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Fallout: New Vegas
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Fallout: New Vegas is the fourth installment in the long-running Fallout series. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic Nevada, roughly four years after (but not influenced by) the events of the previous title, Fallout 3. It was developed by Obsidian Entertainment (Alpha Protocol) and published by Bethesda in 2010. The game is available for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Ron Perlman, Danny Trejo, Kris Kristofferson, and Matthew Perry can be found among the voice actors of the game.
The game follows the story of Courier 6, who is ambushed while carrying a mysterious package bound for New Vegas at the behest of Mr. House, the reclusive ruler of the city. Shot in the head, Courier 6 survives and soon finds themself wrapped up in the oncoming battle between the New California Republic and a band of slavers from Arizona and Colorado known as Caesar's Legion.
A host of DLC were released for the game, which were then collected into the Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition. The first, Dead Money, revolves around a long-planned casino heist in the Sierra Madre, a famous casino locked since the Great War. Honest Hearts takes place in the post-War Zion National Park and, among other things, adds a new caliber to the game, .45 ACP. Old World Blues takes place at the scientific research facility Big Mountain or the Big MT. The final regular DLC, Lonesome Road, adds backstory for the main character, Courier 6, as well as taking place in the ruins of various military installations in the towns of Hopeville and Ashton. A fifth pack, Gun Runners' Arsenal, did not add any story content, but instead added a host of weapons to various vendors around the game. The sixth, Courier's Stash, also did not add any new story content, nor technically any new content at all, but instead made the pre-order exclusive item packs available to everyone.
Fallout: New Vegas has a very in-depth ammunition system. The player can reload ammo, and there are many variants of each ammunition type. For a list, see the discussion page. Director Joshua Sawyer, via his account on the now defunct Formspring (an archive of which can be found here) has confirmed several details about the firearms the game's weapons are based on among the many questions he has answered.
(*) indicates that the weapon was added in DLC.
The following weapons appear in the video game Fallout: New Vegas:
Handguns
As an interesting note for the three "hammered" handguns (the Hi-Power and the two Colts): upon drawing the weapon, they will have an uncocked hammer. The first trigger pull is therefore technically in double-action mode; afterward, each subsequent shot the entire time the handgun is equipped is in single-action. While this is not correct for any of the three single-action handguns, it's still a nice touch.
Browning Hi-Power
The Browning Hi-Power appears as the "9mm Pistol", made by a fictional "M&A Guns Manufacturers" according to the slide legends. It can be modified with a short-range scope and a 20-round magazine. It weighs 1.5 pounds, lower than the 2.2 of the real thing. It's the most common gun in the game, standard issue to most factions like the NCR and given to the player by Doc Mitchell at the start of the game, unless the player rolled their stats into another skill beyond Guns. The standard Hi-Power is seen in the hands of series mascots Vault Boy and Vault Girl in various perk icons, and is used by Vault Boy on the achievement icon for the quest "You'll Know it When It Happens". It also appears in NCR propaganda posters. The Hi-Power is a very adequate firearm, with mediocre damage and accuracy that benefits from its high capacity (and thus DPS against lightly/unarmored opponents) and how common 9mm ammo is, but still leads to it getting replaced quickly for better sidearms.
A unique version called "Maria", based on the factory-engraved "Renaissance" model with grips painted with Our Lady of Guadalupe, is carried by Benny (voiced by Matthew Perry), which he uses to execute the Courier in the opening FMV. The player can later acquire it from him (either by killing or pickpocketing it from him, the latter allows the player to complete the "Talk About Owned" challenge by killing Benny with Maria). Besides being fashionable, Maria boasts a higher fire rate, damage per shot and accuracy over the normal 9mm pistol at a cost of not allowing mods to be attached.
Colt Single Action Army
The Colt Single Action Army appears as the ".357 Magnum Revolver" blending elements of itself and the Ruger Vaquero. Like the Vaquero, the cylinder can be moved without the hammer being half-cocked, uses a transfer bar instead of a firing pin, and the cylinder can rotate in either direction. However, it shares similarities with the Colt, such as the three pins on the frame, where the Vaquero only has two. The base gun appears to have a 5.5" barrel, but can be modified with a 7.5" barrel that increases the damage by +3, as well as an engraved "heavy duty" cylinder which increases its maximum condition by +50%. It weighs 2 pounds, which is appropriate for its initial barrel length, but is not affected by the barrel length upgrade. A Single Action Army also appears on the boxart and title screen, with slight differences due to these images being illustrations instead of using the game's 3D model.
The .357 Magnum Revolver is a very common lower tier gun, used by everyone from Powder Gangers to NCR Patrol Rangers and is one of the first revolvers and magnum caliber guns the player will get. Decent damage and accuracy tempered by middling returns on power and a slow reload as you'd expect from a gate loader.
A unique version called "Lucky" can be found in a safe in the Bison Steve casino in Primm, with a club symbol on ivory grips and an engraved black-and-gold finish. "Lucky" is the fastest-firing revolver in the game. It serves as a high-level eater of .357 Magnum ammo, with its fast ROF and increased damage muted only by its 6-round capacity.
Smith & Wesson Model 29
The Smith & Wesson Model 29 returns from Fallout 3, renamed the ".44 Magnum Revolver" as it no longer has a scope by default. The .44 is a relatively common find at higher levels, carried by some Legionaries, Gomorrah lieutenant Cachino, some Fiends, and Old Ben in Freeside. Raul Tejada (Danny Trejo), former vaquero and vagrant handyman, carries one as his signature weapon. The .44 Magnum is as powerful as it was in Fallout 3 and can be used more freely now that it lacks the scope. The scope is still available as a modification, plus a "heavy frame" that gives the gun a matte finish and bright S&W rosewood grips. It weighs 3.5 pounds, rounded down from its real counterpart. Incorrectly, the Model 29 uses the Pip-Boy icon for the Smith & Wesson Model 2 Double Action from Fallout 3, which does not appear in New Vegas.
The unique version of the Model 29 is known as the "Mysterious Magnum" and features a nickel-plated finish with engravings, mother of pearl grips, and a mysterious tune that plays whenever the pistol is drawn or holstered. The Mysterious Magnum is carried by the Lonesome Drifter, who can be found by a Sunset Sarsaparilla billboard near the El Dorado Dry Lake, and can be acquired from him during the quest "Talent Pool". The Mysterious Magnum has a faster fire rate, better accuracy, increased critical hit damage but a lower durability stat, but is still a very powerful and frankly stylish high level sidearm. A version of the Mysterious Magnum with extremely buffed damage is also used by the Mysterious Stranger. The Mysterious Magnum appears to have a blocked barrel (due to the bore on the default .44 Magnum being a texture) which can be seen when reloading it.
"12.7mm Pistol"
The "12.7mm Pistol" is a fictitious pistol chambered for the also fictitious 12.7mm round (the in-universe equivalent to .50 AE or .50 Beowulf). It is based on the "SIG-Sauer 14mm Pistol" from Fallout and Fallout 2, though the magazine is inserted into the grip instead of being housed in front of the trigger like the original 14mm. Like the original design, it is roughly a 50% ultra-chunky Hämmerli 280 (now minus the separate magwell) and 50% the "LAPD 2019 Blaster" from the movie Blade Runner, though a standalone gun even closer to the Blade Runner weapon exists too. Its only modification is a suppressor. The pistol's grip also has a loose similarity to that of the Finnish Jatimatic submachine gun. The 12.7mm Pistol is as rare as its ammo, found in Bloodborne Cave and carried by NCR troops at Hoover Dam as well as NCR Ranger Presidential Guards. While it needs a high Strength and Guns skill to properly use, the 12.7mm's power is one to be reckoned with, piercing flesh and armor alike with ease and making it a solid choice for a high-level sidearm when armor's a problem.
A unique variant was added with the Gun Runners' Arsenal DLC, named "Lil' Devil". This unique compact variant has a shorter barrel and synthetic black grips, as well as a dark matte finish. Lil' Devil, besides being an adorable name for a sidearm, is better than the standard 12.7mm in almost every way, from damage to the fact it can be snuck into Strip casinos. The only disadvantage is that it can't be fitted with a silencer.
