any point in having a sidearm?

[TyrDaishi 36]

I had two fights with a .357 against guys armed with sks. The distance was around 30-40 meters in kabanino and the gun performed flawless.

(corner at the stonewall of the inn)

Edited July 17, 2014 by TyrDaishi

[Nesuma (DayZ) 108]

Once the pistols start spawning with empty mags

No please no

[Munson_fry (DayZ) 312]

once u find a  akm + drummag = pistol obsolete

Edited July 17, 2014 by Munson_fry

[Combine (DayZ) 247]

My advice or how I would do it: If I have the space and / or a mosin, a sidearm is mandatory. Since my focus lies on group play you can quickly arm a fellow soldier or some "non-suspicious" citizen / survivor / ally. If paired with a Mosin -> should explain itself.

 

Other than that you never know when you might need one, even if the cases above don't seem to be "close" any time soon. It depends on many circumstances. For example you could just run out of ammo with your primary rifle. That armed sidearm you kept with 1-3 mags (or the amount of ammo equal to those) could be your last and vital backup.

 

If you tend to be a loner / non-friendly you could technically ignore firarms and use the space you saved for more ammo for you primary, if you're talking about assault rifles. Then again, you can also always ditch your firearm later on until or as soon as you have enough ammo for the primary.

 

In short: When in doubt, keep / get one.

[Cullis 7]

if the dispersion system is removed and pistols behave like actual pistols then they will be king of clearing houses.

 

Pistols are notoriously difficult to fire accurately. There've been plenty of cases of people blazing away with guns at a distance of a couple of meters and completely missing their intended targets. 

 

Also.. what dispersion is there now?

Amphibia delivers headshots at 20-30m quite reliably. 

 

This ought to be toned down.. as it makes no sense that every survivor is a top-notch marksman.

 

IMO, DayZ needs rpg-like statistics you would choose while spawning and which would improve with use. It'd allow people to choose what they're good at, give  extra reasons for cooperation and so on. 

Edited July 17, 2014 by Cullis

[Bigbadchuck 97]

Magnum in a chest holster may not be the most practical choice but I enjoy looking like Dirty Harry. Not to mention at close range it can be a one shot kill. My magnum has saved my ass several times in police stations, barracks and jail houses.

[Evil Minion 943]

As you can glue a rifle to your back but can't do the same with a pistol their one true advantage (portability) is actually reversed. Add to this that its much harder to find pistol magazines than rifle rounds and rifles in general being very common pistols only serve a stealth or backup role.

 

If they would make rifles less common and pistol magazines easier to find as well as removing the "bonus slot" for rifles (making them require a sling, special backpack or at least a rope to carry them on your back) handguns would actually have a viable place in the arsenal.

[Death By Crowbar 1213]

I use a side arm when I don't want anyone to know I'm armed. The element of surprise is there unlike when you've got a long gun on your back.

[rybo 171]

If I carry a semi-auto or fully automatic rifle I carry a silenced sidearm.

 

If I carry a Mosin I carry either a sawed off shotgun or sidearm or MP5K.

 

 

 

 

The only reason is so you can engage at any responsible distance with relative ease.

Edited July 17, 2014 by RyBo

[rybo 171]

Magnum in a chest holster may not be the most practical choice but I enjoy looking like Dirty Harry. Not to mention at close range it can be a one shot kill. My magnum has saved my ass several times in police stations, barracks and jail houses.

 

Killed a dude at 200m one shot with the Magnum. It's bomb but not normally my go-to due too low round count. Aiming for the face makes up for the caliber size.

Edited July 17, 2014 by RyBo

[Red_Ensign 990]

the FNX45 has always been my main weapon.  it's faster, quieter (especially supressed), has good stopping power, can be hidden, and I think you can run faster.

 

I usually (not always) carry a long rifle or an smg too, but almost never use it.

[gibonez 3633]

Pistols are notoriously difficult to fire accurately. There've been plenty of cases of people blazing away with guns at a distance of a couple of meters and completely missing their intended targets. 

 

Also.. what dispersion is there now?

Amphibia delivers headshots at 20-30m quite reliably. 

 

This ought to be toned down.. as it makes no sense that every survivor is a top-notch marksman.

 

IMO, DayZ needs rpg-like statistics you would choose while spawning and which would improve with use. It'd allow people to choose what they're good at, give  extra reasons for cooperation and so on. 

 

Guns also dont arc bullets in 45 degree angles.

 

The reason pistols are hard to shoot in real life is because it is not a very stable platform the guns themselves are actually really inherently accurate.

 

Short thick stout barrels with little to no flex = accuracy only limited by the bullets they fire

 

The game is already talking steps to simulating what makes a gun inaccurate in real life with the new sway. If they ever add some sight misalignment everything will be perfectly set up for the guns to have their real life mechanic accuracy.

 

The only reason for a pistol to fire 10 feet to the left of a person at 50m in game should be user error not a rng magical cone of fire.

[Fear The Amish 40]

Pistols are notoriously difficult to fire accurately. There've been plenty of cases of people blazing away with guns at a distance of a couple of meters and completely missing their intended targets. 

