Is anybody actually using Rifles?

[Prof. Awesome 3]

We went yesterday pretty far into the island, we had a shitload of stuff, food and water.

And we came into a little village and we accidently engaged one of those "froggers" and we ran out of this little village for like 1 minute,we could barely see the town anymore, before we shoot the fucker and we still had the whole town after us afterwards(7-8 zombies)! And we died, cuz we had only 5 bullets left!

So my question is, is there a reason to use and collect rifles? I mean u can only fire them if u in a forest 50 km away from the next town! But there is nooo way to use them in or around a city! But thats the place where all the zombies are! :D

Arent they a little toooo loud? :)

[leblackdragon 5]

Considering their killing power at range, rifles are best handled by a spotter who stays back from the action while his troop move in. He can provide valuable intel as well as cover. He can even kill problematic development, and at his range he's well out of the Z's hearing range.

You'd generally never use them when you are on your own for the reasons you've stated.

[Jinxtah 0]

Use pistols, SMGs or a remington to kill zombies. Use rifles to kill players (or zombies if the **** hits the fan).

Engaging zombies should be done inside a house or whatever. Even though the noise is low/moderate, you never know what might be attracted.

[[Gen]Adzic 241]

You have to use your brain to outsmart them, its not too hard... best thing I to do to evade a horde is shack up in one of them houses (small wooden building with one way in) and headshot them all, taking care not to waste any bullets.

A good starting weapon if you can find one is a Winchester, its not very loud and kills zombies with one shot anywhere to the body. Then when your well equipped and feeling brave go to a Army barracks/Airfield and find some quality guns. Its quite a long trek and thwart with danger upon arrival but the spoils are usually worth the journey if you survive :)

[asch.blop@gmail.com 0]

d'oh. even Enfield with it's "very high" noise level have about 100m noise radius. over that range you're pretty safe.

[wazthatme 9]

ill give you a hint BOOM HEAD shoot only use rifles on players not zombies

[Dreganius (DayZ) 55]

As has been stated before, yes. People use rifles.

I recall entering a town with two of my clanmates last time we played at an internet cafe, while another two kept watch from the hills. The sun was barely rising, so visibility was still fairly low. We were sneaking around with compact weapons ideal for close quarters combat, looking for loot, when we came under fire. Told our sharpies to open fire on anyone in the town who was shooting, and told the rest of the squad to hold fire and take cover, as we didn't even know where the bandits were firing from, and didn't want to attract zombies to our positions.

Not even a minute later, the bandits were killed by a combination of the zombies they had lured, and our sharpshooters. Seems like they were new, they had nothing more on them than Makarovs. Probably a pair of players who just wanted an easy weapon fix.

So, yes, rifles are definitely useful weapons. Like every weapon, they have their own situation that they're useful in.

[Edey 0]

If you are too scared to fire a rifle, you shouldn't even be playing.

[what9k 39]

People mostly kill zombies with pistols, as stated before. The usual method is to run into a house/barn etc. Headshot any zombie that comes in with the pistol, as the pistol is quieter than a rifle.

Rifles are mainly used for killing other players, as most of the time it's a 1-2 hit kill, depending where you hit.

[x0pticLukeZz 0]

I used to avoid using the Lee Enfield because of everyone saying it was too loud. However, against players it's very effective. One or two hits usually sees an opponent dead. I recently managed to win a firefight with a bandit who shot me first from behind (this may have been partly due to his poor aiming ;) ) and as a result I've kept hold of this rifle instead of my usual favourite scavenger gun, the Winchester.

[salty (DayZ) 39]

You should always use your secondary to take care of zombies, unless you have plenty of spare ammo and feel like going on a zombie killing spree.

To answer your question: rifles are pretty much the ideal primary weapon choice if you're at all concerned with defending yourself against players, and you definitely should be.

[Azba 0]

I'll have to agree with others here. Rifles are primarily anti-player weaponry. Shooting zombies from a distance is a waste of ammo - if you're already a safe distance away from them then there's no need to shoot them in the first place.

The scopes on rifles can also be useful for zooming in on things from a distance (though not quite as good as binoculars iirc) and scouting out loot/players before they see you first.

In a pinch, rifles are one-hit-kills against zombies if you get mobbed anyway, but in that situation you'd be better off with a full-auto weapon.

They're especially useful against newly spawned dudes with nothing to lose who start blasting at you with their makarovs from the get go. One shot will usually down them. Also useful for those people who shoot out your legs whilst you're fleeing from zombies, provided you can get a bead on them in time for delicious revenge.