Fallout 3 weapons

Column Explanations

 * DMG / HIT or SHOT: This information comes straight from the GECK and shows the damage caused by a single click of the mouse/trigger. For most Small Guns, that's a single bullet, but for shotguns it's a single shell (containing several small BB-like projectiles), and for the Gatling Laser it's a single beam.  This stat is most useful for comparing semi-automatic weapons like rifles, where you can see the full damage caused by a single shot, regardless of how long it takes to load and fire the next one.
 * DPS: This stands for damage per second. Note: the GECK editor's DPS calculations are misleading, Vault administration is in the process of replacing them with hand calculations verified by in-game stopwatch trials.
 * MDPS: This is the modified damage per second number that takes critical hits into account. It assumes a non-VATS attack, a Luck of 5, no perks (Finesse, Survival Expert, etc.), 100 skill and 100 weapon condition.
 * ROF: This stands for rate of fire in shots per second.
 * SPRD: This is the Min Spread stat from the GECK (the Spread stat is not used). It refers to the accuracy of a ranged weapon.  0 means the weapon fires perfectly straight, though gravity may still make bullets drop over time.  Anything above 0 means the shots may deviate from center by that many degrees.
 * CRIT % MULT: The multiplier applied to your character's critical hit chance. This modifier applies to each individual attack you make (e.g. each 5mm bullet fired from your Minigun).  For example, if your character has a critical hit chance of 5%, and the weapon you're using has a CRIT % MULT of x2, then each shot has a 5% x 2 = 10% chance to critically hit.  Please note that, for automatic weapons (assault rifles, SMGs, Miniguns, etc.) the Crit % Mult stat in the GECK is divided by the GECK's Fire Rate stat, hence the very small multiplier for automatic weapons.  This is done to compensate for the sheer number of bullets being fired.
 * CRIT DMG: The amount of damage that is added when you score a critical strike. The more specialized Sneak Attack Critical deals twice the damage of a common critical strike.
 * AOE: This stands for area of effect it's an unknown unit of measurement displayed in the GECK editor.
 * HP: This is the Health stat from the GECK. It determines how fast a weapon breaks down.  The more HP, the slower the rate of decay.
 * MAG: The magazine capacity of the firearm. Basically, how much ammo it can hold.
 * V:W: Value to Weight ratio.

Unique - A designation for any of the "named" versions of common weapons, the unique moniker is used within these charts to define which common weapons can be used as spare parts for repairs - unique weapons are listed in green.

For more information about ammo, see: Fallout 3 ammunition.

Melee Weapons

 * Damage calculated under Pyromaniac (1 Rank)

Small Guns

 * Pistols are affected by Gunslinger
 * Rifles are affected by Commando
 * Automatic Pistols (SMGs) fire in 4-round bursts in VATS
 * All Assault Rifles (except the Perforator) fire in 3-round bursts in VATS
 * The Perforator fires in 2-round bursts in VATS

Energy Weapons

 * Pistols are affected by Gunslinger
 * Rifles are affected by Commando
 * Colonel Autumn's Laser Pistol fires in 2-round bursts in VATS.
 * Cryolator is not listed, it was removed from the final version of the game

Direct-Fire

 * Damage calculated under Pyromaniac (1 Rank)
 * ¹ Damage is unaffected by Pyromaniac
 * Miniguns and Gatling Lasers fire in 8-round bursts in VATS
 * Flamers fire in 3-round bursts in VATS

Area-of-Effect

 * Area-of-Effect weapons have a Crit % Modifier of 0, which eliminates any chance to critically hit with them.

Explosives

 * † Damage is unaffected by Demolition Expert
 * Damage calculated under Demolition Expert (3 Ranks)

Custom Built Weapons

 * Schematic CODE.
 * Cryolator, also a custom-built weapon, was removed from the game

Downloadable content weapons
These weapons appear in the two DLCs Operation: Anchorage released on January 27, 2009 and The Pitt released on March 25, 2009.

Unused weapons
Cut content, these weapons are only available through console commands.

Non-player weapons
This information is presented here to compare the weapons used by companions and other NPC helpers. Obtainable only via the console of the PC version.