The Hellsing ARMS 13 mm Auto Anti-Freak Combat Pistol, Jackal (usually referred to as "The Jackal") is an extremely powerful handgun and one of Alucard's personal weapons.
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The Jackal is a massive pistol made especially for Alucard, and one of the most powerful handheld weapons in the Hellsing series. It has a length of 39cm (16 in), a weight of 16kg (35lbs), and a black gunmetal construction, and uses massive 13mm explosive rounds. The words "Jesus Christ is in Heaven now" are engraved upon it, in mockery of a similar statement on Alexander Anderson's gloves.
Its unique design makes it seem as if it doesn't have a pistol slide; however, the entire upper assembly is the slide, and moves only a minimal distance compared to other guns', making it appear as if there is no pistol slide. The Jackal has its silver ejector port on the left side, implying that it is meant to be used in conjunction with the Casull (sending the shells to the left prevents them from obscuring the wielder's view), and in the manga, Alucard is usually shown wielding both guns at once.
Alucard admiring the Jackal while holding it
In Hellsing: Volume 9, it was revealed that the Jackal had an explosive device hidden inside of it by The Doctor, who could detonate it with his remote if Alucard was to gain a significant edge against Millennium with it. Because of this reveal, it is possible that Walter was in ranks of Millennium when Alucard left for Rio de Janeiro.
Spirit
Jackal's spirit.
The Spirit of the Jackal is a spirit that appears in Alucard's gun. He is voiced by Tesshō Genda in the Japanese and Liam O'Brien in the English version.
In Hellsing
The Jackal Spirit appears in Hellsing: Ultimate V in the Subbasement where Alucard resides. It briefly harangues him as he tries to sleep, until the next mission's start.
Usage
The Jackal was the result of Alucard's request to Walter for "something bigger" after his Casull proved largely useless against Alexander Anderson. The butler delivered in full with the creation of the Jackal; in fact, the inscription on its side implies that it was meant especially to end Anderson's life. Alucard would repeatedly express his satisfaction with the new firearm, declaring that it was "perfect".
Alucard holding the Jackal
At the time the Jackal was ordered, Walter was a secret agent for Millennium Organization and had constructed the gun for Alucard. Alucard used it in every fight after his first encounter with Anderson, except with Rip van Winkle, whom he bested with bare hands.
In the London battle, the Doctor activated the explosive failsafe, permanently destroying it. It is not known whether its reconstruction was attempted after the siege of London.
Ammunition
Alucard receives the Jackal from Walter.
The Jackal fires a huge, armor-piercing, 13mm hollow point bullet. The rounds are jacketed with a "casing" of blessed Macedonian silver and features an explosive tip containing a charge of pre-blessed mercury. However, the 13mm round's size limits the Jackal's magazine capacity to six rounds.
The rounds use "Marvell's Chemical Cartridge N.N.A.9", and are suggested to be very short by the minimal movement of the Jackal's slide. This could be due to the cartridge being powerful enough to require only minimal propellant.
The bullets were designed primarily to be used against Iscariot's top agent, Alexander Anderson, who shrugged off the Casull's rounds with ease. They proved powerful enough to negate Anderson's great regenerative abilities and blow off parts of him. The Jackal's ammunition also makes for an extremely effective anti-vampire combat weapon in general.
Like the Casull, Alucard has reloaded the Jackal various times, but has also greatly exceeded the number of rounds per magazine. The reason he is able to do this is never explained but in the back of volume 1, Kouta Hirano has jokingly stated that "They're all cosmoguns that can hold a million rounds".
Stopping Power
The power of Jackal is much greater than the Casull's. It was made specially for fighting Anderson who was stubborn enough to survive bullets from Casull. During Alucard and Anderson's duel in London, the Jackal was able to nearly sever his left arm. Later on, a single shot was able to blow Anderson's head completely off from the lower jaw up, despite the bullet striking him on only the left side of the face. However, the Paladin's head regenerated due to the Helena's Nail.
When Alucard fought with Luke Valentine, he easily dodged all of Alucard's shots, but when Alucard used the Jackal he barely dodged its bullet. The wall that the bullet hit was totally destroyed. A single 13mm round later blew Luke's leg clean off.
Trivia
- The Jackal is named after the eponymous antagonist of The Day of the Jackal, a famous English-French movie released in 1973. In the movie, Jackal was a fictional assassin hired to kill Charles de Gaulle, France's President between 1959-1969. As it's revealed in one of Alucard's dreams in Volume 5, the Jackal is the spirit of the pistol named after him (like the Dune-character Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is the spirit of Seras Victoria's cannon). In this dream, Jackal even successfully kills the criticized remake's leading actor, Bruce Willis (ironically, he misses De Gaulle), warning Alucard that he let the imposter too close and that he should "Never let another man choose [his] weapon", foreshadowing Walter's treachery.
- In the Anime TV series, The Jackal was intended "to kill" Anderson, which didn't happen in the series, as he only injured Anderson's both arms severely, instead it outlived its purpose in killing Incognito.
- The Jackal's ammunition might be even more powerful than the .50 BMG round of the Barrett M82 sniper rifle. 13mm is bigger than .50 caliber (12.7mm), and it is shown capable of destroying entire walls and blowing off body parts with one shot, something even the Barrett cannot do. Granted, the .50 BMG cartridge's massive propellant charge makes its bullet travel at around 900 meters/second, but the 13mm's exact ballistics are unknown.
- Jackal's spirit appears to take the form of actor Bruce Willis.