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Sniper Rifle

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The Sniper Rifle as seen in Fallout 3.

The DKS-501 Sniper Rifle is an excellent long range projectile weapon. Originally .308, versions chambered in other calibers are also common.

Contents

[edit] Fallout and Fallout 2

Sniper Rifle
File:sniperrifle.gif
damage: 14 - 34
damage type: Normal
ammo Type .223 FMJ
ammo capacity: 6
min. Strength: 5
hands req.: 2
weight: 10 pounds
cost: $2200

Originally .308, this version is chambered in the more common .223 caliber. This rifle allows the user to do insane damage to the critical body areas, if player has the stats to back it up. The Sniper Rifle does not share the same reduction in accuracy when enemies close in as the Scoped Hunting Rifle.

The Sniper Rifle boasts good damage, max range, and ammo for it is quite common. It has two glaring flaws however - it has a small ammo capacity, and costs an extra AP to fire. This means targeted shots, although accurate, take 7 AP to fire.

If you look closely, the sniper rifle looks quite similar to the Wattz 2000 Laser Rifle

[edit] Fallout 3

Sniper Rifle
Attack statistics
dmg/attack: 40
DPS: 42.856
attacks/sec: 1.0714
# of projectiles: 1
spread: 0
Criticals
crit dmg: 40
crit chance: x 5
Ammunition
ammo type: .308 caliber
ammo per shot: 1
ammo capacity: 5
shots/reload: 5
Other
skill: Small Guns
AP: 38
item HP: 100
repair: Sniper Rifles
weight: 10
value: 300
base id: 00004353
xx003f48(sim version)

The rifle is an older model of the famed DKS-501. Still chambered for .308 ammunition, it's also extremely fragile and requires regular repair and maintenance to keep it in working condition.

The Sniper Rifle is much more effective when fired outside V.A.T.S. mode, as V.A.T.S. does not take into account accuracy bonuses of the weapon's scope.

Outside V.A.T.S., with 100 Small Guns, the weapon can shoot as far as the game will draw NPCs (Playing at high resolutions will greatly improve NPC visibility). However, the point of impact is higher than where the center of the scope is aimed. After the fire button is pressed, the scope aim will very rapidly jump up and shift slightly to the right almost at the same time the shot is actually fired. This is to simulate how the amount of force required to pull the trigger impacts the user's aim as it is pulled. See the images below to determine how to compensate for this.

The sniper rifle has very noticeable sway to it when manually aimed. The sway can be reduced with either a higher skill level in small guns, or when in sneak mode. At 100 points in Small Guns, the scope has no sway at all, though even at 100 points in Small Guns, having either of your arms crippled will result in severe sway while using the scope.

The first two images below, taken from the southwest guard platform at Fort Bannister, will be a 1-shot kill. The color of the first shot has been inverted to improve clarity. The third picture shows how much aim compensation is needed for a head shot at very long ranges.

It can be noted that the point of impact is always at the same length up along the vertical crosshair line above the center of the scope and slightly to the right.

[edit] Variants

  • Victory Rifle - While identical in strength to the Sniper Rifle, the Victory Rifle has an additional 200 item HP, and knocks down targets with critical hits. However, it pays for this ability with a reduced crit chance, 3.
  • Reservist's Rifle - Also identical to the Sniper Rifle in strength, the Reservist's Rifle uses less AP to fire, but only holds 3 rounds in a magazine.

[edit] Notes

  • Underneath the barrel there is a monopod, but it cannot be used.
  • Every shot from a Sniper Rifle decreases its value by 5 Bottle caps (Fallout 3) 
  • Even without Bloody Mess, sniper rifles can result in some fantastically gory kills, usually with the enemy's skull exploding. Weaker enemies frequently have several limbs blown off or are even reduced to mulch by a single shot.

[edit] Locations

[edit] Fallout Tactics

Sniper Rifle
File:SniperRifleTactics.png
damage: 14 - 34
damage type: Normal
ammo Type 7.62mm
ammo capacity: 6
min. Strength: 5
hands req.: 2
weight: 8 pounds
cost: n/a
The following is based on Fallout Tactics and some details might contradict canon.

Originally .308, this one is chambered in the more common 7.62mm caliber[1].

[edit] Notes

  • The Tactics rifle, while described as a DKS-501, looks like a Heckler & Koch MSG90, which also makes its appearance anachronistic.
  • It is unclear which specific 7.62mm caliber this weapon could refer to (there are dozens); It may possibly be referring to the Soviet 7.62x39mm round, but given the pervasive propaganda-fueled antipathy towards anything Communist in pre-war America, this is unlikely. It is more likely a reference to either the 30-06 Springfield US Army cartridge for both World Wars and Korea, known as the 7.62x63mm in metric measurement or the .30 Carbine, used in the M1, M2 and M3 Carbines. Sometimes called the 7.62x33mm.
  • .308 winchester shares the same projectile and casing dimensions as NATO 7.62x51mm.

[edit] Appearances

The Sniper Rifle is a weapon appearing, in various forms, in Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3 and Fallout Tactics.

[edit] Notes and references

  1. Apparently, the makers of Fallout Tactics were not aware of the fact that .308 is the same caliber as 7.62mm, just in inches. By .308, they probably mean 7.62 × 51 mm NATO (as the commercial version is widely known as .308 Winchester) and by 7.62mm, they probably meant 7.62 x 39 mm, but it should have been specified anyway
Weapons of Fallout
Weapons of Fallout 2
Weapons of Fallout 3
Weapons of Fallout Tactics