Daniels:Military training?

now there are 2 rifles in that picture already, praise imagination.

Inquisitor Fifield

A double barrel with two different gages. Likely one for medium distance and the other for close encounters(probably not rifle rounds but shot gun 12-20 gage). As Ash asked-"What is the point?"

we ll see in 2 months if there was a w-y storm or any rifle in here.

im all in on no.

I've totally flipped now and I'm with you Inquisitor Fifield.

That most certainly is a Weyland Storm rifle shaped Engineer ant bed.

with a flashlight on it...

Lol Ingeniero

From the way she's holding the weapon, Daniels marksmanship training seems to have consisted of "the bullets come out that end, and this little switch makes them come out. The optics are just decoration" 

I would say Daniels has no Military Background, it would appear she is unarmed at the start and only obtains a Gun off someone else once Hell Breaks Lose.

As far as the Gun Debate...  we need to remember Aliens was set in the future and speculative about its weapons.  Aliens also has some old school Weapons... Handguns and Shotguns..

We need to remember the Gunpowder Fire Arm has not changes drastically in a long time...

The only Evolution is.

*The Slug/Projectile as far as Material, Weight ability to cause more Damage.  Armour Piercing, Explosive etc.

*The Propellant, more efficient cartridges that can propel the Projectile at a faster speed and more power

*The Firing Mechanism and Ammo loading Mechanisms, which allow for a faster rate of loading and firing Weapons.

We cant rule out if these have drastically improved in Alien Covenant,  we also cant say how far Advanced Modern Weapons we have today would be in 100 years.... i think maybe they may not change to much... apart from the above points improve.

The other aspect is the Material and Design of the Stock and Rail system.... to make a Gun more Easy to Hold and Lighter, and i cant see this element changing in 100 years.

Apart from Lighter Materials used....

So if its not broken why fix?

You could take a Standard AR gun... lets say The HK416

If we invent a light weight composite alloy or synthetic material that makes something as hard as Titanium but nearly as light as Aluminum

I can see this used for the Stock of the Gun, the Magazine and even the Bullets... to provide a lighter more strong Projectile.

Maybe we have more advancements in the Propellant so a Chemical Reaction within the Cartridge that is more powerful than current state of the art Ammunition.

so we have a Gun that is as strong as the above HK416 but weighs half the weight, and its Ammunition  is again less than half the weight with a more say 3X powerful Propellant so the Weapon can fire Bullets 3X faster and cause 2X Damage

Replace/Improve the Firing Mechanism and Magazine System to Fire Rounds at 3X standard HK416

Then you have a Futuristic Fire Arm... that would still look pretty much like the HK416 because the Shape of the Gun does not have to change to accommodate the advancements i have suggested

These kinds of Fire Arms are Practical and Cheap

Once we can manufacture a Energy Device/Battery System that Provides Much Much more Power in a Size of a Large Phone or say say a Can of Hairspray.

Then indeed we could see Weapons Change to give us Gauss Guns, Rail Guns... High Powered BB Guns and even Laser Guns

But at the moment the Electrical Requirements for these to be effective would not fit in a compact Fire Arm...  You would need  a backpack the size of TWO Suitcases to even mildly consider such a Weapon.

These things can be placed in Tanks and on Ships.. but we still use more advanced conventional means as its Proven, Tried and Tested and Cheaper.

So i think the Weapons, The Ships and Technology in Alien Covenant is actually very accurate as far as potential in future.

Prometheus was a bit to Advanced...  Aliens was ok but maybe the Weapons not so, then again such a Weapon is possible down the line...  its means of Propellant and Casing are flawed as far as current similar methods...  Prone to Overheating and Jamming.

Yeah the Thompson (actual base frame for the pulse rifle) was popular because it was relatively easy to get, compact, and fully automatic. It isn't the most reliable weapon, it just lent itself to greater modifications due to its compact size.  Current AR's with rail systems are arguably superior tactically to pulse rifles because there are more modular and therefore more versatile.