M-300 "Claymore" S-HS
Production information
Manufacturer:	Armouries of Piryloc (490 CE - 764 CE) Fortack Armoury (803 CE - 2440 CE)
Model:	M-300
Type:	Shotgun
Cost:	10,000 credits
Introduced:	2 September 490 CE
Discontinued:	1 January 2440 CE
Technical information
Size:	Two-Handed
Damage per hit:	Very high
Magazine size:	1 (post-2184 CE)
Maximum ammunition:	Unlimited (pre-2184 CE) 10 (post-2184 CE)
Fire mode:	Pump-action
Operation:	Gas operated
Rate of fire:	1RPM
Accuracy:	Low
Range:	150-200 meters
Usage
Era(s):	Asari Cycle Imperial Era Pax Galactica Era Human Cycle Reformation Era Dominion Era Post-Cycle Pax Aeterna Era
Counterpart:	AP-KL Claymore M-306 Claymore II
Affiliation:	Tuchankan Empire Tuchankan Traditionalists Tuchankan Reformists United Krogan Clans Tuchankan Confederacy

The M-300 super-heavy shotgun, more commonly known as the Claymore, is a pump-action heat sink-based block-fed (and later adapted to be thermal clip-fed post-2184 CE) super-heavy assault shotgun designed and initially manufactured by the Armouries of Piryloc, and following its dissolution, later manufactured by its splinter company Fortack Armoury. Manufactured and entering service in 490 CE, the M-300 Claymore shotgun is a krogan-made shotgun that has stood the test of time as a weapon with one of the longest service periods in galactic history, still remaining in service to this very day, albeit considered archaic and obsolete by modern standards. Itself based on a shotgun made by the armourers of the Piryloc Empire prior to the nuclear holocaust that laid waste to krogan civilization, the M-300 Claymore was a weapon built by the state-owned Armouries of Piryloc for use by the Tuchankan Imperial Forces, possessing enormous firepower that made it comparable to a hand-held artillery piece. Exceptionally powerful, the Claymore can fire a single, large tungsten slug at extremely high velocity to devastating effect, effectively obliterating any target at short to medium range, capable of shredding shields, armor and flesh in a single, well placed hit: as the weapon was pump-action, each slug required the weapon to be pumped to fire, giving the Claymore a slow rate of fire overall, but making every shot a titan of destruction. The weapon's recoil is incredibly high as a result of its enormous firepower, making the shotgun virtually unusable to anyone outside of a krogan, geth or yahg, with the recoil so immense that any other species would break their arm trying to fire it, and accurate aiming would be impossible. The weapon's manufacturing was cheap, as was the philosophy for most imperial-era krogan weaponry (which dictated quantity over quality), allowing it to be mass produced quite easily, and it saw extensive use during the Krogan Rebellions.

At the end of the Rebellions, 70% of the remaining stock of M-300 Claymores wee seized by the Council demilitarization mission as per the terms of the Treaty of Taetrus and destroyed, leaving the remaining 30% in krogan control, where they saw further use in the Krogan Civil Wars. A splinter company of the Armoures of Piryloc, Fortack Armoury, was able to preserve the original design for the Claymore and was, with limited materials and resources, able to manufacture more in small numbers, doing so for both the Tuchankan Traditionalists and Tuchankan Reformists until Clan Fortack's declaration of allegiance to the United Krogan Clans in late 2183 CE, where they then sold them exclusively to the UKC: in 2184 CE, Fortack was even able to seamlessly integrate the new thermal clip-fed design of modern weapons into the M-300, although this crude retrofit resulted in a weapon that required a thermal clip to be popped with each shot fired. Krogan shock troops and commandos were outfitted with claymores as standard issue equipment during the Reaper War and the Post-Apocalyptic War, and despite beginning to show their age by 2250 CE, they were used heavily in the Dominion Civil War as well. It wouldn't be until 2440 CE that the M-300 Claymore was finally replaced by Fortack's Armoury's successor, the M-306 Claymore II, incorporating directed energy into the design and ceasing production of the M-300. Regardless, thousands of remaining M-300s still in the wild continue to see use across both the Milky Way Galaxy and Andromeda Galaxy to this very day, a reliable workhorse weapon, and customized ones sell for a high price in the Andromeda Galaxy.