M7A1

What is the M7A1?

The M7A1 is an assault rifle chambered in 6.8x51 with selectable semi-automatic or automatic fire. Fandom records a 20-round magazine plus one chambered round, while GameRant reports 30+1 in its reviewed build. Documented attachments include a rifle suppressor, long-gun flashlight, and holographic optic.

Its defining advantage is strong penetration, which makes target alignment and awareness especially important around teammates.

How should you use the M7A1?

Use semi-automatic fire for normal clearing and keep the sight at head height. Switch to automatic fire only when a close group, special threat, or collapsing position requires immediate output.

The 6.8x51 supply is more valuable than common pistol ammunition. Let teammates using 9mm or melee tools handle routine stragglers, and save M7A1 rounds for targets and lanes where penetration changes the outcome.

Why did GameRant rank the M7A1 first?

GameRant places the M7A1 first because its 6.8x51 ammunition and automatic fire handle armored zombies and crowds more reliably than the MC-15 in the reviewed build. The article reports penetration through all helmet and body-armor types and estimates four to five body hits against armored zombies.

The same ranking identifies ammunition scarcity as the decisive drawback. It recommends carrying a backup pistol or strong melee weapon rather than using valuable 6.8x51 rounds on every isolated target. Capacity and damage figures are version-sensitive, so check the current HUD and patch behavior.

Strengths and tradeoffs

• Strong penetration and flexible select-fire operation.
• Suppressor, mounted light, and optic support.
• Effective for priority threats and dense lanes.
• Limited magazine size and scarce ammunition discourage wasteful bursts.

Sources and verification

The 20+1 capacity record and attachment data were checked against the community Weapons reference. The 30+1 record, armor analysis, backup recommendation, and first-place ranking are paraphrased from GameRant’s best guns ranking. Official context was reviewed against the Reinforcement update and Revelation 0.9 weapon overhaul.