BB gun (Fallout 3)

The raider BB rifle is a weapon in Fallout 3.

Characteristics
This gun is the one of the least-damaging weapons in the game, tied with the Chinese pistol. Almost every weapon in the game, except the pool cue, rolling pin and Mesmetron, are more damaging. Note that this weapon is silent, which might provide some limited use depending on play style.

Another use for this weapon since it is considered a silenced weapon is for luring. If you have a high sneak (night-time is much easier) and find yourself between two incompatible enemies you can shoot at each of them, draw them toward you while you stay hidden. When they see each other they will attack each other. Hint: Make sure to sneak off to another spot (or use a Chinese stealth suit or Stealth Boy) after you lure them or they will see you and a free-for-all will happen.

Since the gun is considered silenced, a use for it is killing radroaches without giving away your position in an area that may also contain much more difficult enemies such as protectrons, super mutants, raiders, etc. These places include L.O.B Enterprises, Springvale School, Nuka-Cola Factory, Germantown police HQ, and many more similar locations.

You can also buy this BB gun later on in the game, particularly at Rivet City, along with ammunition. It may serve a limited purpose at whittling down enemies as they close in early on in the game, making a melee fight slightly easier. It can also be used to shoot mines, albeit it takes a few shots to blow up one. A shot might make a mine flip, which can make it easier to disarm.

With the Point Lookout add-on perks the damage of this weapon is raised to 14. This can become a useful replacement for the pistol, because it weighs 2 to the pistols 3, has a magazine with a capacity of 100 BBs and is considered 'silent'. The trade-off is its slower rate of fire, but you most likely will never need to reload this weapon in the midst of combat.

The BB gun can fire 409 BBs, or about 4 magazines, before breaking.

Escaping Vault 101
Having limited practical use out in the Wasteland, where BB ammunition is very scarce, this makes the BB gun primarily a sentimental object, as it does less damage than the handgun available from Amata and has a high AP cost. The BB gun can be used effectively when escaping Vault 101, allowing you to conserve all of your significantly more effective 10mm rounds for use in the Wasteland.

During the escape from Vault 101, the gun and 50 BB's can be collected from your desk. You can offer it to Butch DeLoria to fight off the radroaches attacking his mother (although if his mother dies, he will no longer initiate conversation with you and you will be unable to retrieve your BB gun without killing him). A well-aimed stealth strike on a radroach's head will usually kill it in one shot, and you can also take down vault security guards with the BB gun, sometimes leading to some rather comical slow-motion sequences. The BB gun can be dropped right before exiting Vault 101, unless you would prefer to sell it, or retain it as a keepsake.

Variants

 * The version received on your 10th birthday is different than the standard BB gun. It has a higher item health (1,000), a much faster rate of fire, no chance for a critical hit, and does not degrade with use. It is also a Quest item, meaning that it cannot be dropped. There is no way to obtain this version of the weapon outside of Growing Up Fast, except through the use of console commands.


 * Black Bart's Bane - A unique BB gun that was cut from the final game.

Locations

 * Bailey's Crossroads Metro - on the lower level of the metro, there is a gun with 75 BBs at the makeshift range.
 * Big Town - in the possession of Kimba.
 * Dukov's place - a gun (but no ammunition) can be found on the 2nd floor in the southern corridor.
 * Evergreen Mills - a gun may be bought from Smiling Jack.
 * Haley's Hardware - two BB guns can be found outside.
 * Megaton - sometimes in possession by Moira Brown.
 * Minefield power substation - next to a skeleton directly underneath a transmission tower to the south of the substation.
 * Tenpenny Tower - one can be bought from Chief Gustavo, the security chief.
 * VAPL-58 power station - on the roof along with 13-22 BBs.
 * Available for purchase at most gun stores.
 * Lucky Harith may also carry these in stock after investing in him.
 * BB guns and ammunition are readily available at the Citadel Armory.
 * The scrappers in Point Lookout often carry BB guns and its ammunition.
 * In the cargo hold of Mothership Zeta.