I recently finished Bethesda Game Studios' masterpiece Fallout 3, and I've been having trouble putting it down. Today I surfed over to The Vault, a massive gaming Wiki dedicated to the Fallout series. My goal was to learn the locations of some of the game's unique weapons so I could add them to my virtual collection. While on their unique weapons page, I came across the name of my favorite weapon in the game, Lincoln's Repeater, pictured above. It's a powerful rifle with a 15-round magazine that fires .44 magnum caliber bullets, and can be found in the Offices of the post-apocalyptic version of the Museum of History.
Initially, I figured this was just a historical in-joke. There are actually quite a few Abraham Lincoln items in the game, all of which can be sold to Hannibal Hamlin, a man who, according to his page at The Vault, "dreams of creating a safe haven for runaway slaves." When the player completes the "Head of State" quest, Hamlin sets up his safe haven at the Lincoln Memorial. He's a Lincoln buff, and will buy any Lincoln-related items you find on your journey. One of these items is an "Action Abe Action Figure," obviously a joke. I assumed the Repeater was too. Then, I clicked on the Wiki's page for the rifle. Apparently, I don't know my Abe Lincoln history very well.
Lincoln actually owned a .44 magnum caliber repeating rifle (pictured above, courtesy of Smithsonian Images), and the one in Fallout 3 is a pretty faithful representation of the real one, right down to the engraving and octagonal barrel. It, too, is located in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, just like its video game counterpart.
According to the Smithsonian Web site's profile of Lincoln's Henry Rifle, "this gold mounted, engraved Henry rifle was presented to Abraham Lincoln in an effort to obtain his influence in their purchase for the war effort." It features a floral design and a cartouche that reads "Lincoln/President/U.S.A.", pictured below (courtesy of Smithsonian Images).
In Fallout 3, Lincoln's Repeater is a very formidable weapon. When found in the Museum of History, the rifle is in mint condition, and players can repair it with .32 caliber Hunting Rifles, which are plentiful around the Capital Wasteland. The Vault tells us that Hannibal Hamlin will buy Lincoln's Repeater for 150 caps or 300 caps if you can persuade him to pay more, and it must be in mint condition. Seriously though, why would you sell this thing?
The Vault makes a very good point regarding the Repeater's accuracy. Sniper Rifles technically have a higher accuracy rating in Fallout 3, but the game's mechanics actually give Lincoln's Repeater the edge. Shots fired from a Sniper Rifle (and any scoped weapon) outside of V.A.T.S. mode take slightly longer to reach their targets. This means the player must compensate for this slight difference in bullet speed. The Repeater's shots have no spread, and reach their targets instantly.
Procuring one of these in real life is decidedly more difficult than in Fallout 3, unless you possess mad heisting skills. A quick Google search revealed the Henry Repeating Arms Web site, which is packed full of rifles that look exactly like Lincoln's famous one. The site actually has a listing for a special Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Tribute version of what appears to be their flagship rifle, the Golden Boy. Strangely, this rifle doesn't even fire .44 magnum bullets. The best representation of Lincoln's original Henry rifle appears to be the engraved .44 magnum caliber Big Boy Deluxe, pictured below. It's run is limited to 1000, and it costs a hefty $1995.95, so the regular .44 Big Boy (at $899.95) is probably more realistic from a consumer's point of view.
As far as I'm concerned, it's the little things like this that put Fallout 3 a step above other RPGs of this generation. The game is utterly massive, and Bethesda still managed to pepper little easter eggs like this throughout the world. It all simply adds to the sense of immersion, which is of paramount importance concerning any RPG. And there's apparently some real history to be learned here too.
Who says video games can't be educational?
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