"10mm Pistol"
The "10mm Pistol" returns from Fallout 3. As in that game, it is loosely based on a Magnum Research Desert Eagle. The 10mm is a very common weapon, sold and carried by many merchants, Vault 19 Powder Gangers, and many members of the Kings. Unlike the Browning and two Colt pistols, it seems to operate entirely in double-action. It can be modified with a laser sight, suppressor, and extended magazine. The 10mm is a reliable sidearm for the mid point of the game, with higher damage and DPS than the standard 9mm offerings alongside decent mods to keep it in the power band long enough to be useful.
The pre-order bonus "Classic Pack", also included in the Courier's Stash DLC, adds the "Weathered 10mm Pistol"; aside from the different skin, it features slightly higher damage and durability at the cost of not being a holdout weapon.
LAPD 2019 Blaster
The LAPD 2019 Blaster from Blade Runner makes a return to the Fallout series. Called "That Gun" in-game, in reference to "That Gun from Fallout and Fallout 2", the ".223 Pistol". Like its predecessor, it chambers 5.56x45mm NATO and can also chamber .223, which wears out the gun slower at the cost of less damage. The Gun Runners' Arsenal DLC adds a non-unique variant of this weapon, called the "5.56mm Pistol". "That Gun" can be purchased from Cliff Briscoe in Novac or stolen from the back room. The 5.56mm Pistol is more than just old Fallout nostalgia, but a potent side-grade handgun for mid to high level players. Sure it's not fast firing, but 5.56 AP is very common and very effective for pesky Legionnaires.
The handgun is usable to complete two movie-related challenges (tasks the player can complete to earn XP). "Benefit or a Hazard" refers to the film the gun originated in, Blade Runner, and requires the Courier (fittingly) to kill robots with the weapon, while "Dyin' Ain't Much of a Livin'" (a reference to Clint Eastwood's line to a bounty hunter in The Outlaw Josey Wales) requires the Courier kill members of enemy faction hit squads with "Cowboy" themed weapons (which includes all revolvers and lever-action weapons, including the decidedly un-Western 5.56mm).
Ruger 22/45
The Ruger 22/45 appears as the "Silenced .22 Pistol". It has an integral suppressor and will not alert enemies (who have not been shot) of the player's presence. It will not dismember on hit and does less damage to limbs. It is also one of the two guns players can always sneak into casinos regardless of their sneak skill, the other being the Police Pistol. The .22 Pistol is very common, being found in Camp McCarran, the Vikki and Vance Casino, as well as being sold by Mr. Holdout on the Strip; one will always be used to kill the White Glove Society member Chauncey during "Beyond the Beef," even if something would physically prevent the bullets from reaching him (such as a party member). Possibly due to the game lacking a model for .22 LR casings, the Ruger will not eject anything when fired.
Colt New Service*
The Colt New Service appears in the first New Vegas DLC, Dead Money, as the "Police Pistol", but its model also features recycled parts from the base game's S&W Model 29 (hammer, trigger guard, cylinder, and portions of the frame) Like some versions of the New Service, the in-game version chambers .357 Magnum. When fired, the Courier will cock the hammer after every shot, but firing the first round after drawing the weapon will be done so in double-action. The inclusion of this revolver is a reference to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, which was a major influence for the DLC alongside the Japanese suspense film Battle Royale.
This weapon is extremely useful in Dead Money due to its very high critical hit ratio, mostly for killing unconscious Ghosts, the zombie-like residents of the Sierra Madre. The New Service can be found in surprising numbers around the Sierra Madre in various containers, as well as in Dean Domino's Secret Stashes. It weighs 3 pounds, which is significantly higher than its real weight of 2.3.
Magnum Research BFR
The Magnum Research BFR appears as the "Hunting Revolver", chambered in .45-70 Govt'. Unlike the real BFR, which is a single-action only revolver that feeds from a loading gate, the Hunting Revolver is a double-action revolver that feeds through a swing-out cylinder. It always has an unremovable scope. The Gun Runners' Arsenal DLC adds a variant which can accept modifications; this includes a 6-shot cylinder and a match barrel, decreasing weapon spread. The Hunting Revolver can be found in a variety of places; carried by the mercenary Orris in Freeside, at the campfire in Bloodborne Cave, and tucked away in the REPCONN Test Site. The Hunting Revolver is a solid way to tap into your early .45-70 reserves, with high raw damage and a scope to let you select and delete heads with ease.
The Ranger Sequoia is a unique scopeless version given to NCR Rangers, with a black finish, gold engraving, the NCR bear and Ranger symbol on the wood grip, a brass plate reading "20 Years" on the underside, and "For Honorable Service" and "Against All Tyrants" engraved on the different sides of the barrel. The Ranger Sequoia is much rarer, found on some NCR Veteran Rangers as well as their commander, Chief Hanlon (Kris Kristofferson); his can be acquired during the quest "Return to Sender," depending on its resolution. The Ranger Sequoia is one of the game's most powerful weapons, with a higher damage, rate of fire and even crit chance than the normal Hunting Revolver and with no scope to stop you from whipping this thing out.
Colt M1911A1*
The Honest Hearts DLC introduces the M1911A1 as the ".45 Auto Pistol". Joshua Graham (Keith Szarabajka) describes the gun as "designed by one of my tribe almost four hundred years ago", referring to fellow LDS follower John Moses Browning. The Dead Horses, and most tribes in Zion, make extensive use of it. After beating the main questline of Honest Hearts, .45 Auto ammunition, and the weapons which fire it, are carried by the Gun Runners outside New Vegas; the weapons themselves are never used by NPCs outside the Park, however. The .45 Auto Pistol can take two upgrades: the "HD Slide" improves the weapon's durability, while the suppressor eliminates the gun's report. After these upgrades, the pistol resembles a Colt XSE. At one point, the in-game iron sights were going to be an upgrade, with the gun having default, more traditional M1911 sights; this ended up being cut, and the upgraded 3-dot sights are permanent on the default weapon in the final game. The M1911 used by Follows-Chalk still has the original iron sights, but it is normally unobtainable. The M1911A1 correctly holds 7 rounds.
The M1911A1 is a powerful weapon, with damage in the semi-auto pistol department only beaten out by the 12.7mm Pistol and (illogically) vastly outperforming the 10mm Pistol; according to director Joshua Sawyer, the reason for this was to make it an intermediate pistol caliber between 10mm and 12.7mm, and to fit player expectations of "Last Man Standing-style .45s that throw guys 20' through the air". It is the most powerful holdout weapon compatible with a suppressor, but ammo is hard to come by outside of Zion, as .45 ACP can only be obtained by purchasing it from certain merchants or reloading spent .45 casings. It weighs 1.5 pounds, quite light for a 1911 variant (for reference, an original M1911 weighs about 2.3). Follows-Chalk mentions that Joshua tells him the M1911A1's cartridge “Won the West”; this seems to be a misplaced reference to the .45 Long Colt, since both it and the .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) could be referred to simply as ".45 Colt".
Colt New Agent*
Joshua Graham from the Honest Hearts DLC carries a unique .45 Auto pistol, a Colt New Agent with a snakeskin-pattern grip and Greek script engraved into the slide. The script ("καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει" on the right side and "και η σκοτια αυτο ου κατελαβεν" on the left side) is a quote from the Bible (John 1:5) "And the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not", from which the weapon's name, "A Light Shining in Darkness", is derived. In keeping with this name, the slide glows in the dark, making it easier to use in poorly lit caves and ruins. It holds 6 rounds of .45 Auto in its magazine.
Despite the decreased ammo capacity, A Light Shining in Darkness is in every other way superior to the base .45 Auto, having higher damage, reduced weight, a faster rate of fire, and increased crit chance and damage. Really the only negative is its guttersnipe sights and lack of a suppressor, but that didn't stop Joshua from using it.
