Rifles in Project Zomboid

Build 42 has nine rifles and carbines, and all of them need both hands. Three were in the game before 42.15: the MSR700 and MSR788 bolt-action hunting rifles, the M1A (an M14-pattern rifle) and the M16 assault rifle. Older Build 41 guides may call the first two the varmint rifle and the hunting rifle. The other five arrived in 42.15.

Range is in tiles and noise is the sound radius at default settings. Capacity, range and noise match in two fan sites reading 42.19 to 42.22 files. One gives damage as a range and the other as an average, and the two agree. Base hit chance is 50 for most rifles. One source puts the JS-14 lower, at 45 (one source). Shots from the 7.62x51mm and 5.56x45mm rifles and the L94 can pierce through a target. Pindrop says only the M16 can hit two zombies with one shot. pzfans says the JS-14 can too. For the basics of handling guns, see the firearms guide.

Build 42.14 brought an ammunition rework that merged and renamed several ammo types to make room for new guns. Rifle ammo is now named by metric caliber, 5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm, so older guides that mention .223 or .308 rounds most likely mean these. Build 42.15 then added six firearms, each with its own magazines, loot spawns and a repair recipe. Five of them are long guns covered here:

• JS-14 Rifle: a light civilian 5.56x45mm rifle with a 20-round magazine. The developers describe it as not known for accuracy.
• L94 Rifle: a lever-action .30-30 hunting and ranch rifle. It hits as hard as the 7.62x51mm guns but has shorter range.
• L92 Carbine: a lever-action carbine in .357 Magnum, with a 10-round tube and 24 tiles of range.
• MSR7T Tactical Rifle: a heavier, more accurate police and military version of the MSR788. One source gives it a higher crit chance of 35 (one source).
• Trapper Carbine: a compact 1980s carbine in .45 ACP. It is the quietest long gun, but the developers note it is somewhat unreliable.

The sixth addition is the JS-3T shotgun. 42.15 also reworked loot tables, sorting guns into civilian, police and military spawns. See gun locations and military bases.

A scope does not add shot range. It changes your sight range, the band of distance where your aim works best. Without a scope, rifles have a sight range of 2 to 10 tiles, even though most can shoot 30 to 40. Bigger scopes push that band outward, add weight and make you take longer to aim.

These figures come from one fan site reading 42.19 files (one source). The L92 and L94 take no scope on that list. A gun holds only one optic at a time, and you need a screwdriver to fit one. Recoil pads, laser sights and ammo straps are covered in gun attachments.

In Build 42 your Aiming skill, moodles, weather and headgear all change how likely each shot is to land. A long rifle in low-skill hands misses a lot past its sight range. Some practical rules:

• Match the scope to the distance you actually fight at. An x8 scope is poor inside 15 tiles.
• Use a rooftop, a fence or a parked vehicle to keep zombies at distance while you fire.
• Line up zombies walking in single file. Piercing rounds can carry through to the one behind.
• Clear jams with the rack firearm key. Jamming is on in Apocalypse mode.

Repairing a rifle takes a donor gun and some Aiming skill (one source):

See skill leveling for training Aiming and maintenance for repair in general.

Rifles are loud, but quieter than shotguns, which all sit at 200. The 7.62x51mm guns reach 170 tiles, the 5.56x45mm guns 150, the L94 160 and the L92 120. The Trapper Carbine is the exception at 70, which is close to a pistol. The sandbox Firearm Noise Multiplier scales every figure. See sandbox settings, and hordes for what a shot attracts.

Ammo is the real limit on rifles. 7.62x51mm and 5.56x45mm show up mostly in gun stores, police and military spawns. .45 ACP also feeds the 1911-style pistol, so the Trapper Carbine is easier to keep loaded. 42.15 made it a goal for guns to share ammo, so check the box name rather than relying on an old guide. To press your own rounds, see ammo crafting.

Opinion Here is how we would rank rifles for most solo players in 42.22:

1. M1A: 40-tile range, hard hits and a 20-round magazine. It is the best all-rounder if you can keep it fed with 7.62x51mm.
2. M16: the largest magazine, at 30, plus automatic fire for emergencies. It burns ammo fast.
3. MSR788 or MSR7T with an x4 or x8 scope: slow to fire, but excellent for picking off zombies from a rooftop.
4. L94: the pick for hunting and farm defense. It holds six rounds and hits hard.
5. Trapper Carbine: the rifle to carry when noise matters more than damage.

For hunting game animals, see hunting. For how rifles compare with melee weapons, see best weapons.