2/10/2011 - I'm testing my mod with Dogdown1's graphical upgrade for That Gun, I'm 99.9% sure they'll work fine together but I'm still going to test them together to be sure.

12/14/10 - Updated for latest NV patch 1.2.0.314. Made some minor stat tweaks. Includes optional esp files to add gun to improved holdout weapons list & Raoul's Old Vaquero perk. Note that the new patch automatically makes it work with the Cowboy perk, so you don't need a mod for that anymore.

11/26/10 - Now compatible with WME - Weapon Mod Expansion by Jonnyeah! go here for compatibility patch.

The .223 Pistol in Fallout 1 & 2 was a real hand-cannon, basically a sawed-off sniper rifle that could blow fist-sized holes in Super Mutants with ease. So it was depressing to discover that That Gun, the New Vegas version of the .223 Pistol, was actually quite bad - it was weaker than a .357 Magnum revolver and the firing sound was flat. Also, the name "That Gun" is just silly.

This mod fixes all that, and some other things besides. What you get:

1) A MORE POWERFUL WEAPON

That Gun has very weak stats, doing less damage than some 9mm pistols. This mod kicks things up a notch without being ridiculous, making it the equivalent of a heavy-duty magnum revolver.

+Damage: 18 -> 36 (same as .44 Magnum)
+Critical damage: 18 -> 36 (same as .44 Magnum)
+Spread: 0.5 -> 0.3 (same as Lucky .357)
+Durability raised from 225 to 300
+Value raised from 1750 to 3000
+Critical chance: 2.5X (unchanged)
+Requires 5 strength and 50 guns

2) CHOICE OF 2 CALIBERS

Available in the "classic" 5.56 or .44 Magnum depending on which .esp you use. Bullet model fired by the gun even matches the caliber you choose! Which caliber is better is really just a matter of personal preference.

3) WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Since "That Gun" is a dumb name, a lot. 5.56 version name changed to ".223 Pistol" & .44 Magnum version name changed to "2019 Detective Special."

4) BETTER SOUND EFFECTS

The old firing sound was flat and weak. Now you get a new, stronger firing sound that better fits the gun's improved power. More boom more better.

5) MORE REPAIR OPTIONS

That Gun can't be repaired with any other gun unless you take the Jury Rigging perk, which seems kind of dumb. With this mod can fix it with either service rifles or .44 magnum revolvers (depending on which caliber you chose.)

6) OTHER GOODIES

I've also included an *optional* additional mod to add That Gun to holdout weapon list, and another one to add it to Raoul's Old Vaquero perk since technically it *is* a revolver.

7) COMPATIBILITY

This mod should work with any mod that doesn't modify That Gun, which is almost all of them. You can use it with Moddable Unique Weapons mod if you use NV Nod Manager to load it AFTER the MUW mod...you won't get the mods for That Gun, but you will get all of my improvements to That Gun *and* you will be able to mod all the other guns that MUW adds mod kits for.

The optional mod to add That Gun to the Cowboy perk weapon list should work with all mods that don't change perks.

I can't guarantee that this mod won't throw your computer (OR YOU!) into the heart of the sun, but so far it has played well with pretty much everything and no bugs have been reported to me yet.

Worthless trivia that probably only matters to me: The .223 Pistol (and That Gun) are based on the gun carried by the character Deckard in the movie "Blade Runner." It's commonly referred to by fans as the "2019 Detective Special." The movie's prop guy made it from parts of a .222 rifle and a .44 revolver.