Brescia Model 00*
The Lonesome Road DLC adds an Italian WWII-era Brescia Model 00 (with features of the WWI-era Lanciarazzi Very), appearing simply as the "Flare Gun". Many Marked Men have it (and, in some cases, are scripted to fire it into the air, presumably signaling for help), and some emergency kits do as well. Bizarrely, while the animations suggest that the weapon fires ordinary flares, it actually consumes 10 units of flamethrower fuel per shot; as a consequence, it is oddly classed as an energy weapon in-game. Even more bizarrely, the Flare Gun is also an improved holdout weapon, perfect for dealing with the ever present danger of Deathclaw attacks on the Strip.
As an in-game weapon, it cannot be used for any sort of signaling, but can be used to do damage to (and ignite) enemies from a distance - provided, that is, that the player can compensate for the arc-type trajectory of the flares. However, its main advantage is its ability to frighten away abominations - even the mighty Deathclaw is terrified by flares.
Ruger GP100
While not usable in-game, a Ruger GP100 appears on the cover of the "Guns and Bullets" skill book, which permanently raises the user's Guns skill by 3 points.
Shansi Type 17
Similarly, while the Shansi Type 17 can't be used in-game, it still makes an appearance, being one of the unusable weapons in Mick's weapon stash in the back of Mick & Ralph's. It is exactly the same model as the one used in Fallout 3.
Submachine Guns
"10mm Submachine Gun"
The "10mm Submachine Gun" returns from Fallout 3, and is again essentially a Browning M2HB receiver reversed and put into a package similar to the defunct Heckler & Koch SMG prototype, along with a pistol grip and trigger guard reminiscent of the Thompson line of submachine guns. It can be found on many mid-level humanoid mobs such as Jackal gang members and members of the Kings. It can also be found as level-adjusted loot in gun lockers once the player reaches a high enough level.
Although the in-game description for the 10mm SMG lists a high DPS, it shares the common weakness of most shotguns and automatic weapons in Fallout: New Vegas in that much of its theoretical power is negated by the Damage Threshold system. In addition to losing much of its damage, the high spread of this weapon requires the player to be at close ranges for all of the rounds fired to impact on the target. Despite this, if the player does manage to get into close range via stealth or ambushing it can be a powerful weapon against unarmored enemies.
It can be modified with an extended magazine (which raises ammo capacity from 30 to 40) and a recoil compensator.
The Gun Runners' Arsenal DLC adds a unique variant known as "Sleepytyme", which has an integral suppressor attached, greater damage, and a higher rate of fire. It is also an improved holdout weapon that can be carried into casinos (if the player's sneak skill is high enough) and is the only automatic holdout weapon available.
M3 "Grease Gun"
An M3 Grease Gun chambered for 9mm rounds appears as the "9mm Submachine Gun". It has a heavily shortened barrel and is scaled down so it can be held one-handed. It can be modified with drum magazines that increase ammo capacity by 30 rounds and a "light bolt" that increases the rate of fire. The 9mm SMG is fairly common, with the player being able to acquire one right at the start of the game with a high enough Repair skill. Its standard 30-round magazine and easy-to-find 9mm ammo make it one of the better starter weapons, but it loses its effectiveness once armor gets involved due to low damage and the thin 30 rounder mags.
The unique variant, "Vance's 9mm Submachine Gun", can be acquired by completing an unmarked quest to track it down after it was stolen from a casino dedicated to fictitious criminals Vikki & Vance, the latter of which owned the gun. Vikki & Vance are stated to have been contemporaries of Bonnie & Clyde, making their use of an M3 anachronistic by about ten years. Vance's 9mm SMG comes with a pristine black finish, wood or bakelite grips, no stock, and express-type sights. While like a majority of unique variants it cannot be modified, it comes with 60-round magazines and a rate of fire inbetween the default 9mm SMG and it with the light bolt modification, in addition to the usual unique variant upgrades. Increased damage, hit probability and the weird in-between rate of fire so you can spray wildly and actually hit what you're aiming at, a perfect way to spend your 9mm stocks late game.
The Lonesome Road DLC adds the "H&H Tools Nail Gun" as a weapon. The Nail Gun bears a striking resemblance to the M3, featuring a very similar profile and layout, even having the M3's crank lever and replacing the M3's ejection port with a safety switch. Should you find enough nails in either The Divide or the Mojave, keep them for this. Sure it's not as powerful as either of its original versions, but the double damage to limbs makes this an entertaining way to stop an annoying enemy from shooting you.
American-180
The American-180 appears in-game as the "Silenced .22 SMG". It lacks a stock and is integrally suppressed. In-game, it uses 180-round magazines which can be replaced with a larger pan magazine that holds 240 rounds, both of which are not available for the gun's real life counterpart. The American 180 can be found on Gomorrah Bank Guards and Fiend raiders in Vault 3. In-game, the gun is incorrectly depicted as closed-bolt with a reciprocating charging handle. When firing the American-180, it ejects intermediate bottlenecked casings, instead of nothing like the also-.22 LR Ruger.
Rare, yes as is having even close to enough ammo to even commit to a reload, but the gun is a raucous little riot in the right set of extremely specific circumstances. Full auto .22 HP on low armored enemies makes this a strange but incredibly entertaining bee dispenser.
"Laser RCW"
An M1928 Thompson-inspired energy weapon appears as the "Laser RCW" (Rapid Capacitor Weapon, according to the game's director Josh Sawyer). It holds 60 Electron Charge Packs in a drum and can be modified with a Recycler attachment, which replenishes 1 shot per 4 fired. In addition, on the rear portion of the receiver, it has a rail-top carry handle based on the H&K G36C's.
The RCW is a fairly common energy weapon, used by Fiends, Brotherhood of Steel scribes, and members of the Bright Brotherhood found scattered across the waste or at REPCONN. Using the somewhat uncommon ECP packs and allowing for a recycler to maximize its charge, the RCW is a proto-Gatling Laser and a good high ROF weapon for an early to mid game Energy Weapons build that lets you ditch a Recharger Rifle and have something to panic spray middling damage at.
Though not usable, normal M1928s appear on the cover for the "Milsurp Review" skill magazine, which temporarily raises the player's Guns skill by 10.
M1A1 Thompson*
The M1A1 Thompson appears as the ".45 Auto Submachine Gun", introduced in the Honest Hearts DLC. It can be modified with a Cutts compensator to reduce spread, as well as M1921/M1928 50-round drum magazines which somehow work with the M1A1's magazine well. The weapon is used heavily by the White Legs tribe, who call them "storm drums," and is stocked by a variety of traders in the Mojave following the completion of the DLC's campaign.
The .45 Auto SMG is a powerful SMG on par with the 12.7mm SMG, with a high rate of fire combined with powerful rounds, but tempered by poor accuracy, a heavy weight (11 pounds, about the weight of a fully loaded M1A1) and the rarity of its ammo at first. With a decent stash of .45 and the Grunt perk, you have a solid contender for an end-game SMG.
"12.7mm Submachine Gun"
The heavy-hitter of the submachine gun category, the "12.7mm submachine gun", while largely fictional, has some distinct features from some real-world weapons, using a top-mounted 21-round magazine that lies flat along the top of the weapon, rather like that of an FN P90 (interestingly, the rear sight is mounted to this magazine, rather like the Calico series), and what appears to be a TDI Vector-style offset recoil system (which, given the caliber, would probably be necessary). It can be found on the Legion's Veteran Decanii, and other high-ranking officials, as well as some of their assassins and vexillarius at higher levels, high-level White Legs in Honest Hearts, and both high-level marked men and Ulysses in Lonesome Road; one can also be found in Bloodborne Cave, and can be bought from some weapon merchants and the Great Khans at higher levels, as well as the Vendortron, and occasionally Knight Torres.
The Gun Runners' Arsenal DLC adds a version that can be customized further than the one in the base game - while the standard version can accept a suppressor (which, like the PGM Hecate II's suppressor, reduces enemies' ability to hear the weapon, rather than eliminating it), the GRA version can also be fitted with a laser sight (which increases accuracy), and a "Stacked Magazine" (which raises the capacity from 21 rounds to 27). The 12.7mm SMG is the best submachine gun in the game, due to the extremely powerful 12.7mm round. It shreds through light, medium and heavy armor and can take down high-end enemies like Rangers, Deathclaws and Paladins within a few mags. However, the scarcity of the ammo plus the relatively small magazine somewhat limits the 12.7mm SMG's power.
