Pistol Packing

 is an unmarked quest in Fallout: New Vegas.

Quick walkthrough

 * Talk to the Quartermaster (Torres)
 * Talk to the Paladin NPC who is in charge of the range
 * Talk to Initiate Stanton
 * Go to Scorpion Gulch
 * Retrieve the Missing Laser Pistol
 * Return to Quartermaster Torres

Detailed walkthrough
After speaking to the quartermaster (Knight Torres), head over to the range and speak to the Paladin sitting at the desk at the firing range. Mention the pistol, and he will mention that Initiate Stanton has it. It is necessary to do this before talking to Initiate Stanton, or else Stanton will claim he doesn't know anything about it.


 * Note: Leaving and entering the area multiple times may cause a bunch of Knights and Paladins to bunch up in the left-most firing lane. After talking to the paladin in charge of the range and retrieving the pistol (if enough time has passed that they are supposed to move to another area), they may drop their weapons on the floor. It is easy to tell if this has happened because NPCs will be walking around awkwardly with their fists raised. Picking up the loose weapons counts as stealing, but a Stealth-Boy (or getting lucky and finding a hidden spot) eliminates this risk. One confirmed attempt yielded 3 Gauss rifles in good condition and a Tri-beam laser rifle. Weapons obtained in this way cannot be sold to the quartermaster, but can be sold to other shop owners not affiliated with the Brotherhood of Steel.

Speak to Stanton (at night he can be found in the initiate barracks in the 1st bunker area, opposite the long oval-shaped hallway from the firing range) and mention that he took a pistol out. He will talk about how he and Watkins went out to Scorpion Gulch for a "training exercise." Once he and Watkins realized the scorpions were more than they could handle, they ran away and he dropped the pistol in the confusion. If you mention the pistol being checked back in, he tells you that he falsified the records. Volunteer to retrieve the pistol.

Head outside and go to the gulch. If you fast-travel, remember that first of all, the game may deposit you in the air above the gulch (causing minor fall damage) and second of all, there will be a bunch of scorpions to deal with, and fast-traveling will put you right in the middle of them (unless the area was recently cleared out). Approaching the gulch on foot doesn't take that long, and it allows for use of the cliff to shoot down at the scorpions. Once everything is dead, look for a rock with a dead prospector leaning against it (this will be directly next to the fast-travel destination). Pick up the missing laser pistol sitting on top of the rock and return it to the quartermaster for a reward.

After the mini-quest is completed, the quartermaster will have repaired a broken weapon (Tri-beam laser rifle) which the player will receive for free. The player will also receive some Fame with the Brotherhood of Steel faction.

TIP: Fast travel to Scorpion Gulch, it will take you right next to the rock with the pistol. Just watch out for the scorpions if you choose to do so.

Try not to use any explosive weapons (Missiles, Grenades, Mines, etc.) inside Scorpion Gulch or the missing laser pistol may be blown away from it's original position on top of the rocks, and you may never find it.

Journal entries
This is a sub-/mini-quest and is not listed under the quests tab and as such you must keep track of this quest personally. The NPC's will also not always keep you up to date as they assume their normal duties. It is recommended that this quest be done from start to finish. It isn't that long, and leaving halfway through causes unnecessary work by forcing the player to track down the NPCs and ask them again.

Bugs

 * Sometimes after you complete the quest, the Quartermaster still asks if you found the laser pistol. If you then spawn more missing laser pistols from the console you can repeat the quest for more of the same rewards.


 * Sometimes the quartermaster is nowhere to be found


 * Sometimes after you found the pistol both Initiate Stanton and the Quartermaster just doesn't care... (Can be fixed by removeitem then additem commands.)


 * Sometimes the pistol is not at the specified location.


 * Sometimes the Paladin will not be at the firing range desk (Pre-Patch). (Can be fixed by exiting and re-entering the bunker. May take multiple attempts. XBOX 360 Pre-Patch.)


 * A corpse may not actually be present to mark the rock: if not, it's the large one at the bottom of the "bowl". (Confirmed PC)