Pistol Packing is an unmarked quest in Fallout: New Vegas.
Quick walkthrough[]
| Unmarked Quest: Pistol Packing | |||||
| Reach the Brotherhood bunker at Hidden Valley and speak with Knight Torres in the armory on level 1; ask about helping out with her tasks. | |||||
| Talk to the BOS paladin at the firing range opposite from Torres' station. | |||||
| Speak with Initiate Stanton on level 1. | |||||
| Reach Scorpion gulch slightly southeast of Hidden Valley to retrieve the missing laser pistol. | |||||
| Return to Quartermaster Torres. | |||||
| Reward: Tri-beam laser rifle Brotherhood of Steel fame | |||||
Detailed walkthrough[]
To start the quest, reach Hidden Valley northeast of the NCR Correctional Facility and enter the bunker occupied by the Brotherhood of Steel;
if doing so for the first time, this will require advancing the side quest Still in the Dark up to Elder McNamara granting permission to leave Hidden Valley freely. On the bunker's level 1, going to the main area and to the westernmost side will lead to a firing range and the armory managed by Knight Torres; if Still in the Dark is progressed to a certain point, she will be available as a weapons merchant. Asking Torres about ways to help out will get her to mention that she is missing a laser pistol from her inventory and wants to avoid this fact being found out by Edgar Hardin. One can then volunteer to help find it for her.
From Torres' kiosk, turn around and re-enter the firing range and speak with the paladin sitting at the desk (if the paladin rangemaster isn't there, look for him on the lower deck in the large sleeping area). Ask about the missing laser pistol; the the paladin will mention that Initiate Stanton was the last one to check it out, but he signed it back in afterward. It is necessary to get this information before talking to Stanton, or else he will claim that he doesn't know anything about the pistol.
Stanton can be found wandering around the bunker's level 1 or in the classroom in the same location during daytime; at night, he will be inside the initiate barracks, which is opposite of the long, oval-shaped hallway from the firing range. When speaking to him, mentioning the case of the missing laser pistol will get him to admit about how he and Apprentice Watkins snuck out of the bunker lockdown and went out to the nearby scorpion gulch for a "training exercise." Once he and Watkins realized the scorpions were more than they could handle, they ran away, during which he dropped the laser pistol in the confusion. If one found out that he checked the laser pistol back in, Stanton will reveal that he falsified the records to try and hide it from Torres. One can also speak to Watkins about the secret, but she will show no remorse for it. Note: The laser pistol will not spawn in place until talking to Stanton and agreeing to find it for him to fix his mistake.
The entrance to scorpion gulch is found near the southeast corner of the site of Hidden Valley, through a broken section of the fence lining. At the heart of the gulch (where the map marker will appear), the missing laser pistol can be found be on top of a rock. As inferred by its name, the gulch is inhabited by both bark scorpions and radscorpions, including giant radscorpions at higher levels.
After obtaining the laser pistol, return to the bunker to give it to Torres. She will be thankful for the Courier's help covering her hide and gift a tri-beam laser rifle as a reward for services rendered, completing the quest and garnering a small amount of Brotherhood of Steel fame.
Notes[]
- If it was located beforehand, fast traveling to scorpion gulch will place the player character near the site of the missing laser pistol, but also very close to a number of radscorpions whose size and strength may depend on player level.
- Before being picked up, the missing laser pistol is susceptible to being thrown off the rock it's laying on by explosives.
- There is actually a misspelling in the subtitles during this quest. If one asks Stanton where he specifically dropped it, he will say "I remember dropping it as we ran," but the subtitles will display "I remember dropping in as we ran."
Behind the scenes[]
The quest name is a reference to the 1943 song "Pistol Packin' Mama" by Al Dexter, who adapted it from the traditional folk song "Boil Them Cabbage Down." The 1944 recording of the song by Bing Crosby was later featured as a track on Diamond City Radio in Fallout 4.
Bugs[]
At the end of the quest, the tri-beam laser rifle received as a reward will be bugged. Do not place it in the same inventory with another tri-beam laser rifle, as it will be replaced by the one received from Torres.[verified]
The "dead" wastelander could potentially be alive and fight the scorpions that occupy the gulch with an invisible varmint rifle. He will still drop the normal loot upon death.[verified]- A corpse may not actually be present to mark the rock. If not, it's the large one at the bottom of the "bowl."[verified]
- After speaking with Quartermaster Knight Torres to begin the quest, if asking Initiate Stanton where the laser pistol is before speaking with the paladin at the firing range desk, Stanton denies any knowledge of the laser pistol, and the paladin at the firing range desk can't be found to correct the quest. Exiting the bunker entirely and re-entering may correct the missing quartermaster's dialogue.[verified]
- The icon of the missing laser pistol on the Pip-Boy will show that of a plasma pistol instead of a laser pistol.[verified]
- The Search and Mark perk does not highlight the missing laser pistol.[verified]
- If deciding to assist Edgar Hardin in his attempt to become the elder, this quest will automatically be removed. The missing laser pistol will still appear on the rock. The Courier will have to initiate a conversation with Torres, exit that conversation, and start a new one in order to be prompted to return the laser pistol.[verified]
- The laser pistol may not appear on the rock, therefore voiding the quest. It may be found somewhere else in the gulch (as if a radscorpion moved it).[verified]
- Upon getting the missing laser pistol and returning to Hidden Valley, the dialogue options to return the missing laser pistol may not appear. Restarting the game followed by equipping then unequipping the laser pistol may fix this.[verified]
- Having more than one missing laser pistol in the inventory, by using console commands for example, may bug the quest, by not showing the proper dialogue options with Knight Torres to give the pistol and complete the quest. The bug can be fixed by removing the excess items from the inventory, using console commands.