Rifles
Colt Model 733
The Colt Model 733 with a larger handguard appears as the "Assault Carbine". It is chambered for the fictional 5mm round (also used by the Minigun) and is the fastest firing rifle in the base game, tied with the LMG. It has a 24-round magazine by default (although the magazine itself is modelled after a 20-round one), but can be upgraded with a 30-round magazine. It, along with the other AR-15 derivatives below, lacks a charging handle on the rear of the carry handle, instead having a knob located directly on the bolt on the right side. The Assault Carbine can be found in many former military installations in the Mojave such as Vault 34 as well as the Nellis Air Force Base. Companion Lily Bowen's personal Assault Carbine is fitted with a suppressor, which is not available as a mod for either of the two playable Assault Carbine variants.
The Assault Carbine is a good armor breaker, allowing an easily aimed usage of 5mm ammo than the Minigun tempered by its still ridiculously fast fire rate. The Gun Runners' Arsenal DLC adds a variant of the Assault Carbine with additional modifications; a "forged receiver" which increases the weapon's durability, a "light bolt" which increases rate of fire, and an extended magazine which raises its capacity to 30 rounds.
Colt Model 933
A Colt Model 933 with a SIR railed foregrip, a Magpul PRS stock, and a low-power ACOG-style scope appears as the "Marksman Carbine". The Marksman Carbine is a somewhat uncommon weapon, with a few being located in Vault 34 and is purchasable from the Vendortron and Knight Torres in the Hidden Valley Bunker; it will, however, be frequently used by Legion assassins at high levels. It only holds 20 rounds, even though it is modelled with a 30-round magazine. The Marksman Carbine is a powerful carbine with some of the spicier 5.56 variants like HP or AP, capped mostly by how middling the damage is for 5.56 in-game.
The "All-American", the unique variant of the Marksman Carbine, is found only in the armory at the bottom of the irradiated, ghoul-infested Vault 34 located east of New Vegas. It has a woodland camo finish, a 24-round magazine (which is visually identical to the 30-round magazine on the base carbine), and an 82nd Airborne Division badge on the magazine well (although it tends to glitch and not show properly). The All-American is one of New Vegas's best scoped weapons, dealing accurate, high-damage shots without eating through rare ammunition. This damage can be further enhanced with the "Hand Loader" perk added with the Gun Runner's Arsenal DLC, which enables the creation of match 5.56 ammo that increases damage and accuracy with no downside.
Colt Model 715/Diemaco C7
A Diemaco C7/Colt Model 715 with M16A1-styled wood furniture (Fallout's world ran out of oil long ago) appears as the "Service Rifle". The prescence of a round forward assist button and M16A1E1 shell deflector pin it as a C7/Model 715. While rarely seen due to the weapon's high durability and low jam rate even at poor condition, the jam animation involves one of the few instances of the forward assist actually being used in fiction. It can be modified with a "forged receiver" that increases its durability and "upgraded springs" that increase its fire rate. An aperture sight and bayonet are included in the files, but were not implemented. As the name suggests, the Service Rifle is standard issue to the NCR Military and can be found wherever NCR Army troops are or were stationed.
It's a terrifically average rifle that allows a phase-out of the Varmint Rifle as the player's 5.56 caliber rifle, with better stats overall beyond a middling accuracy and lack of a suppressor option, but making up for it with semi automatic firepower. Strangely, the Service Rifle can not normally be cannibalized for parts to repair the Assault Carbine or Marksman Carbine and vice versa, even though in reality the three would share nearly all parts.
A unique Service Rifle chambered in 12.7mm called the "Survivalist's Rifle" appears in the Honest Hearts DLC. Its 12.7mm chambering is a nod to the real world .50 Beowulf conversions for the AR-15 platform, however, the 20-round STANAG magazine in the rifle holds an incorrect 10 rounds instead of a more plausible 7. This rifle was the weapon of Randall Clark, a US Army serviceman who fled to Zion Canyon after the Great War. It features a blocky handguard somewhat reminiscent of the M16 LSW/LMG along with a shortened barrel similar to that of the Colt Model 605, but has numerous makeshift repairs along the body work and a damaged front sight. The English and French words "STOP!" and "ARRÊT!" are scrawled onto the stock of the weapon, a marking on the receiver reads "PROPERTY OF U.S. GOVT CHKPNT CARBINE 12.7MM CAL", and another marking above the trigger reads "LONG BRANCH ARSENAL ONTARIO, USA TERRITORY". The Survivalist's Rifle can be found on top of the Red Gate, in a duffle bag next to the remains of the Survivalist himself. The Survivalist's Rifle lives up to its name - the accuracy of the standard Service Rifle combined with the power of the 12.7mm round are a lethal combination for any target, only capped by the damaged front sight hindering aiming (although in a roundabout way compensates for the game's slightly bugged iron sights system).
PGM Hecate II
The PGM Hecate II appears as the "Anti-Materiel Rifle". It is the first gun seen in the game; one is used during the opening FMV by an NCR Ranger to kill a Fiend countersniper. The Gun Runners' Arsenal DLC adds a variant that can be modified with a "carbon fibre body" which decreases weight, a "custom bolt" that increases rate of fire, and a suppressor which doesn't actually suppress gun noise but merely lowers and muffles the gun's extremely loud report to a more comfortable level. The Hecate appears very late in the game, sold by the Gun Runners or Knight Torres of the Brotherhood of Steel and only seen on Veteran Rangers, a few Legion troops and various DLC enemies.
The Hecate is a weapon intended for long-range shooting, easily able to pick through highly armored enemies including deathclaws, but has a slow fire rate, fires rare .50 BMG rounds, and requires a Strength of 8 and a Guns skill of 100 to even shoot properly. Because the Hecate II uses pre-existing animations shared with other bolt-action rifles, the Courier will hold the gun as if it had a rifle grip rather than by the PGM's pistol grip. According to project director Joshua Sawyer, the PGM Hecate II was modeled in the game for the .50 caliber rifle role because he thought Barrett rifles in other games were too repetitive.
"Varmint Rifle"
The "Varmint Rifle" is a fictitious bolt-action rifle with a 5-round detachable magazine. Originally, it was intended to use .22 LR rounds which were fed from a long, curved magazine, but this proved unpopular during play testing and was changed to 5.56mm rounds feeding from a small box magazine; some NPCs using the rifle still carry .22 LR rounds instead of 5.56mm, and one line of dialog still refers to its targets being "plinked". It can be upgraded with 8-round extended magazines, a night vision scope and a silencer. It is one of the first weapons available, as a free one is received from Sunny Smiles during the "Back in the Saddle" quest. It is a good starter rifle, boasting decent DPS and accuracy, but after armor is introduced, it becomes quickly obsolete. The combination of a scope and silencer remains unique for quite some time however.
The unique variant is called the "Ratslayer", which can be found in Broc Flower Cave. It has a black polymer stock featuring a stylized mole rat skull and 69 tally marks on the rear right. Should you manage to find this cave in the Level 9-12 range, you've picked up a delightful sidegrade rifle with an increased fire rate, damage and scope zoom to the fully modded Varmint Rifle and a very effective way to silently take down enemies at range until you get the suppressed Sniper Rifle.
M1 Garand
An M1 Garand rechambered for .308 rounds was supposed to appear in Fallout: New Vegas as the "Battle Rifle", but was cut from the final game. The unique variant of the Battle Rifle, however, was not cut and appears in the base game. Named "This Machine" (a reference to Woodie Guthrie's famous guitar sticker, which read "This Machine Kills Fascists"; seemingly as a response, the in-game weapon's stock is marked "Well This Machine Kills Commies"), it can be acquired by completing the unmarked quest "Dealing with Contreras". Both This Machine and the Battle Rifle weigh the correct 9.5 pounds for an M1 Garand. This Machine is a deceiving rifle, seemingly boring with its damage statistics and middling long range accuracy but making up the dividend in repeat fire power. You don't think it's good until 8 shots of .308 AP crit a Centurion.
