Sons Of The Forest: How to Get and Use the Pistol

Looking to get the Pistol in Sons Of The Forest?

Ranged combat has always been the preferred type of combat in survival games. The Forest had quite the arsenal of ranged weapons. Sons Of The Forest continued this tradition while expanding and adding even more ranged weapons for players to fight off cannibals and mutants. The Pistol is the latest addition to the set of ranged weapons. 

The Flintlock Pistol did appear in The Forest, and although it is classified as a Pistol, it doesn’t function nearly as well and fast as the modernized version. If you’re looking for a compact yet powerful weapon to defend yourself from enemies, then look no further. 

How to get the Pistol in Sons Of The Forest

No matter where you spawn on the map, locating the Pistol should be quite simple. There are two locations you can acquire the Pistol.

1. Inside a life raft floating in the ocean on the northwest part of the map. 
2. Or on the east side of the map, near a lake cave that requires the Maintenance Keycard.

We’ll detail below how to acquire the Pistol from the ocean, which is closest to all spawning points.

This life raft will always be marked with a purple exclamation mark on your GPS, which indicates a GPS locator. If you can’t find it yourself, look for the only exclamation mark in the water.

Beware, though, the area around the raft will be guarded by sharks. The sharks tend to hit heavily in this game. So, make sure to either throw some grenades at it or learn how to evade it. You’ll encounter the Pistol as soon as you enter the raft, alongside ammo and other supplies left by the protagonist’s fallen comrade.

If you manage to evade the shark, but it’s still waiting outside the raft, you can scare it off by shooting it with the Pistol, or if you’d like to save that precious ammo, pull out your crafted bow. Sharks will eventually come back, so if you manage to take one out, make a break for it. 

Lastly, this is also a great time to acquire “Need a Bigger Boat,” one of the many Sons Of The Forest Achievements available.

What type of ammo can it use?

The Pistol can use 9mm ammo. You’ll find a case of 9mm ammo close to the Pistol in the raft that should give you an idea of what to look for when looting. There’s not much 9mm ammo to go around on the island. But, considering how loot respawns after every session, you can farm it consistently.

Acquiring ammo for the Pistol requires you to scavenge the island and loot it from containers, loot crates, and other points of interest, such as bunkers and underground facilities.

Weapon attachments for the Pistol

Believe it or not, you can put weapon attachments on your firearms in this game, a welcomed addition. There are 4 attachments that you can put on the Pistol, and each adds just the right amount of diversity. In case it wasn’t made clear, you attach the upgrades by combining the Pistol with it in your crafting station. 

Pistol Rail Attachment

The Pistol rail serves as the foundation for all of the other attachments. You can’t attach any other Pistol attachment unless you’ve combined it with the Pistol rail. That said, you should prioritize getting this before searching for other attachments. 

It can be found on the beach near the raft where you got the Pistol. The body of another fallen comrade of yours should have it. The location of this body can be found on the interactive map we linked earlier. Luckily, this is close to the Pistol, so you shouldn’t have much trouble finding it. 

Flashlight Attachment

Now that you’ve attached the Pistol rail, you can start looking at other attachment options. The flashlight attachment is great for clearing caves with your Pistol, illuminating even the darkest caverns. 

This attachment can be found in the same cave where you find the Shovel. This cave is located near the snow spawn point, west of the huge mountain we see in the middle of the map. Remember that you need a Rebreather and Rope Gun to traverse this cave. 

The flashlight should be on an operative’s corpse at the end of the cave. Once again, the interactive map can give you a more accurate visualization of where this cave is.

Laser Sight Attachment

If a flashlight doesn’t do it for you, then a laser sight might. The laser sight allows you to be more accurate whilst hip-firing your Pistol. It’s a nifty attachment that, realistically, everyone could use. 

Finding this one is as tedious as the flashlight attachment. Here are a couple of steps to help you out:

1. A shovel will be required to access the location that holds the laser sight. 
2. Next up, you’ll have to make your way to the spot shown in the image above. 
3. Start digging until you uncover a maintenance hatch. 
4. Dig around the maintenance hatch until you can enter it.
5. Go down the hatch and enter the bunker.
6. You will find a room at the end of the hallway.
7. Enter that room and pick up the laser sight on a table next to the 3D Printer.

Silencer Attachment

The silencer attachment will be your best friend in stealth scenarios. It conceals your shots to a degree and helps you stay hidden longer. This may be one of the best attachments you can get for the Pistol. 

Finding it is very similar to the previous laser sight attachment. The only difference is the spot where you must dig to find another maintenance hatch. This hatch is located next to a cannibal camp, and the image above will show you the exact digging spot. The silencer will be located in a room down in the bunker, just like the laser sight.

Tips and tricks for using the Pistol

Whether or not you upgrade the Pistol, it is one of the best firearms in Sons Of The Forest. Bigger mutants, on the other hand, will put up more resistance, so try not to rely on a Pistol when fighting huge mutant bosses. 

Additionally, a Pistol can help you thin out attacking cannibal parties. A headshot with it comes a long way in breaking down the morale of a certain cannibal hunting party. It may not hit the hardest, but it sure will do the trick for general self-defense on the surface. Watch out, though; there’s a chance the noise from the Pistol attracts more unwanted guests.  

We’d recommend picking up the Pistol as soon as you can, preferably during the early game. 9mm ammo isn’t as rare, which gives you more lenience when wielding it. And if you’re planning on exploring the island properly, you shouldn’t have a problem stockpiling ammo.

How to equip the Pistol

As soon as you have the Pistol in your inventory, here’s how you can equip it: 

1. Press the default I key to open your inventory
2. Hover over the black case directly above the crafting station
3. Select the Pistol by clicking on it with the default Mouse 1 button
4. It will then be actively equipped

How to add the Pistol to the quick-select bag

The quick-select bag is a neat feature that allows you to pull out your backpack in the heat of battle and equip a certain weapon or tool. You can do this by holding the I key for 2 seconds. 

If you want to access the Pistol from that quick-select bag, you will need to add it to your backpack first. Here’s how you can add the Pistol to your backpack:

1. Open your inventory, default I key
2. Select and bring down your backpack
3. Add the Pistol to the backpack by selecting it
4. The Pistol will now be available once you pull up your quick-select bag in-game 

If you didn’t have many weapons in your inventory in the first place, then the Pistol might get added to the quick-select bag by default.   

How to assign the Pistol to a hotkey

The quick-select menu might not be quick enough for some, which is why hotkeys are a thing. You can assign any weapon or tool as a hotkey, which also applies to the Pistol. Follow these steps to get started: 

1. Open your inventory with the I key
2. Hover over the Pistol with your mouse 
3. Hold your mouse over the Pistol and press 1 of 10 hotkeys (1-0) to assign it to that key
4. Now you’ll be able to press that hotkey in-game and equip your Pistol instantly without having to pull up any menus.

FAQs

Final thoughts on the Pistol

The Sons Of The Forest Pistol is worth adding to your arsenal. It may not decimate your enemies, but it will offer enough stopping power to make any cannibal or mutant think twice about attacking you. There’s also the added benefit of offering this pistol as a sidearm for Virginia to use when she patrols your area. It never hurts having another set of eyes watching your back.