Survivalist's Rifle

The Survivalist's rifle is a weapon in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Honest Hearts. It is the unique variant of the service rifle.

Background
This weapon was originally a U.S. checkpoint guard carbine used in Canada, issued from the Long Branch Arsenal in Toronto, Ontario, USA territory. Chambered with the 12.7mm round, this rifle was supposed to offer guards the firepower necessary to intercept anyone attempting to breach a checkpoint, regardless of equipment.

Characteristics
This particular rifle once belonged to Randall Clark, an ex-U.S. Army soldier who sought refuge in Zion National Park after the Great War. The rifle was used by the Survivalist for decades, evident by the heavy wear and sun damage on the wood and metal of the gun. It also show signs of improvised repairs, such as the foregrip wood being made from mismatched furniture wood held in place with metal clamps. The barrel is noticeably shorter than a typical service rifle, and the front sight is bent out of shape. The word "Arrêt!" (french for "Halt!") is carved into the butt of the gun.

In terms of in-game performance, the rifle has a high rate of fire, relatively low spread, respectable AP cost, and a high damage that can be raised considerably with Grunt; the damage is slightly higher than This Machine loaded with regular .308 rounds if Grunt is taken, but the Survivalist's rifle fires nearly twice as fast and far more accurately. Even if This Machine is loaded with .308 JSPs, the difference in damage is not substantial and can be mitigated by using 12.7 JHPs from the Gun Runners' Arsenal add-on.

However, it uses rare 12.7mm rounds which generally must be bought from vendors, and the high rate of fire makes it relatively easy to overuse ammunition if one is not mindful of ammunition conservation. The damage threshold multiplier from 12.7mm JHP rounds and lower damage from normal 12.7mm rounds may also cause the Survivalist rifle to be less than optimal against armored targets. The bent iron-sights, which can be rectified (see the notes below), may require a bit of practice if using true iron sights.

Durability
The Survivalist's rifle can fire a total of about 2495 standard rounds, the equivalent of 250 reloads, from full condition before breaking.

Variants

 * Service rifle

Location
Found at the Red Gate in a duffle bag marked "The Survivalist's duffle bag" next to Randall Clark's skeleton. Yao guai, giant cazadores, green geckos, and/or bighorners may be found here as well. To specify, it is right up the climb to the top of the Red Gate. There are three trees and he is lying wedged between some boulders underneath two of the trees, propped up on the rocks. Alternately, you can reach it by going up the back side.

Behind the scenes

 * The French word arrêt on one side of the rifle's stock, which translates as "a stop" or "a halt", is paired with "stop" written in English on the other side of the stock. This, combined with information from Randall Clark's terminal entries, indicates that this rifle was used during the U.S. occupation of Canada.
 * Though it is a French word, the correct way of telling someone to stop in French would be "Arrête" or "Arrêtez", not "Arrêt". "Arrêt" replaces "Stop" on Stop signs in French-speaking parts of Canada.
 * The Survivalist's rifle was loosely based on the .50 Beowulf AR-15 platform conversion.