These stories first appeared in Hunt's Book of Weapons, an in-game collection of found documents curated by an unknown researcher. They are replicated here in their original format. This means that many of the stories are not presented chronologically, or in one grouping, and it is left to the reader to put together the puzzle pieces and determine to what extent they contain fact, fiction, or fable.

In the Hunt: Showdown 1896 release, our Variant terminology was simplified. We have updated it here.

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Dolch 96

DOLCH 96. (See also, GERMAN FIREARMS, PISTOL) Of the Dolch 96, Winston Churchill has said: "[It] was the best thing in the world." A semi-automatic, top-loading pistol produced by the German manufacturer of the same name, the Dolch 96 was favored by the military because of its powerful ammunition.

The shape of the Dolch's stock earned it the nickname "broom handle," and it was effective at "sweeping" an area of enemies with the 10 high-velocity rounds held within the magazine. However, the box cannon variation model of the Dolch 96 is generally preferred as the addition of a holster and shoulder stock increases safety and ease of use.

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Journal of William Salter
Severe water damage; reconstructed by archivist
Unlined paper, 3x5 in.
6/10

July? 1895

Black outs more frequent. Memory unreliable. Came to today in the midst of a horrific act. Have become hardened to violence, but feelings of fear and shame return to me in the remembering tenfold. I make my confession here, on these pages, and pray that God finds me here. Perhaps He has not given up on me yet.

I awoke astride a man, knife in hand, stabbing, stabbing, stabbing, unable to stop. I wept and yet I could not stop. There was a sound in my head as of a storm. I felt horror. I felt powerful. At peace. And then shackled with guilt at my own response. And still I did not stop my hand from driving the knife again and again into his chest, crunching through the brittle bone blanketed in ragged strips of skin. I drove the knife into him until the corpse upon which I sat was little more than a damp puddle, a heap of slippery wet matter. The smell was overpowering. I will surely go to hell. What does it matter? I am already there.

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Journal of William Salter
Severe water damage; reconstructed by archivist
Unlined paper, 3x5 in.
7/10

Nighttime, she walked straight into my cabin. She the fly. I the spider. A surprise guest! Hahaha. Her name is Mary. An older woman, not suitable to fight, but I found another use for her. I feel as if I know her. She seemed disoriented, and I pretended cordiality, offering tea. She seemed nervous, but sat down at the little table, and I heated some water and poured it over a handful of swamp grass. She didn't seem to notice and sat silently sipping the vile liquid as if in a dream. I had her tied up in the chair faster than a squirrel up a tree. She did not resist. My knife was polished up so the first thing I did was test out the blade. She bleeds profusely. I must find a way to staunch the flow, I am not ready to let her die. I must consult the medical book. Perhaps I can keep her alive a few days longer.

Anything to take my mind off. Pored over the Roebuck. Cheery ads and nice pictures of every gun you could want. All so clean, in the picture. Blood splatter on it now. Makes it look like my Dolch, leaning over there in the corner. Rusty and broken. Did Papa have one? No, probably not. Used to shoot rabbits off the porch, they got at the crops. Didn't have no crops. Just pigs. I could get him one for his birthday.

Dolch 96 Dumdum Ammo

RN: Cannibalism such as Salter's is surprisingly commonplace. But the glee with which he partakes is quite rare. Ghastly enough to question one's notions of the human mind.

Dolch 96 Claw

DOLCH 96 CLAW. (See also, GERMAN FIREARMS, PISTOL) The Dolch 96 Claw exhibits the power of the original Dolch 96, with the addition of a knife blade to the handle. The geometric engineering of the pistol is certainly not a feature that the German manufacturer would have approved of, but those who survived an unexpected stabbing from the pistol's handle swear by its effectiveness.

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Journal of Daisy Duch
Very worn, brown leather 4.25" x 8.25"
1/2

1 relic
1 bowl
3 cups salt water
2 heir's fingers
1 willing heart

June 2nd, 1895

I stowed away on a boat because a ripped advertisement in the gutter promised me "homes for the homeless." Nobody mentioned that my home would end up being in a shack without a roof or a garden. Should have known by then not to dream. And when I birthed my Julie, the spawn of that accursed sailor, even my dreams of having dreams were dissolved.
But I am rekindled.

