Explosive Rifle

The  is a powerful, experimental, single-shot rifle featured in the Red Dead Redemption Liars and Cheats DLC pack and is also accessible when playing the Undead Nightmare DLC pack. The weapon really lives up to its name--it's basically the Wild West version of a grenade launcher.

Single-Player

 * The Explosive Rifle can be purchased from the Gunsmith in Blackwater once the player has purchased and downloaded the Liars and Cheats DLC pack. However, it is advised that the player save up their money because the weapon costs $10,000 ($5,000 with honor level "Peacemaker", and as low as $2500 if the Savvy Merchant Outfit is also equipped; oppositely, the rifle will cost $15,000 with lowest possible honor). It also comes with a series of challenges to complete that will also earn you the Master Exploder achievement/trophy. When you complete these challenges, all gunsmiths will sell you ammunition for the Explosive Rifle at half price.


 * Although this is one of the weapons Marston can possess, players cannot "cheat" for it because it's DLC.

Multiplayer

 * In Free Roam, the Explosive Rifle is earned by the player who completes any of the Liars and Cheats Gang Hideouts with the highest score. It will be available to the player in a weapons crate, marked with a green dot on the radar. There are no additional ammo pickups for the Explosive Rifle, though, and if a player holding an Explosive Rifle dies in Free Roam, then the weapon is lost.


 * In Stronghold matches, Explosive Rifles can be retrieved from safes located on some of the maps. Once a player has opened the safe, the rifle will be acquired and will come with 3 rounds. If the player is killed, the rifle can be picked up from his corpse, though with only one shot remaining.

Undead Nightmare

 * If the "Liars and Cheats" DLC Pack has been downloaded, the player can obtain it after saving Rathskeller Fork from being overrun by undead.

Characteristics
The Explosive Rifle is not like any other type of rifle found in the game. However, its design does bear some similarities to a cross between a Bolt Action Rifle and a Buffalo Rifle, and is similar to the real-world Mauser Model 1918 Anti-Tank Rifle. It uses a special type of ammunition called Explosive Rounds, which are only sold at gunsmiths, not general stores. These rounds when fired travel just as quickly as bullets, and detonate directly on impact with a target. A direct hit on a person will cause the person to explode in a shower of blood and body parts. A direct hit on an animal such as a horse or cow will cause the animal to burst into a spectacular display of red mist and guts. An indirect hit, in which an enemy is caught in the blast area, kills an enemy and sends them flying much like Dynamite. The force of the blast can even knock down nearby enemies outside of the "kill zone" in the process. Unfortunately, the weapon comes with limited ammunition. The maximum limit on ammo is 15 rounds, 30 with the bandolier. The Explosive Rifle also has a rather slow rate of fire considering it can only fire one round at a time before being reloaded, much like the Buffalo Rifle.

Trivia

 * The player should watch their fire whenever they're about to shoot. The rifle has a high-rate of splash damage which can kill the player in as little as 2 shots.
 * The weapon's bolt and wooden stock is based upon the german Mauser T-Gewehr.
 * The T-Gewehr (Tank rifle) was mass-produced in may 1918, so if the rifle were truly a T-Gewehr, it would be anachronistic or a rare prototype.
 * The original T-Gewehr had a long barrel, bi-pod, and pistol grip attached, so the rifle in the game may in fact be a "sawn-off" due to the significantly shorter barrel, and lack of a bipod and pistol grip in-game.
 * If the rifle were a Mauser G98, it would fit with the speculation that the weapon may be a period service rifle firing rifle grenades. Rifle grenades were widely used by various armies during World War 1, and given that the game features other weapons used in the war.
 * Unless you're using Dead-Eye, you cannot automatically lock on to enemies with this weapon.
 * In Free Roam, the only way to obtain more ammo is by being the high scorer on a new Gang Hideout.
 * In Free Roam, if you change sessions the weapon is removed from your inventory.
 * In Multiplayer, when you die, in any way, the weapon will be removed from your inventory.
 * In Free Roam, the weapon DOES drop upon death.
 * In Multiplayer, if you access the outfitter while you have the Explosive Rifle in your inventory, it will be removed.
 * It appears in the "Sniper" class weapon slot, and while it does not possess a scope like other sniper weapons, it does allow for the use of standard Dead-Eye where the player marks targets and body parts.
 * In Stronghold, crack the safe to obtain the Explosive Rifle.
 * In Stronghold, the weapon IS dropped upon death. However there is only one shot with it.
 * This weapon can be made golden by completing headshot/kill challenges in Stronghold mode.
 * In Undead Nightmare single-player mode, ammo can occasionally be found on some corpses. Loot them all. The alternate way to find more ammo is to find the unicorn. After this, and upon putting on the Army of the Dead outfit, you are given a "holy relic" (in your inventory) which will refill all your weapons once per day.
 * In Undead Nightmare, the Explosive Rifle seems very effective against undead hoards because you can keep rifle butting the undead by easily tapping RT or R2 without losing ammo. It kills the undead with 2 or even one hit.
 * If shot at a window, despite the explosion it will only leave a bullet size hole in the glass.
 * Before the weapon had an official model, it used the Buffalo Rifle as a placeholder.
 * In Friendly Free Roam, the weapon can kill players with a direct hit to the torso or head. Although this seems to have been fixed, as the character will immediately retract the rifle when it is focused on another player at close range, if you move far enough away from another player, the character will not retract the rifle, leading you to be able to kill them.
 * Players can also use the lethal splash damage effect to their advantage. With the Explosive Rifle, no one needs to worry too much about enemies trying to hide behind rocks or inside buildings. In fact, on just 30 rounds, one could potentially level an entire town in only a few minutes.