongside one of the most intimidating firing sounds in the game. The recoil could get unruly, but if you stuck to close or mid range and controlled it, you could stay on top of the scoreboard every time, and some players dedicated hours to controlling that recoil well enough to compete at long range. The PPSh might have been the original bullet hose, but the Scorpion Evo is still the best in my book.

What gun didn't make this list that you think should have?