An SMG variant of the M4 has made its way toCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.The AMR9 is a fast-firing weapon with minimal recoil and plentiful customization options. It’s also a fairly sluggish weapon, featuring the worst sprint to fire delay out of all SMGs. It also aims slowly, making this a less-than-ideal gun for aggressive players.

Fortunately, most of these issues can be fixed through attachment. This guide will showcase two builds for the AMR9—a suppressed SMG build and an LMG conversion build—that either focus on the weapon’s strengths or fix its most glaring weaknesses.

Updated June 12, 2025, by Charles Burgar:The AMR9 received a new conversion kit with the Season 3: Reloaded update. We have updated this guide to include a build for the JAK Atlas Kit, a variant of the AMR9 that turns it into a five-round burst SMG with a fairly short TTK at close range.

Pros And Cons

This build aims to make the AMR9 suitable for a close-range stealth build. We use thePhantom GripandSL Skeletal Vertical Gripto greatly reduce the weapon’s ADS and sprint to fire values while only dropping our flinch resistance. We then use theNimbus-6 Integrated Suppressorto make this a stealth build. Since SMGs struggle at longer distances, we use the50 Round Magattachment to give some much-needed flexibility with weapon accuracy. Throw on your favorite optic to complete the build.

This weapon’s newsprint to fire delay is 186ms,a competitive delay with most SMGs. It also has a somewhat long ADS time of 269ms, however. Due to the weapon’s aggressive damage falloff, this SMG will struggle on larger maps like Estate and Derail. The good news is that this build hascontrollable recoil, a massive magazine, and is incredibly easy to use.

Field Upgrade

Med Box

Fighting up close with a suppressed weapon makes theCCT Comms Vesta strong option. This vest grants a second gear slot and the Data Jacker perk for free. You’ll also have a larger minimap to better locate targets marked by your Data Jacker pings. Since our build has poor flinch resistance, theMarksman Glovesare a must for maintaining accuracy in mid-range duels.

Stealth perks are also ideal here, notablyCovert SneakersandGhostfor hiding your footstep audio and minimap icon, respectively. Use any equipment that suits your playstyle. For aggressive players, use theMed Boxto reduce your healing delay before a gunfight starts.

MW3’s first season introduced theJAK BFBmuzzle to the sandbox, providing a whopping 60% visual recoil reduction, 40% less vertical recoil, and 20% less horizontal recoil. This muzzle is so powerful that it allows you to run theDemo D50 Buffer Tube—this gun’s version of a ‘No Stock’ attachment—to massively buff your mobility and handling stats.

You’ll still suffer from increased recoil with these two attachments, so you’ll want to use theSP-10 Angled Gripto give this weapon some much-needed aiming stability. Throw onany opticto remove the AMR9’s busy iron sights, then equip theTectonic Herald Light Barrelto buff your strafe speed even further.

All five attachments turn this weapon into an excellent close-range SMG for aggressive playstyles. You’ll strafe faster than most players, ready your SMG incredibly fast, and benefit from a solid reduction to your overall recoil.You will appear as an Advanced UAV icon whenever you shoot, so be careful.Avoid using this build in one-life modes.

Covert Sneakers OR Tactical Pads

Dead Silence

Since this build doesn’t use a suppressor, it’s best to spec forspeedover stealth. We use theInfantry Vestto double our tactical sprint duration.Scavenger Glovesensure you’ll always have ammo, andMag Holstermakes reloading much faster on the AMR9. For your boots, you’re able to either useCovert Sneakersto muffle your footsteps orTactical Padsto slide further and remain in ADS mid-slide.

For equipment, the only important pick isDead Silence.This will grant Covert Sneakers and Ghost for a short duration while active, extended by a few seconds with every kill. Use this before you push an objective or flank the enemy team for some easy kills. We also recommendStimsandThrowing Knivesfor general equipment.

The JAK Ettin attachment converts the AMR9 into a double-barreled SMG, making it fire two rounds simultaneously. This comes with a slight hit to your RPM and base damage, but the second barrel puts in work when you’re in close-quarters combat. That’s why this build focuses ontactical stance accuracy, as this weapon complements the Tac Stance mechanic quite well.

We equip theJAK Ettin Double Barrel Kitto modify how the gun behaves. Since it chews through ammo twice as fast, the50 Round Magis mandatory here. For Tac Stance accuracy, we use theCronne Intlas MSP-12, Bruen Bastion Angled Grip,and theXTEN Grip.All of these attachments give you a Tac Stance spread of 1.7°, making this a highly accurate weapon up to roughly 20 meters.

If you’re using the AMR9 in Zombies, consider dropping the XTEN Grip for the Demo D50 Buffer Tube. The increased recoil has little impact in MWZ.

We’ll be recommending the same build as our strafe configuration sincethis weapon should only be used in close quarters.Use theInfantry Vestto extend your tactical sprint duration,Scavenger Glovesto restock on ammo, andMag Holsterto reload faster. Boots and equipment are down to preference.

TheJAK Atlas Kitconverts the AMR9 into a five-round burst rifle, featuring slightly better range and recoil than the standard AMR9. This weapon can one-burst targets up to roughly 15 meters, so you’ll want a weapon that mitigates as much recoil as possible without hurting your handling stats. To do this, we suggest anaccuracy build.

We use theT51R Billeted Brake Sand theBruen Pivot Vertical Gripto substantially lower our vertical recoil. TheSakin ZX Gripthen lowers the weapon’s vertical recoil. This attachment hurts our aiming stability, so we equip theOORT-6 Precision Stockto recover some of our lost aiming stability, plus gain some firing aim stability on the side. The end result is a burst rifle that has virtually no recoil and can easily one-burst targets at close range.

Covert Sneakers OR All-Terrain Boots

We recommend the same perks as our previous builds. TheInfantry Vestis ideal for aggressive playstyles, giving you Running Sneakers for free. We then useCovert Sneakersto muffle our footsteps, although you can useAll-Terrain Bootsinstead.Mag Holsterlowers your reload speed, and theCommando Glovesperk greatly reduces your sprint-to-fire delay.