The Gun Runners' Arsenal DLC added the base Battle Rifle back into the game. The Battle Rifle can only be obtained from traders. The Battle Rifle serves as a semi-automatic .308 rifle to not so much replace the Hunting Rifle but give you more options. Decently accurate bar its high spread at range with a quick reload and decent damage, it's a good mid-game rifle.
Winchester Model 1892
The Winchester Model 1892 appears as the "Cowboy Repeater". It is chambered for .357 Magnum, and can be upgraded with an extended magazine tube that increases its capacity from 7 rounds to 11, a maple stock to reduce weight, and a "custom action" that engraves the receiver and increases rate of fire. The rifle is scattered in most of the early game areas, including the various former Powder Gangers in Primm and the NCRCF and other factions sporadically in the wasteland. It's a functional and serviceable mid-game rifle, with a high rate of fire in comparison to the bolt-action Varmint or Hunting Rifles and a relatively effective damage to boot. It doesn't hold up once metal armor shows up, but you wouldn't expect a .357 rifle to punch through plates.
The unique variant is named "La Longue Carabine" (a reference to The Last of the Mohicans) fitted with a scope, the extended magazine tube available for the base rifle, an engraved stock, and an octagonal barrel. It also lacks a loading gate, and as such recycles Fallout 3's reloading animations for the Henry 1860, opening the muzzle-end of the magazine tube and then inserting rounds in (although there is no follower tab to lead the cartridges in the tube). Likely due to a bug, the action on this specific repeater remains still during cycling animations, with it only moving in its reload animation (where it clips through the also-static hammer). It is found on Corporal Sterling of the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion at Camp McCarran. Take all of the normal rifle's benefits and add a decent scope and a faster reload, and you have a gun made to bully Fiends in their dorky raider armor.
Marlin Model 336
The Marlin Model 336 appears as the "Trail Carbine", and is chambered in .44 Magnum. Its only modification is a scope, although unused custom furniture and a receiver upgrade for this repeater can be found in the game's files. The Trail Carbine is mostly a straight upgrade over the Cowboy Repeater, with more damage and critical hit power and the ability to mount a scope as a mod. Within the game's environment, this rifle can be found in places such as Bonnie Springs or Red Rock Canyon. Don't knock it till you try it.
Marlin Model 1895
The Marlin Model 1895 appears as the "Brush Gun", firing .45-70 Gov't rounds out of a six-round tube magazine. It is a rare weapon, primarily used by NCR Veteran Rangers and Legion assassins. The Brush Gun is one of the best rifles in the game, with high power and decent accuracy with a plethora of flavors of custom ammo to sink the skill points you need to make this thing effectively into. Do not doubt how utterly busted the HP .45-70 is out of this thing. A Model 1895 also appears on the "Ultimate Edition" boxart, with slight differences due to these images being illustrations instead of using the game's 3D model.
The Gun Runners' Arsenal DLC adds a unique variant of the Brush Gun known as the "Medicine Stick" (presumably a reference to Theodore Roosevelt's Winchester Model 1895 in .405 Winchester, which he called his "Big Medicine"). It features a much less intrusive ghost ring sight, a stainless steel or nickel finish on the reciever, and what appears to be a medicine wheel on its stock. The Medicine Stick is better in every way than the Brush Gun, albeit not as overwhelmingly as the other GRA weapons. That being said it's still a high powered and accurate boomstick with more accuracy and an easier to read sight picture.
"Hunting Rifle"
The Winchester Model 70-inspired "Hunting Rifle" returns from Fallout 3. Like its counterpart in Fallout 3, it is a bolt-action rifle feeding from a five-round detachable magazine, but now has proper iron sights and chambers .308 Winchester. It can be modified with 10-round magazines, a "custom action" that cleans the bolt and reciever, as well as increasing rate of fire, and a 3.5x scope for long-range shooting. The rifle is fairly common in the hands of some NCR soldiers, Fiends, Legionaries, and other Wastelanders; a Fiend during the opening cutscene makes the incredibly poor choice of using one in an attempt to counter-snipe an NCR Ranger, which ends rather predictably. Companion Craig Boone uses a scoped version, the only companion weapon to have a modification installed (excluding Lily Bowen's Assault Carbine, though the suppressor on that rifle is unobtainable by the player). The Hunting Rifle is one of the perfect mid to high level rifles, accurate, reliable on damage and moddable to let it carry you all the way towards the AMR or Sniper Rifle.
The Gun Runners' Arsenal DLC adds the "Paciencia" (Spanish for Patience) unique variant, which can be bought from Cliff Briscoe in Novac. It is cleaner than the regular rifle and lacks the makeshift repairs done to that version, as well as having a Mexican flag wrapped around the stock and a gold bead sight. Panciencia deals extra critical damage and has high reliability, but only has a three-round magazine (identical to the regular rifle's 5-round magazine). It also boasts a 3.5x zoom, despite only having iron sights. According to lead designer Josh Sawyer, this rifle was called "Paciencia" because its user "better make them (the three shots per magazine) count".
"Gauss Rifle"
The "Gauss Rifle" returns from Fallout 3's Operation: Anchorage DLC, now sporting a buttplate on the stock. While fictional, the Gauss Rifle is rather clearly inspired by the Lahti L-39 anti-tank rifle, particularly in the receiver area; it even retains the L-39's crank-type cocking handle (which is only used when the rifle "jams" by rotating it back into place). The weapon uses microfusion cells, of which it holds 5, and consumes 5 per shot, essentially making it a single-shot rifle. Bizarrely, while the weapon still does behave as a coilgun logically should, propelling ferromagnetic projectiles with electromagnetism, these projectiles (presumably contained in the weapon's side-mounted box magazine) are never replenished, and never run out. It is found on BoS Paladins, Y-17 Trauma Override Harnesses in Old World Blues, and Father Elijah in Dead Money, and can be bought from Knight Torres (provided the appropriate quests have been completed) and the Silver Rush. The Gauss Rifle is the sniper rifle option for characters using energy weapons, with very high damage outclassing even the Hecate II that will cause hilarious overkill on anything short of Deathclaws, though this damage can only be dealt slowly.
The unique variant of the Gauss Rifle, the "YCS/186" (a reference to Your Console Sucks, a Something Awful forum with the ID of 186) is found on a mercenary in a camp east of Brooks Tumbleweed Ranch (unless the trait Wild Wasteland is selected, where it is replaced with aliens and unavailable in normal gameplay). The YCS/186 uses only 4 MFCs per shot, does more damage, and is slightly more accurate than the Gauss Rifle, but is one pound heavier. Make of that what you will, but you'll have to sacrifice getting the Alien Blaster to get this.
Heckler & Koch G3
An early-pattern G3 (or, more precisely, the R91 Assault Rifle from Fallout 3), while not a playable weapon in-game, appears on the "Commando" perk icon, as well as the "Aggressive" Companion wheel setting.
Additionally, the "Infiltrator" (a variant of the G3 with a longer magazine, no stock, a black synthetic forearm, and a suppressor) from the Fallout 3 DLC The Pitt is visible in Mick's special weapon stash, but is also unusable.
"Chinese Assault Rifle"
A poster for Freddy Fear's House of Scares (seen in Fallout 3) can be found in the El Rey Motel, and another can be found in a collapsed office building in the "Lonesome Road" DLC. This poster depicts several children dressed in the company's costumes, one of whom wields a rifle; while highly indistinct, given how the rifle appears to have an AK-style magazine and an RPD-like handguard, and that this costume is meant to be a Chinese soldier, it is reasonable to assume that it is supposed to represent the "Chinese Assault Rifle" from Fallout 3.
The rifle itself also appears in the game in a non-usable form. During the quest "How Little We Know" the Courier may be tasked with destroying a weapons stockpile using thermite; amid the rubble is the front sight and muzzle of a Chinese Assault Rifle. The rifle's magazines also appear as the pickup model for 5.56mm rounds.
