The original .223 pistol that became one of the iconic weapons of New California, was originally a full sized .223 revolving rifle, belonging to Irwin, a farmer outside of the Hub. He cut his rifle down to the size of a large pistol, leaving the bolt handle and the original, vestigial trigger intact.[1] This unique weapon offered firepower comparable to a hunting rifle in the compact package of a pistol. Five rounds of .223 ammunition were more than enough to deal with most dangers out in the wastes.[2]
This iconic sidearm caught the eye of gunsmiths and by 2241, and the pistol was deemed profitable for mass production.[3] Vestigial elements were shed to smooth the weapons' profile, and to help further improve performance. The internal mechanisms are retained from the original .223 revolving rifle, modified as needed to create a powerful double-action revolver.[4]
The pistol's most interesting system is its cylinder. Protected by an external gate with LEDs signalling the weapon's status (red safe, yellow reloading, green ready to fire), it is mounted on a mechanized crane. When all five shots are fired (or the operator triggers the reload sequence), the firearm automatically opens the gate and the cylinder extends on the crane outside, allowing for fast, easy reloading with a speedloader.[4]
That Gun boasts a remarkable critical multiplier of x2.5, tied with the unique .357 Magnum revolverLucky as the second highest of any pistol. That Gun is similar to Lucky, sharing damage and critical multiplier, but has a slightly higher rate of fire and faster reload time, but with higher skill and Strength requirements, higher spread, smaller cylinder capacity, heavier weight and a slightly higher AP cost. It also fires rifle ammunition, making it (alongside its common variant) the only pistol able to use armor piercing rounds.
Variants[]
Gun Runners' Arsenal5.56mm pistol: the common variant.
Like the original pistol, it is designed after Rick Deckard's blaster in Blade Runner, although with some differences.
That Gun is named as such because players would often refer to the original .223 pistol as That Gun.
That Gun seems to have been designed with at least two modifications in mind: A scope and another mod that would increase one of its stats by 7 points. No modifications exist, however.
↑Fallout and Fallout 2 item description: "{24100}{}{.223 Pistol}" "{24101}{}{A .223 rifle modified and cut down to a pistol. This is a one-of-a-kind firearm, obviously made with love and skill. Min ST: 5.}" (PRO ITEM.MSG (Fallout), PRO ITEM.MSG (Fallout))