BEST RIFLE IN THE GAME?

[Jonas01]

Hello, in your opinion, which rifle is the best in the game? Thinking of a all round good weapon

[Dustbuhny]

I have to agree with MaChiNe. I find that the 7mm is a good all around rifle.

[Lightshifty]

whitlock 86 30-30 for the range of animals it is possible to score maximum points on (and it looks great!) Here are some examples from my screenshots:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1089544566

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1089027224

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=918623934

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=909038713

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=878865252

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1088483667

There are only 3 animals that it seems the 30-30 has trouble scoring 100% on which are roosevelt elk, moose and bison. However, a good hunter can still easily kill them in 1 shot. Here is an example on a Bison, the largest species in the game:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=878482758

It still managed to score a good 88% on quick kill, it was only a few seconds short of killing it instantly.

Don't get me wrong, the 7mm is a great rifle, but it can only score maximum points on 2 species in Hirschfelden (Red deer+Bison) and 3 species in Layton (black bear, roosevelt elk and moose). 30-30 can be used to score 100% on coyote, roe, fallow, blacktail, whitetail, wild boar, black bear and red deer. And it can still drop in 1 shot Roosevelt elk, moose and bison (even if you lose a little quick kill bonus on these).

As a bonus, in the store it also has some of the cheapest rifle ammo in the game.

[Narf]

I agree that the 7mm is a great rifle to kill stuff if you ignore your score or really only want to hunt the five species it can kill without a deduction.
I'm currently using the 243 with polymer ammunition as my backup weapon. As a main bow user I need accuracy past the ~70m range where my bow becomes too inaccurate to take the gamble. The gun has good precision and the polymer tips penetrate well enough to take out spines or hearts. On medium-sized species like fallow deer it still packs enough punch for a double lungs or lungs/liver/stomach shot, too, when looking at the broadside of the prey. Currently I have the 4-8 sight equipped, but I think I am going to upgrade it as soon as I have the rifle score.

I probably need to stop slaughtering entire herds with my bow, I guess, and use the gun for a bit.

[AdmiralTigerclaw]

I've been swearing by a 7mm myself. I get interested in the larger rifles from time to time, but the ammo cost going above 1000 for a box of ten makes me reluctant to switch it up. With the 7mm polymer, I generally make back the cost of 20 rounds with the four to five animals, no matter what I come across.

I may go back to one step down for a little more challenge though. I prefer wander-hunting and I mainly like to go after the average deer species. Bison are just too much of a pain to knock out with even the 7mm, and the 7mm's aim wobble is just annoying.

[Zeek]

30-30 45-70 ...love watching the brass flying and fast shooting :)

[dgeesio & ronMctube]

7mm my fav the .338 rangemaster is good but its overkill.

[Mike sr.]

depens on what your huntting 270 and the 7mm

[Lightshifty]

Originally posted by Narf:

I'm currently using the 243 with polymer ammunition as my backup weapon. As a main bow user I need accuracy past the ~70m range where my bow becomes too inaccurate to take the gamble. The gun has good precision and the polymer tips penetrate well enough to take out spines or hearts. On medium-sized species like fallow deer it still packs enough punch for a double lungs or lungs/liver/stomach shot, too, when looking at the broadside of the prey. Currently I have the 4-8 sight equipped, but I think I am going to upgrade it as soon as I have the rifle score.

I probably need to stop slaughtering entire herds with my bow, I guess, and use the gun for a bit.

I agree with you about .243 being a great weapon.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1093453154

The soft tip bullets are superior to the poly tips if you're not sniping for long distances (150m+).

[Jonas01]

So all in all you reccomend: The 7mm, 338, 243, whitlock 86 30...

[Lightshifty]

You wanted a good all-rounder so ranger .243 or whitlock 86 30-30 for sure, the other 2 are only good against the bigger game (as they destroy the integrity of smaller species). The .243 and 30-30 calibres are effective on the same species as eachother, the only difference is that the .243 is capable of long range, whilst the 30-30 is a close ranged monster. So If you like using scopes go with the Ranger.243, if you like close range hunting and iron sights (like me) go for the whitlock 86 30-30. You can't go wrong with either of them.

[Narf]

Originally posted by Sʜɪғᴛʏ Ƭнє Rєɗ Acє:

I agree with you about .243 being a great weapon.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1093453154

The soft tip bullets are superior to the poly tips if you're not sniping for long distances (150m+).

I'm carrying both ammunition types for that reason. I just find myself using polymer more because most shots I use them for are between 100 and 300m.

[WildHunt]

as close range sneaky shooter
1 choice: bow with multiple class arrow
2 choice: as above + 270 bolt action(long range, integrity, more power than 243)
3 choice: as above + 7mm(not too many big game to use this, still better than 338 integrity

[jemym]

I walk around with .243 and 7mm in addition to a 70lb bow and the .357 handgun. With proper placement I can reach max integrity on all the animals in the game. In general I tend to use bow against boar so .270 is not required. I tend to use handgun against foxes or coyotes so .223 is not required. Moose and Bison goes down with 7mm so .338 is not required.

[TarjaS]

I'm using the bow and handguns for smaller game and shorter distances, so my choice is the 7mm as I mainly shoot big game on long distances. Also, when I'm doing missions, it's "eff integrity, I just want it dead" (unless the mission requires certain integrity level) so the 7mm is fine.

[A TIN OF JAR]

Originally posted by jemym:

I walk around with .243 and 7mm

Same!