Buffalo Rifle

The  is a weapon featured in Red Dead Redemption. It is a Sharps 1874 hunting rifle with a 30" barrel and Vernier rear sights.

The holds only one round, but it's the most powerful rifle in the game. It does not kill the legendary animals with a shot to the head (especially Brumas, he will require two precise headshots with the Buffalo Rifle) with the exception of Gordo the Boar and Khan the Jaguar. Shooting small animals with the rifle, such as skunks, rabbits, and armadillos or any type of bird, (except vultures) will destroy the animal (within a 20 foot radius), rendering them unskinnable.

It's slow rate of firing makes opinions divided among the user base. Using the DeadEye feature will only allow you to line up one shot, with the DeadEye session ending after the shot is fired.

Singleplayer

 * It can be purchased from any Gunsmith after completing Master Hunter Rank 5.
 * As a second option, the player can also "cheat" for this weapon if they want (See Cheats in Redemption page).

Multiplayer

 * Buffalo Rifle is unlocked upon reaching Rank 50.
 * Killing a player who has the weapon equipped.

Undead Nightmare

 * It can be obtained after saving Escalera from a zombie invasion.
 * As a second option, like in the singleplayer, players can also "cheat" for this weapon if they want.

Tips and Tricks

 * Be careful when using the Buffalo Rifle in Level 2 Dead-Eye Targeting mode as it is a one-shot rifle and painting the target in any location will cause Marston to fire it off right away. Even being the most powerful rifle, if the shot is not placed in the center mass, or the head, the target can survive. Especially if the target is a Grizzly Bear.
 * It may take two shots to the head to kill the legendary animals instead of the one shot for almost everything else. (see above)
 * A useful trick is to repeatedly go in and out of Dead-Eye while firing the Buffalo Rifle, as this increases the rate of fire because of Dead-Eye's effect of refilling the ammo in the player's weapon.
 * In Multiplayer in gang matches you can sometimes get this gun but it has only about 5 bullets, you can however grab an ammo case and it will refill almost 15 bullets(the bullets are counted as normal rifle bullets)..
 * May be a glitch, but if the user can pull the trigger fast enough, the rifle will skip its reload animation and fire another shot immediately for as many times as the trigger is pulled. Useful against grizzly bears in a pinch.
 * When using in Multiplayer, always aim for the head. Doing so will ensure your enemy is dispatched. Hitting them in the torso takes 2-3 hits to kill, easily enough time for them to put you down with a pistol, or another rifle.

Trivia

 * The Buffalo Rifle is the Sharps Model 1874. The name "buffalo rifle" arose due to its popularity with the professional hunters who it used to hunt bison to near extinction thanks to its exceptional accuracy and huge, very powerful cartridges (.44-77, .45-90, .45-120, .50-90, .50-110 etc).
 * When Marston or the multiplayer character is on a mount and fires at something behind him with this rifle, he will hold it with one hand. In reality, the Sharps buffalo model had an extremely long (30") and heavy barrel, intended to be fired from a bipod or rest, and would be virtually impossible to aim in one outstretched hand. The particular rifle in game is equipped with a non-standard hooded front sight and flip-up aperture rear sight.
 * A glitch exists for the in singleplayer on the PS3 version of the game; if Marston has the bandolier equipped and has more than 120 rifle rounds, shooting it will bring it down to 99 rounds. This glitch has not been observed on the Xbox 360 version of the game.
 * Though challenging, it is possible to get the Buffalo rifle soon after unlocking the Master Hunter Challenges. Doing so will make the game much easier, since you have an accurate, high powered, long range rifle near the start. However, due to the fact the Rifle has not been unlocked normally, finding ammo for this gun can be hard. You will most likely only have a single round until the ammo is unlocked.
 * Similar to that of the Springfield Rifle, any character wielding the Buffalo Rifle will stay standing until they have finished reloading the weapon, which is when they will pop back into cover.
 * The Buffalo rifle is the most powerful rifle that was shipped with the game.
 * In the Liars and Cheats DLC pack, the Explosive Rifle is added, making it the most powerful weapon.
 * A customized Sharps rifle is Matthew Quigley's favored weapon in the 1990 film Quigley Down Under. The Sharps 1874 used in-game is based on Quigley's. They both feature a straight grip, a rear Vernier sight, a globe aperture front sight, and (upon close examination in-game) double-set triggers.
 * The Buffalo rifle is not as effective in &quot;Undead Nightmare&quot;, because most weapons can kill the undead with just one shot to the head.
 * In multiplayer, the buffalo rifle seems to have downgraded, as it takes slightly longer to reload after every shot.

Achievements
The can be used to unlock the following achievements.

Fusil de caza