Can't find a rifle

[JohnCaper]

I find that each new game in Stalker mode seems to have random quirks. Some the wolves are more fierce and some they just run away. Some has plenty of food but very few sewing kits. The one I'm on now seems to be just right EXCEPT I can't find a rifle. I have enough rifle ammo to start a war but cannot find a rifle. I've been to Milton, Mystery Lake, Coastal Highway, Desolation Point and just got to Pleasant Valley. I've looked in all the listed places but no rifle. For the most part I can kill anything with the revolver but I'm starting to run low on revolver ammo. Any guaranteed spawns in Pleasant Valley?

[Valuable Hunting Knife]

not guaranteed by any means, but worth checking out the Prepper's Cache- chance of a spawn there if you get the right type of bunker.

 

good luck!

[Leeanda]

I'm not sure to be honest but I did watch someone who couldn't find one until the twm summit.. ..

Do you have the dlc? 

[Cr41g]

both CH and ML have guaranteed rifles... Barb's in CH and Vaughn's in ML/Winding River.... if you have the TFTFT DLC

Edited November 19 by Cr41g

[Valuable Hunting Knife]

summit and variants are both very good shouts.  I usually manage to find Vaughn's early in a stalker run, handy as it has reduced weight when I'm trying to get well fed/ moose/ tactical backpack

[DevilDog74]

I always plan for Vaughan's early in a run. I used to think the guarantee was a farce until I learned of the 4th potential spawn. Then I try to remember how many times I said it must not be on this loot table. 

[Veskaida]

There are probably some areas in Regions you are missing if you've searched 'all' those listed and haven't found a Hunting Rifle yet. There are a lot of spawn locations for Hunting Rifles on Stalker, and the "Loot Refresh" (Spring 2024) added quite a lot of variety to that. I'd recommend to either keep moving and explore new regions, or go back to those you've listed and give them a second pass: especially searching points-of-interest like houses, frozen corpses, trailers, etc that might be on the map's edges that you didn't visit.

If you own the Tales DLC, variants are probably the most consistent source for a specific kind of weapon e.g. Barb's Rifle) since they are always a guaranteed spawn, though they can have a number of possible locations.

[grindtime]

Have you tried checking the area around the Winding River? Vaughn's Rifle often shows up there, and it might be worth a look if you haven't explored it yet.