Which rifle do you use and why?

[TonyInPleasantValley]

Personally, I almost exclusively use Vaughn's Rifle because it is lighter weight. I try to balance my gear toward functionality, and for rifle shots, I feel like I don't need the added range or the toughness of the other two variants. Most of my shots are taken at pretty close range so that a) I hit the animal, and b) I hopefully one shot it. If not, I always try to be setup for an escape route or to be where the animal cannot get to me. The delta in weight allows me to sub in my bear skin bedroll with less of a weight hit, as an example of why I prefer VR. That roll is a life saver from time to time! I also tend to wear more combat ready clothes, to help with surviving bear and wolf attacks. I am less concerned with moose because they are rare and I usually can easily avoid them. Now with the cougar coming, all this may change for me...still need to see how that changes the game and therefore the way I play it. Anyhow, interested in hearing from those of you who play levels where you can get rifles what you use and why. Who knows, maybe I will switch one day! To be completely open, I don't think I have shot my CR yet, but I have BR and it was a really nice rifle. The regular rifle I have not shot since the variants were introduced, but I have one to "complete the collection".

[DaGnome91]

Vaughn's all the way, the lighter weight is a blessing for every ratpacker out there

[ajb1978]

Barb's once I'm settled and can afford the extra weight, but Vaughn's if I'm travelling to a region where I don't have a rifle left behind. Otherwise I just bring ammo and use the rifle I've left there. For the most part though I'm a fan of the bow, and save my rifle rounds for big game. The long shots are a lot easier with iron sights than with the bow. (I've made some pretty slick trick shots with the bow in my time, including one-shotting a moose from so far away I had to shoot practically 45 degrees up, but those are definitely the exception.)

[Sito]

I have been using Barb's since I found it. I have Vaughn's and Curators too but I left them behind at my bases as I travelled. I don't normally use rifles. I prefer the bow for Deer and only use rifle for Bear or Moose. But this time after DLC dropped and I found that my custom settings were way to cold to do FA ( I had to quit.)I started a new run with the express purpose of getting kitted out via ML (food and clothes), TWM (good gear and food), AC (backpack) with some reasonable custom setting.

With Barb's, although it is heavy and it waves around a lot as you try to aim, the small sight lets me line a shot up perfectly on the neck of a deer for instakill. It takes a bit of patience but I get 90% instakill as opposed to maybe 70% with the bow. When cold and hungry and in a big unknown like FA I don't want to be chasing a running Deer in to the unknown. I would rather drop it right there. As I progress in my stats I will switch to the bow for Deer and use Curators for Yogi and Bullwinkle.

[LunarLime]

Curator's Rifle

Because I like more range, and it looks the coolest. 

[hozz1235]

My thoughts exactly, @LunarLime.

[TonyInPleasantValley]

I went through a LOT of trouble to find Curator's and have not even shot it once! I think I will take it on my next adventure to test drive it. I liked Barb's a lot, but the weight made me go back to Vaughn's. I always walk around pretty heavy, so VR is a go to because of that. Plus I find myself always hauling stuff from one region to another quite often, so having extra kilos really helps in that regard.

[PilgrimReaper]

Never been able to find any special rifle  😒 🤷‍♂️

[TonyInPleasantValley]

They are not the easiest things to find, usually stuck in some out of the way place. I went on a mission to scour all of Great Bear until I found them all. Took me months. Good luck finding them!

[Semple Fi]

5 hours ago, PilgrimReaper said:

Never been able to find any special rifle  😒 🤷‍♂️

No joke, I’ve never even heard of curators or barbs until reading this thread

[RossBondReturns]

Curators- massive knock down power and insane range.

Also it looks amazing.

[TonyInPleasantValley]

I just found another "regular rifle". So I snagged it as I want to ensure I can go as deep into a run as possible.

Agree Curator's is a beauty. Also was the hardest for me to locate. I searched everywhere and when I found it I was so stoked!

[PilgrimReaper]

11 hours ago, TonyInPleasantValley said:

They are not the easiest things to find, usually stuck in some out of the way place. I went on a mission to scour all of Great Bear until I found them all. Took me months. Good luck finding them!

I checked all the reported spawn points in CH for Barb's, on several runs, it never showed up. So now I stopped looking for these altogether, and I guess eventually, one day, one will appear? One can hope! 🙂

[TonyInPleasantValley]

They are generally not easy to find, that is for sure without saying more to spoil it. I almost always found them by surprise, just like today when I found my fifth rifle!! I was transiting again, going from region to region to update my inventory spreadsheet (yeah, I was bored) and happened to take a short cut that led me to a place I had forgotten was even in the game. There be a rifle! No ammo though...but I was happy to toss it in my sack and take it to the next stop along the way and put it in a locker. Don't give up...you will eventually find them...just make sure you look around because they can be in obscure places. Good luck!!

[hozz1235]

7 hours ago, PilgrimReaper said:

I checked all the reported spawn points in CH for Barb's, on several runs, it never showed up. So now I stopped looking for these altogether, and I guess eventually, one day, one will appear? One can hope! 🙂

I've heard of others having a real hard time finding some of them, but they eventually did.

You've looked in all the locations listed here?

[PilgrimReaper]

1 hour ago, hozz1235 said:

I've heard of others having a real hard time finding some of them, but they eventually did.

You've looked in all the locations listed here?

For Barb's and Vaughn's, yes. Curator's seems really nice, but I personally hate the super mountain aspect of certain regions (which is why I have zero interest in HRV, and only made a commando trek to AC to fetch the technical backpack and crampons), so I've pretty much given up on it.

Edited March 28, 2023 by PilgrimReaper
Forgot a word

[Jotunheim]

I use Vaughn's. The lower weight is very nice, and I don't fire it that often.

[SuperStriker16]

I haven’t gotten the update yet, but doing some research I’d say go with the curator like some here have said. It doesn’t weigh more but does have the increased range and looks cool, all upsides.