"Sniper Rifle"
The fictitious "Sniper Rifle" from Fallout 3 (based on the also fictitious "DKS-501 Sniper Rifle" from Fallout and Fallout 2) returns. It is a semi-automatic rifle with a 3.5x scope and a five-round detachale magazine holding .308 rounds. It is rather rare, only being purchasable from a handful of merchants, or found in some rather out-of-the-way locations. It has two available modifications - a suppressor to reduce the weapon's report, and "carbon fiber parts", which impressively lower its weight from 8 pounds to 3. As the name implies, the Sniper Rifle is one of the best long-range weapons in the game, suffering only from a slow fire rate and low durability.
There is one unique variant of the Sniper Rifle in the base game, the Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle, which is found in a locked gun case in the Sniper's Nest near Cottonwood Cove. It has an extended magazine, a more solid thumbhole stock (rather than the odd partially-completed skeletal thumbhole stock of the standard variant), a slightly shortened barrel (in spite of the noticeably better accuracy), and a desert camouflage paint scheme. According to the game's lore, it was originally issued to the U.S. Armed Forces in the Gobi Desert campaign in China prior to the 2077 nuclear war (although how it then managed to wind up in a sniper's nest in the Mojave isn't particularly clear). Gameplay-wise, it has a lower weight (4.5 pounds), an extended magazine holding 6 rounds, slightly higher damage, a lower AP cost in VATS, a higher fire rate, better durability, better critical damage, and better accurate, with the only downside being the inability to accept mods.
The Old World Blues DLC added a second unique variant, "Christine's CoS Silencer Rifle". It is found in a decrepit building to the north of Little Yangtze. It has the highest damage of the 3 variants (not to mention the highest damage of any suppressed weapon, and the highest non-crit damage of anything chambering .308), a weight of 5.5 pounds, slightly better durability (though not as good as that of the Gobi rifle), and a critical chance multiplier of 2.5 (compared to the 2 of the other variants), at the cost of a higher AP cost in VATS, and the inability to accept mods (although it already has a suppressor and is only 2.5 pounds heavier than the Sniper Rifle with carbon fiber parts). The weapon was originally owned by Christine Royce of the Circle of Steel (hence the name), a sub-group within the Brotherhood of Steel, and was later left behind while she hunted for Elijah.
M1903 Springfield
While it is quite hard to spot, the model of the BB Gun's loader has a logo that features an M1903 Springfield. The weapon does not make any sort of physical appearance in-game.
Machine Guns
"Light Machine Gun"
The "Light Machine Gun" consists of the receiver and stock of an M249, and the handguard and barrel assembly from an M60. It also has some other non-standard features including a shortened stock (presumably to prevent clipping into character models when shouldered), a wooden carry handle, pistol grip and handguard, a differently designed front sight post, and a detachable 90-round magazine as opposed to a belt box. The last can be modified with the "expanded drums" upgrade to hold 200 rounds. The weapon's sights are a somewhat bizarre reversed notch setup. It can be found on a few high-level enemies, in the back of the Deathclaw-infested Quarry Junction, or purchased at a high enough level. Unlike the real M249, the LMG appears to fire from a closed bolt and its charging handle reciprocates when fired. The Light Machine Gun is a powerful weapon for players with a large supply of 5.56mm rounds, giving them a large magazine and a controllable rate of fire to allow them to fulfill their fantasies of being post-apocalyptic Rambo.
The Gun Runners' Arsenal DLC adds the fictitious, seemingly Barrett M82A1-inspired "Bozar", which previously appeared in Fallout 2, though it lacks that version's bizarre 15-round burst. While ostensibly the unique variant of the Light Machine Gun, in practice the Bozar has nothing to do with the LMG outside of reusing its animations and being compatible with repairing the former when its condition has deteriorated enough, having a completely different design. The Bozar essentially acts as a fully-automatic long-range rifle, with a 2.43x scope and 30-round magazines. How viable that exactly is will be up to you.
M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle*
The M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle was added in Dead Money, the first DLC for New Vegas, as the "Automatic Rifle". It has a pistol grip and stock that resemble those on the Colt Monitor and European copies. This weapon is chambered in .308 ammunition and as such is the only fully automatic weapon in the game that utilizes this ammo. It can be modified with "upgraded internals" that increase its rate of fire by 10%. Interestingly, the menu icon for the BAR shows the bipod unfolded, whereas it is folded and unusable in the game itself. It is hidden in a number of locations around the Sierra Madre, but much like the Colt New Service, cannot be obtained outside of the DLC's map.
It is the least accurate automatic weapon in the game, even worse than the SMGs, as it never received the post-launch accuracy buff to full-auto weapons. This problem is compounded by its small capacity magazines, low fire rate (even when upgraded), high weight at 16lbs (even beating out the LMG which is a pound lighter), and poor durability. It is however one of the few full auto .308 weapons, allowing you to combo silly ammo with its high damage; the highest of NV's automatic weapons, including all of the more zanier options available.
Shotguns
Remington 870 Wingmaster
The Remington 870 Wingmaster (with the magazine tube cap of a Winchester) appears as the "Hunting Shotgun". Sprinkled in random Vegas caves, used by mid tier NPC's like Great Khans, Viper Leaders, NCR Heavy troopers and in certain corners of farmhouses, it has both a choke and extended mag tube as mods. It's also ruthlessly effective, being not only incredibly powerful but accurate. In comparison to the Riot Shotgun, the Hunting Shotgun's accuracy focus makes it a more utilitarian scattergun for all encounters.
The unique version, "Dinner Bell", has synthetic camo furniture and is the most accurate shotgun in the game. Dinner Bell is a reward for the quest "Bleed Me Dry", given by Red Lucy, who runs The Thorn. The most accurate shotgun tip is not a joke, the Dinner Bell is a VERY accurate shotgun that makes very effective use of almost any custom ammo you can stuff in it. Slugs, Coin Shot, Magnum shells, you name it and this gun will pattern that blast directly into whatever you need dead.
Over-and-Under Shotgun
A 20 gauge over/under double-barrel shotgun called the "Caravan Shotgun" appears in-game. Visually, it bears resemblance to a Winchester Model 101 and Otto Seelig brand Over/Unders. The "Caravan Shotgun" is commonly found on, fittingly, Crimson Caravan guards, alongside any other caravan affiliates like the Gun Runner's guards, Caleb McAfferty and potential companion Cass. It is also one of the few guns that can be found in Dead Money's first half, though ammo being limited to random spawns makes it not particularly practical for this location. The Caravan Shotgun is a decent weapon, being an almost direct upgrade over the Single Shotgun with moderately less accuracy at a cost of still being capped by the 20 gauge chambering.
Players who pre-ordered the 'Caravan Pack' version of New Vegas (or purchased the Courier's Stash DLC) acquired a "Sturdy Caravan Shotgun" at the start of the game. There is little difference visually aside from colors; gameplay-wise it has increased damage and durability at the cost of accuracy.
"Riot Shotgun"
The "Riot Shotgun" is a fictitious semi-automatic shotgun (bearing some very loose similarites to the Hawk Semi-Auto) chambered for 12 gauge rounds fed from a 12-round drum magazine. Despite also using 12 gauge rounds, the shells ejected are noticeably smaller than those of the Hunting Shotgun. It is a rare find in the Mojave, usually being found on specific troops at Hoover Dam, or on Gomorrah Bank Guards. It may also be wielded by enemies during the Honest Hearts and Lonesome Road DLCs if the player's level is high enough.
The Riot Shotgun is far and away the fastest-firing shotguns in the game allowing you to send shells as fast as you think you need to. It's also one of the heaviest in the game, with a middling spread and damage alongside eating up a lot of 12 gauge ammo if you're not careful. That being said, the Riot Shotgun is a great candidate to pair with the "And Stay Back" perk which grants each fired pellet a chance to knock down targets.
Winchester 1887
A sawn-off Winchester Model 1887 appears as the "Lever-action Shotgun". Unlike the real weapon, it is chambered for 20 gauge shells. It is not the most common weapon in the game, being found on a few vendors, carried by guards of the Followers of the Apocalypse or Crimson Caravan guards and sold by many vendors.
