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 for 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 shows 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 one side of the butt of the gun, with "Stop!" on the other.

In terms of in-game performance, the rifle has a high rate of fire, relatively low spread, respectable AP cost and high damage that can be raised considerably with the Grunt perk. 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 add-on Gun Runners' Arsenal.

However, the rifle uses rare 12.7mm rounds which generally must be bought from vendors, and the high rate of fire makes it relatively easy to overuse 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 2,495 standard rounds, the equivalent of 250 reloads, from full condition before breaking.

Variants

 * Service rifle

Location
The rifle is 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. At the summit of the Red Gate, the Courier will see three trees and the bag containing the weapon is wedged between some boulders underneath the trees, propped up on the rocks. Alternately, it can be reached by climbing up the backside.

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 to use the imperative "Arrête" or "Arrêtez," not "Arrêt." "Arrêt" replaces "Stop" on Stop signs in French-speaking parts of Canada, as each is a stop, but not a command to stop.
 * The Survivalist's rifle was loosely based on the .50 Beowulf AR-15 platform conversion.