Sniper Rifle (Fallout: New Vegas)

This sniper rifle is an older model of the famed DKS-501. Still chambered for .308 ammunition, it's somewhat fragile and requires periodic repair and maintenance to keep it in working condition. It can be modded to include a suppressor and retrofitted with Carbon-Fiber parts to decrease its weight.

Characteristics
It is identical in appearance to the sniper rifle in Fallout 3.

Unlike the Fallout 3 sniper, when guns is 100, the crosshairs will not remain still. The sway is minor and slow, even at extremely long range.

Locations

 * Vault 34 - Two can be found in the Armory (accessed by using the terminal in the Overseer's office)
 * Can be bought from the Gun Runners outpost (though it appears to be only available after level 14 or so)
 * On top of a bed inside the First Recon tent at Camp McCarran, can be taken with no penalty. (It may not be there on the PS3 version of the game)
 * Inside a locked room in a ruined building to the east of Mole Rat Ranch. Upon unlocking the door it will trigger a booby trap
 * Around 3 can sometimes be found inside Gomorrah in the room containing the gun shipments.
 * One can sometimes be found in the basement of Brewer's Beer Bootlegging in the gun cabinet, the key for it is on the table in the other room in the basement, right next to a Big Book of Science, also there can be a sniper rifle in the closet.
 * One can be bought from the arms merchant at the 188 Trading Post at level 14 and higher.
 * One can be found on the top floor of the Atomic Wrangler inside a locked case.

Maximizing the Sniper Rifle
While the Sniper Rifle has decent base damage what makes it an end game power house is it's x5 Critical Chance multiplier. With a Guns skill of 100, a Strength of 6 (or 4 with Weapon Handling), and Critical Chance at 20% every shot will be a critical hit for bonus damage. Shots fired from stealth will add a Sneak attack critical and if you take the Hand loader perk you can make .308 JSP ammunition at a Reloading bench that add x1.5 damage. Combined with the Better Criticals perk it's not unusual for some of the toughest bosses in the game to die from one or two head shots from a fully repaired sniper rifle.

To get your Critical Chance to 20% you'll require:
 * the Built to Destroy trait (chosen during character creation) = +3% Crit Chance
 * the Finesse perk (chosen at Level 10) = +5% Crit Chance
 * the 1st Recon beret from the One for My Baby quest = +5% Crit Chance
 * Luck at 7 (or if you skipped Built to Destroy Luck at 10) = +7% (or 10%) Crit Chance
 * Luck can be raised by the Intense Training perk and the Probability Calculator implant

If you prefer to wear a helmet with DT you can have 10 luck, Built to Destroy trait, Finesse perk, and have a total of 90% critical chance at full repair, which is nearly identical while affording you better protection.

Mods

 * Sniper Rifle Suppressor: Reduces weapon noise
 * Sniper Rifle Carbon Fiber Parts: Reduces weight by 5

Bugs

 * Sniper Rifle Carbon Fiber Parts doesn't actually reduce weapon weight. It weighs the same without and with the mod attached.

Variants

 * Gobi Campaign scout rifle

Appearances
The sniper rifle appears in Fallout: New Vegas.