Silenced 10mm Pistol

The Silenced 10mm Pistol is a single-handed Fallout 3 weapon that uses the Small Guns skill.

Characteristics
An N99 10mm Pistol equipped with a suppressor. The benefit of the suppressor is that when one fires at an enemy and kills him with the first shot (say, using VATS while hidden), no nearby enemies will be alerted. The downside is the slightly decreased damage compared to a regular 10mm Pistol. If you do not kill your target in the first few shots, they will likely alert nearby enemies. It is a great weapon for assassin-type characters, as a good Sneak and Small Guns skill will give you an advantage while using this weapon. It counts as silent for sneaking purposes, and shooting it will not increase your chances of being detected (all normal guns will). Also, if you have a high enough Small Guns skill, the Silenced 10mm Pistol makes a very good close-quarter weapon for adventures in locations such as the Bethesda Ruins, the Museum of History, and other office building type settings. It's a handy weapon to carry as it weighs only 3 pounds and is ideal for snuffing out smaller creatures like Radroaches or Mole Rats without alerting other (stronger) enemies.

On higher difficulty settings, the Silenced 10mm Pistol becomes much too weak against regular enemies to be of much use. Even a Sneak Attack critical headshot will not bring down a Raider to 50% HP. Players looking for a stronger silent weapon may opt for a melee weapon, the Dart Gun, or the Infiltrator/Perforator (DLC only).

Regular 10mm Pistols can be used to repair the Silenced 10mm Pistol, and vice versa, although it is inadvisable to use the 10mm Pistol as spare parts due to the rarity of the silenced version.

The only other ranged silent weapons are the Dart Gun, which is a custom-built weapon and the Infiltrator (Perforator).

Locations

 * Wielded by Mr. Burke in Megaton or Tenpenny Tower.
 * In Marigold Metro Station, which is part of the quest Those!.
 * In the entrance to Vault 108, near some blood and Mole Rats.
 * The hotel occupied by the Brotherhood of Steel next to Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest.
 * In the caves under Oasis.
 * In the armory of the Ground Floor of the Germantown Police HQ
 * On the counter of Lock and Load in Paradise Falls (must be stolen).
 * In a safe located in an unmarked sewer south-east from Arlington Library.
 * Underwater by a sunken car at the docks near Arefu.
 * Given at the beginning of the Operation: Anchorage simulation.
 * Inside a safe on a house in Springvale outside Vault 101 (Possibly, other weapons such as the 44. Magnum can be found here as well).
 * Under the bridge that crosses the Potomac, in the raider camp.

Trivia
The Silenced 10mm Pistol's design artistically resembles the H&K Mk.23 SOCOM handgun.