It is generally the best 20 gauge shotgun, being given a proper magazine and a fast rate of fire to capitalize on sending as much 20 gauge as fast as possible. That being said the middling returns on damage you get with 20 gauge and the overall bad ability for 20 gauge to kill anything you're aiming at once armor is involved makes this less ideal long-term. That and a sluggish reload. It is affected by both the Cowboy and Shotgun Surgeon perks, so you can make an interesting combo with that.
New England Pardner
The New England Firearms Pardner appears in the game as the "Single Shotgun". The Single Shotgun is used by members of the Powder Gangers and lower level enemies. One such shotgun can be found in one of the houses in Goodsprings. The Single Shotgun is a good starter shotgun, with very good accuracy and the highest per-shot damage of any 20 gauge shotgun in the game at a cost of its lack of real damage to anything wearing armor, and it being outclassed by any other shotgun in almost every other respect.
Occasionally, the Courier will encounter Single Shotguns rigged up as tripwire-based traps, commonly set at doorways, replacing the fictional "Combat Shotgun" from Fallout 3. Bizarrely, when a rigged shotgun is disarmed, it will remove the shotgun from the trap (unlike other traps, this can be done even after the trap has been activated - provided, that is, that the player character has a Repair skill of at least 45), and will grant the Courier a 20 gauge shell; it will not, however, give them the shotgun itself, despite removing it from the trap, which begs the question of where it actually goes when this happens. Additionally, if a trap was disarmed after it has been triggered, it will still yield one full shell, instead of an empty hull (which is also an item in the game).
Sawn-Off Side-By-Side Shotgun
The sawn-off side-by-side shotgun from Fallout 3 returns, again as the "Sawed-Off Shotgun". It has mostly the same model as that game, but has a completely new texture (with an overall cleaner look, different screw placement, and an altered pistol grip texture/material) and only has one trigger, which somehow fires both barrels at the same time. As it is also held one-handed, this would likely be extremely painful for the user. This does mean it is effectively a single-shot weapon gameplay-wise, but the large amount of pellets fired and its 12 gauge chambering mean that it is the highest-damage shotgun (and the second highest damage of any weapon) in the game. As expected of a sawn-off shotgun the spread is extreme, and it is also the least durable shotgun. Rounding out this odd package, it can be brought into weapon-free areas if the player character has a Sneak skill of 50 or above. The Sawed-off is quite common in the Mojave, being carried by Ralph of Mick and Ralph's, some Fiends, Jessup, Omerta "button men", and bartenders at The Tops and Gomorrah, and being purchasable from Mick of Mick and Ralph's, and the Vendortron. Notably, they can also be obtained from Heck Gunderson during "Beyond the Beef", if the player chooses to tell him where his son is, and from Cachino during "How Little We Know" (along with thirty 12 gauge Magnum shells) if the player chooses to help him deal with Big Sal and Nero.
A unique variant with a darker, more worn look called the "Big Boomer" is carried by Old Lady Gibson, and can only be acquired by either stealing it from or killing her. Compared to the standard Sawed-Off, it is nearly a direct upgrade, with higher damage, a tighter spread, higher rate of fire, and a lower AP cost in VATS, with the only downside being the inability to carry it into weapons-free areas (regardless of the player's Sneak skill).
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Launchers
M79 Grenade Launcher
The M79 Grenade Launcher appears as the "Grenade Rifle". It can be found in several locations and is sold by many different vendors. It can be upgraded with a "long barrel" to increase grenade velocity and range. Because the launcher reuses the 20 gauge Pardner's reload animation, its user will cock a non-existent external hammer. The M79 is baby's first explosive weapon, with middling damage and a fast rate of fire but inferior to later grenade launchers. Don't knock it though, it's got a key fun trick. Knocking over enemies.
The M79 has the distinction of having the highest number of unique variants of any weapon in the game. The first is "Thump-Thump" found in the Nellis Array. It comes with the long barrel modification built-in and has a lighter-colored stock with a drawing of an angry beaver holding a rifle on it. In addition to having the effects of the long barrel modification built-in, Thump-Thump also fires faster, is more durable, and weighs slightly less. All for the low cost of finding it amongst the ants of the Array.
If the player preordered a version of the game that came with the "Mercenary Pack" or bought the Courier's Stash DLC, they acquire the "Mercenary's Grenade Rifle" at the start of the game. It is almost identical to the base Grenade Rifle, only with a slightly darker color, slightly less weight, and not requiring skill in Explosives to use.
The Lonesome Road DLC adds the "Red Victory Grenade Rifle", with a stock painted to resemble the Chinese flag, and the "Great Bear Grenade Rifle", which has a blue grip and forend and a white Army star on the grip. The Red Victory can only be acquired if the player chooses to nuke the Legion at the end of the DLC, and the Great Bear only if the player chooses to nuke the NCR. The Red Victory is faster firing, weighs less, and is more durable compared to the base Grenade Rifle. The Great Bear is slightly heavier than the Red Victory (but still lighter than the base Grenade Rifle), but is much more durable and does more damage than the base Grenade Rifle.
China Lake Launcher
The China Lake Launcher appears as the "Grenade Launcher". Unlike the real weapon, it has a 4-round tube magazine (as opposed to the real China Lake's 3-round tube magazine) and a much lower stock, presumably so that it can reuse animations from the Remington 870. Most Boomers carry it, along with one of the caravan guards at the start of the Honest Hearts DLC, and it can also be found in a few locations or purchased from several traders.
Consistent with New Vegas's design philosophy of making less powerful weapons still valuable after the player has found an "upgrade", while it initially appears to be an upgrade in every way over the Grenade Rifle, the Grenade Launcher is a fiddly beast with a less consistent damage output than the Grenade Rifle, due to the longer reloads. Additionally unlike the Grenade Rifle, the Launcher has no extended barrel upgrade to increase its range, which limits its potential for long range bombardment without extensive practice in learning its projectile arc.
A modified version named the "Holorifle" appears in the Dead Money DLC, with a futuristic short-range scope and various electronic pieces to convert the weapon to a microfusion cell-based energy weapon, firing some kind of odd hard light projectiles, and loading microfusion cells into the tube magazine and ejecting them after firing. It is given to the player once they arrive at the Sierra Madre. The Holorifle is decent against the enemies that stalk the Madre, though microfusion cells are hard to find there.
"Grenade Machinegun"
The "Grenade Machinegun" is a fictitious large fully-automatic grenade launcer firing 25mm grenades. It is comparable to the game's miniguns and flamethrowers in size and layout, also having an ammo storage carried on the user's back. The gun carries a large amount of electronics, complete with a monitor at the top that displays Bash script; as the "high-speed kit" modification which improves the rate of fire changes the colors of the electronics on the side, they appear to assist in feeding the weapon. The large muzzle brake, drum magazine, side-mounted handle and use of small-caliber grenades bears some resemblance to the Norinco QLZ-87 automatic grenade launcher, though unlike the QL, the barrel is reciprocating, implying recoil operation instead of the gas operation of the QLZ. Instead of the drum being replaced when reloading, the side of the drum opens up and the Courier inserts in a disc-shaped rack of grenades, which is presumably kept in the ammo storage on their back. The Grenade Machinegun is a fairly powerful late game explosive weapon in comparison to the Missile Launcher or Fatman, a high damage but relatively controllable death machine capped by the rarity of 25mm ammo in the wastes.
The unique variant, "Mercy", can be found in Dead Wind Cavern. Apparently a relic from before the nukes fell, it has "Hei Gui Bye Bye" spraypainted on its body (Hei Gui is the name of a group of Chinese commandos in the game) and is in an extremely rusty state, though it still has two-and-a-half times the durability of a standard grenade machinegun. It also rocks a rechambering to 40mm, drastically improving its damage and power at a cost of reduced ammo capacity and making it harder to keep this stocked up when playing on Hardcore due to how heavy 40mm ammo is.
"25mm Grenade APW"*
The Gun Runners' Arsenal DLC adds the "25mm Grenade APW" (Anti-Personnel Weapon), a fictitious semi-automatic grenade launcher firing 25mm grenades from a six-round detachable box magazine. While fictional, the 25mm Grenade APW bears a very loose resemblance to some semi-auto shotguns, like the Remington 1100. Being a GRA weapon, it is only available from traders, being sold by the Gun Runners, the Boomers, Alexander at the 188 Trading Post, among others.
