Best hunting weapon?

[muffins]

What's the best weapon for hunting with?

Close combat weapons are great since your colonists just walk up to the critter and tap them on the head a few times then haul the corpse back home. They're not so great against boars and muffalo etc since they "tap back" and your colonists get hurt.

Pistols are safer and have a decent rate of fire, but if a small critter falls incapacitated in the grass at dusk your colonist will spend all night blatting shots at its general direction. In the end you get mental break alerts because Hunter McMoron is exhausted and half-starved from spending hours-and-hours shooting hundreds of rounds of ammunition at a paraplegic squirrel.

Rifles seem better since they do more damage, but with their slower rate of fire it can take forever to kill critters if the colonists miss a lot (squirrels seem to be hard to hit).

M16's can't hit critters even if you walk up to one and stick the noisy end of the gun up the critter's smelly end. It's very frustrating to watch and I usually end up ordering my hunters to use the damn thing as a club on the critters. It's quicker but risks injury.

I'm currently using shotguns and they seem much better as hunting weapons. Hunting seems to be more productive, time-wise anyway. Maybe being shorter-ranged weapons they just miss less, while doing more damage than pistols.

Is there a better method/weapon for unsupervised hunting?

[ZestyLemons]

I usually use Lee Enfields. They've got the highest average accuracy in the game, so they're usually pretty about hitting their target when shot by someone with good shooting skill. As I see it, less shots = less chance of hunting injuries.

[Apophis]

I usually equip them with the L-15 LMG, as it has a decent rate and accuracy. Hunting small critters never really is a problem with them.

[skullywag]

frags.

[Enjoyment]

In vanilla - my fav is R4Charge - it is powerfull and accurate, so my hunter kills needed animal, not my stupid 'Karl the One-eyed Peg-legged Hualer'

[ysor123]

M16's can't hit critters even if you walk up to one and stick the noisy end of the gun up the critter's smelly end.

I gues you did not read the M16's stats, espcially the accuracy part. ;P

[Goo Poni]

Usually just post up my Hunters with Lee Enfields, M24s or similar high accuracy, single shot, long range weapons. At one point, I had managed to lose a few colonists to overkill due to the use of Project Armoury, which gives the Tac-50. A three-shot burst sniper rifle with a second or two between each shot in the burst. Also the highest range of any weapon in vanilla or PA and does enough damage to instagib nearly everything (45, I think it was). The fact that colonists continue to fire until they finish their "burst" has resulted in hunters moving across another hunter's line of fire and just dropping dead.

[Shinzy]

if I have more than one hunters I arm them with shotties but right now I'm using the charge rifle cause only one huntard

and all the animals are mostly far away from any of my colonists

[Boboid]

Shotguns are my first preference, they're nice and consistent and have the *significant* advantage of being short range - If you have multiple hunters and they're all using reasonably long range weapons it significantly increases the chances of friendly fire. The simple fact is that they'll always stand at MAX range and given the general animal waffling this usually leads to jackass#2 standing infront of dumbass #1 whilst he plinks away , only to have his leg blown off by a stray shot.

Or frags if you're just using 1 pawn. Just make sure you don't leave all the accidentally killed animals as forbidden.

[DDog]

A little off topic..  but I usually put one hunter out there at a time...  otherwise those idiots shoot each other by accident...

[TheKanganoid]

Miniguns work wonders on herds.  They might spend half the night killing their target but the rest of the herd will be dead to stray bullets by then.  Then you just get the whole village to enjoy some fresh air as they haul bodies as a family.

[Bodog999]

With no mods I use the M16 or R4 and I only let decent shooters hunt, they get the job done quite quick, with mods I use the glittertech MRG-5 Rifle/Pistol or if I'm lazy I just use the APB-Projector 3/4 corpes burn and the rest of the environment goes up in flames till the rain comes. Best way of hunting! Just burn all the animals!

[OldVamp]

R4's and M16's seem to be the best all around weapons
then M24's for out ranging.

[Evul]

My opinion pistol or a lee enfiled loooong way from the colony.

Or a modded weapon ^^
I tend to use the AVM

[FridayBiology]

Going to say Pila, it's handy as it disables target if it hits most of the time. and its once shot firing so less friendly fire, that said if a colonist is hit you know about it quickly