The history. The purpose. The sound effects. The enormous write-up over on Halo Waypoint (linked below) has everything a series fan - or firearm fetishist - could ever want with regards to humanity's weapons of choice.
And if you don't feel like reading? Here's every UNSC gun in the game, shooting things in the face.
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The Halo Bulletin: 8.8.12 [Halo]