It serves as an interesting midway in the explosives category, doing slightly less damage than the 40mm launchers and not providing as much overall firepower as the Grenade Machinegun, but is lighter and more portable than either, while still retaining great lethality. The APW has three available modifications: "Upgraded Internals" which increases fire rate by 25%; a longer barrel, which doubles projectile velocity and range; and an 8-round extended magazine (called an "expanded drum", despite not actually being a drum magazine).
Grenades & Explosives
M84 Stun Grenade*
The Lonesome Road DLC adds the M84 stun grenade as the "Flash Bang". Unlike regular grenades, it deals fatigue damage, reduces enemy weapon skills, and has a chance to frenzy Tunnelers.
Prior to its addition in Lonesome Road, the M84 appeared as an unused weapon in the base game named the "Stun Grenade". This version had circular holes in the body and a differently-shaped fuse and lever.
"Frag Grenade"
The fictional "Frag Grenades" returning from Fallout 3 are heavily based on the Danish M23 Haanbombe. In-game, they can be found in boxes and crates in certain locations, looted from Recruit Legionaries, and bought from some merchants (including the Vendortron). The Frag Grenade is also an improved holdout weapon, meaning that any Courier with a Sneak skill of 50 or higher can take them into weapons-free zones, though their quality as a stealth weapon is obviously highly dubious.
Occasionally, the Courier will run into traps consisting of three frag grenades hanging from a ceiling, a setup that the game rather affectionately calls a "Grenade Bouquet". If the Courier has an Explosives skill of 30 or more, then they can retrieve these grenades for later use.
If the player has the Wild Wasteland trait, a box in the basement of Camp Searchlight's church that normally contains mini-nukes will instead contain three unique "Holy Frag Grenades", identical to the regular grenades except for a white cross painted onto the body. Compared to the standard frag grenade, the Holy Frag Grenade has a far larger and more damaging explosion, and leaves radiation in its wake, much like a mini-nuke. The Holy Frag Grenades as a whole, as well as the text found near to them on a box, are a reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
AN/M14 Incendiary Grenade
The game's "Incendiary Grenade", while somewhat generic, seems to be an AN/M14 incendiary grenade with a black-and-orange coloration. Its markings claim it is an "AN-2051 INCENDIARY GRENADE", as well as a "MODEL 0531". The incendiary grenade can be found in several locations, though it isn't as widespread as the Frag Grenade. Like other grenades, the Incendiary Grenade is an improved holdout weapon.
M112 C4 Demolition Charge
The in-game C4 charges are composed of 4 US-issue M112 C4 charges held together with tape. In-game, they are quite powerful, and can be found in several locations, albeit in small numbers. While the player requires a detonator to set them off normally, one is not absolutely necessary, as the in-game C4 can erroneously be detonated by gunfire, something which does not happen with actual C4.
Satchel Charge
Satchel Charges are added in Lonesome Road and essentially function as extremely buffed mines, having an extremely low fuse and an extremely powerful explosion.
TM-46 Anti-Tank Mine
The "Frag Mine", a recoloured and shrunken TM-46 anti-tank mine, returns from the previous game. It functions more or less the same as it did in Fallout 3, producing a small explosion after beeping for a few seconds when a target gets close enough, the duration and proximity for detection depending on the Courier's Explosives skill. Mines planted as traps can be found in a variety of locations, sometimes hidden under corpses or other objects.
In Dead Money, another variant of the TM-46 appears; it is known as the "Demolition Charge", and must be bought from Sierra Madre vending machines for 75 chips each after the appropriate holotape is found. Compared to the more common Frag Mine, Demo Charges feature a negligibly higher amount of damage and no Explosives skill requirement, but are also three times as heavy, weighing 1.5 pounds instead of 0.5. It also has a different skin, sporting a yellower body with diagonal black stripes along the sides and a partially-obscured radiation symbol on top (though the charge does not afflict any radiation damage).
Other
Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun
The Red Ryder returns from Fallout 3, again as the "BB Gun". Markings on the loader claim it to be a "Raider BB Rifle". It is the weakest ranged weapon in the game - which makes sense, it being a toy rather than an actual weapon. It has a capacity of 100 BBs instead of the real gun's 650, and its accuracy is somewhat poor. It can be found in a variety of locations, including (but not limited to): toy boxes, the Nellis schoolhouse, a shack at the top of Coyote Mines, Blue Paradise Vacation Rentals, a house in Nipton, the Great Khan armorer (sometimes), and Coach's office in Old World Blues. Amusingly enough, despite being an airgun firing BBs, it it still considered a firearm by the game, and is thus capable of certain odd things, such as igniting flammable vapors with its nonexistent muzzle blast.
The unique variant of the weapon, the "Abilene Kid LE BB Gun", is visually identical to the base version visually except for a marking on the stock denoting it as part of a 200-strong limited edition. It is nearly identical statistics-wise to the standard BB Gun, save for better durability, a slightly higher crit chance (1.5 instead of 1), and secretly boasts an extremely high critical damage boost, bumping it from a base damage of 4 to a whopping 70 on a critical hit (compared to the standard variant's critical damage of 6.2 and higher than any weapon in the game except for the Brush Gun, Medicine Stick, Anti-Materiel Rifle, Paciencia and Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle.); furthermore, with the correct perks, this can be raised all the way to 157. The Abilene Kid LE BB Gun can be found in Fields' Shack, or in Jimmy's Well if the player has the Wild Wasteland trait (which is located directly in front of Fields' Shack).
Fictional AA Gun
A fictional type of anti-aircraft gun, seemingly based on the Schwerer Gustav 80cm railway gun and heavily scaled down, is seen in pre-war emplacements on Hoover Dam. Additionally, the fixed artillery pieces found at the X-7a site at Big MT in Old World Blues, which can be used to fire a Saturnite round at the X-7b site, seem to be a variant of the AA gun, being constructed of some of the same parts.
"Flamer"
The fictitious "Flamer" flamethrower returns from Fallout 3. Due to the Big Guns skill no longer existing, it is classed as an Energy Weapon. Its model is identical to the Fallout 3 version, and so again seems to be based on the M9A1-7 Flamethrower, with a backpack similar to that of the M2 Flamethrower. In-game, it is found in a few locations, including two of The Strip's casinos (the Gomorrah and the Ultra Luxe), in the Silver Rush, on the Fiend leader Cook-Cook, in Vaults 3 and 22, and on the Marked Man Blister in Lonesome Road. The Flamer has one modification - "Expanded Tanks", which double its ammunition capacity. Low damage, high rate of fire and usually defeating armor, if you can take the brunt of getting shot while using it, it's a messy but fun main arm for Energy Weapon builds.
The Gun Runners' Arsenal DLC adds a unique variant of the Flamer to the game, the "Cleansing Flame". Compared to the standard Flamer, it weighs more (22 pounds instead of 15), costs slightly more AP to use in VATS, does slightly less base damage, has a lower crit chance, and has a higher spread, but is more durable, holds 100 units of fuel (higher than the Flamer's base capacity, but lower than the Flamer with expanded tanks), and has a slightly longer after-burn effect that increases in both damage and duration with the user's Energy Weapons skill. Visually, it has 2 moderately-sized fuel tanks and 1 smaller pressure tank (rather than the 2 small fuel tanks and one large pressure tank of the standard version), a narrower nozzle, three orange fuel lines on the wand (rather than the single black one of the normal Flamer), and a distinctive blue flame effect.
M101 Howitzer
Somewhat oversized M101 Howitzers appear in a few locations in the game, notably at Nellis AFB and The Fort. The one at the Fort is broken, and the Legion sidequest "I Hear You Knocking" has the player go to Nellis AFB to retrieve a replacement firing mechanism.
Vertibird Minigun
The front exterior of "Vertibird" tiltrotors are fitted with an M134-style minigun. While the gun itself isn't very detailed, it still has a discernible flash suppressor attached and an ammo chute modelled. The Vertibird vehicle (and mounted gun) model was reused from Fallout 3.