 

Also.. what dispersion is there now?

Amphibia delivers headshots at 20-30m quite reliably. 

 

This ought to be toned down.. as it makes no sense that every survivor is a top-notch marksman.

 

IMO, DayZ needs rpg-like statistics you would choose while spawning and which would improve with use. It'd allow people to choose what they're good at, give  extra reasons for cooperation and so on. 

 

Most of these cases though are people that A.) do not know how to correctly hold a sidearm, or B.) people that forget their training under fire. I can get 90%+ of my rounds center target at 25-50 yards in under 20 seconds with my Beretta 9mm. Now i know this means nothing in a kill or be killed situation but it clearly shows that the platform isn't the problem its the shooter.

Edited July 17, 2014 by Fear The Amish

[toasted duckie 156]

Pistols saved my life, let me explain why. 

When I enter a town, I often leave most of my gear stashed away in the woods. So I leave my rifle, backpack and other stuff I don't need behind. Only the absolute necessary gear comes with me (ammo, bandages). One might find this odd, but let me tell you the reason why I do this. I try to look unimportant / no threat to others. 

This is extremely useful in some cases, because: people might not fire at you when they see you, or they DO fire, but you flee into a building. They will think you are unarmed and come rushing in to kill poor mr. bambi. Little does he know that at that time you've already pulled out your FNX and are ready to make it rain lead ;) Happened to me more then once. It's exciting, justified and you get out alive.

[TiggyPooh 134]

FNX with a flashlight is fantastic for looting at night, it has no sway and points directly where you point your mouse and you are armed.

[archamedes 238]

the FNX45 has always been my main weapon.  it's faster, quieter (especially supressed), has good stopping power, can be hidden, and I think you can run faster.

 

I usually (not always) carry a long rifle or an smg too, but almost never use it.

Um you do realize that the suppressors dont actually work yet, right?

[q.S Sachiel 470]

Definitely worth having a pistol.  The Amphibia-S is pretty good at concealing your position (from players*) : *except that zombies can still hear you and will make vector to your shot, as well as the amphibia leaving tracers which can betray your position.

 

Using secondary weapons can be dangerous though, as you need to swap out, and if you're constantly swapping to kill zombies or something to save primary rounds, then you're making yourself frequently vulnurable (discounting that the primary is generally 'stronger' than pistol).

Close quarters, I frequently swap to pistol.  The smaller, lighter pistol is more responsive to my movements, and when compared to the low capacity and ROF of say, mosin, blaze or 22 (arguably SKS, i'd use 50:50 pistol:sks in close quarters) the 8+ mag and fast ROF of a pistol makes me feel more comfortable when indoors / raiding tent cities etc...

 

with AKM and PSO-1 scope, i'd say it's mostly redundant to use a pistol just make sure you're hip-firing your AKM and not scoping in for those close shots...  Still, the pistol may be more responsive to your movements, giving you a slight advantage on the first shot, but you're trading that for vastly reduced power.

 

plenty of times i've had the jump on players with my 1911 and reduced them to swiss cheese, while only taking a shot or two from their SKS/M4.  These encounters are within 5 meters however.. pistol is a gamble at 15m+ if you want reliability.

 

I always have one one me, though i'm hesitant to bring them out depending on the environment, my primary and how the other player(s) are reacting/armed. TLDR: pistol good.

[King Raptor 191]

Um you do realize that the suppressors dont actually work yet, right?

Haha!

We use sawed-off shotguns as sidearms. They can be hidden in the backpack, are quicker to equip than regular rifles and there s a good chance you ll break someone s legs with  m.

Yeah, I know that's not the definition of a sidearm.

Edited July 18, 2014 by King Raptor

[q.S Sachiel 470]

shotguns pretty much always > pistols.

except that my experience with the SG results in the target not only being shredded, but all his stuff as well :()

[GeorgieBest 7]

shotguns pretty much always > pistols.

except that my experience with the SG results in the target not only being shredded, but all his stuff as well :()

It's fun blowing people to bits though.

[q.S Sachiel 470]

granted, i love liquidating someone as much as the next psycopath, but occasionally i like to walk away with some of their things, too ;)

[bige678 2]

Thank you again for the replies. There have been some good points and valuable perspective on this...I learned a lot. I have decided to stop carrying a handgun for now. With my play style I think the slots can be used better without the FNX.

[Khanarac 252]

Yea there is a point. If you are very close up you can kill an AKM guy more quickly and reliably than with a mosin or SKS. They extra turning speed and stability can mean everything. Also the rate of fire is high. The only real problem is the bug with pistols, that keeps your character putting away your pistol. That can kill you.

 

Ive been quite successful with the FNX inside of buildings.

[Red_Ensign 990]

Um you do realize that the suppressors dont actually work yet, right?

 

I would know that from... where exactly?

 

and... so?  it's still quieter than a rifle.  nitpicking pain in the balls.

[IronCross 78]

I would know that from... where exactly?

 

and... so?  it's still quieter than a rifle.  nitpicking pain in the balls.

From the blatantly obvious noisy BANG that all the weapons make, which doesn't change when you add the suppressor.

Do you always get this defensive when wrong?