It has been a rotten life, and it was the world which rotted me. But now I see the world decay, all the horrors it rained on my head dropping off my back and taking root. I still do not dream—I can't dream anymore—but I can't sleep either. I am awake every night, as my thudding heart will not rest until the rot overruns the world. My dormant pact has shown me how to tend its roots.

Julie will not understand. Her dreams are still alive, and she believes mine can still return if I am pious enough—if I become a righteous defender of the marshes like her. I mourn that only the pain I have befriended will show her the way. But I did my duty as a mother and now I do my duty as a vessel.

My mind strains more than what is common here. It will not let me take these truths to sleep, but my heart needs to know they will not be found. These pages will rot with my body, and I will enjoy the freedom.

Dolch 96 FMJ Ammo

RN: Records are sparse and unreliable, but it appears a Julie Duch did wield a modified Dolch Deadeye and became a respected local gunsmith in her lifetime.

Dolch 96 Bullseye

DOLCH 96 BULLSEYE. (See also, GERMAN FIREARMS, PISTOL) It was vital that the scope modification to the Dolch 96 avoided hindering the pistol's ability to effortlessly holster. It was affixed slightly to the side of the pistol to not interfere with the action of the receiver. This way it can be wielded as a surprisingly dynamic weapon: a quick-firing sidearm that is effective at much longer distances than comparable pistols which aren't as lightweight.

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Journal of Daisy Duch
Very worn, brown leather 4.25" x 8.25"
2/2

June 8th, 1895

Six days since Daisy disappeared.

This is unmistakably my mother's pistol, the taloned Dolch she thought I never saw under her pillow. It's all that's left of her, save for this journal at the feet of this strange boat-scrap-shrine. I struggle to grasp what happened, and I struggle more to write about it.

Hands that comforted me, stroked my hair as I panicked in the dark. They taught me how to tend a flower, to birth fruit. Those same hands robbed me of both trigger fingers. I do not fathom. What duty has she done? Did she bring another's heart for the ritual, or did she offer her own?

All I had was hers, and now all I had is taken.

She writes of leaving her body behind, and her new friends oft encouraged her to forsake this coil. I fear she has, yet I also fear what I might do to her if she remains. Turn her pistol against her? Her pistol blade has blood on it, and salt water too. I misspeak—it is coated with blood and was at the foot of this shrine. If she has forsaken her body, where then is her soul?

June 14th, 1895

I can await a sign no longer. I hear her voice upon the wind, but I also hear my heart's own fears whisper in my ear. The bayou tries to rot my mind and it will succeed if I am not steadfast. I leave this journal here, mother. May your unquenched soul see these writings and rejoice that your daughter will survive. I will defang your pistol, perhaps add a scope, and burn your legacy. This journal does indeed die with you.

I hope you are tormented in that wooden prison. I love you, mother.

Dolch 96 Precision

DOLCH 96 PRECISION. (See also, GERMAN FIREARMS, PISTOL) The Dolch 96 Precision exhibits the power of the original Dolch 96, with the addition of a wooden shoulder stock for increased stability and accuracy. The stock also doubles as a holster and carrying case, a dual functionality that earned the clip-loading, semi-automatic firearm the name "box cannon." The box magazine is reloaded by sliding a row of cartridges into the magazine from a slot on the top of the bar. Recommended when quick, powerful fire is required.

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Journal of William Salter
Severe water damage; reconstructed by archivist
Unlined paper, 3x5 in.
8/10

I am a surgeon now. Pappy would be so proud. Following in the family line.

No proper tools. The sharpest knife in the cabin is the blade fastened to the talon with cutting wire. I pushed the sharp point into her flesh just above the wound where I shot her, and she was unconscious, but she moaned. Slicing the flesh was easy enough. I have experience gutting squirrel and deer. But a bayonet is no bone saw. I was forced to strike at it with force, many times, until it shattered. The screams that followed hurt my ears. When I finally severed the leg and cauterized the wound, I stood silently on the porch, gripping the cold limb in my hand, the slow realization dawning on me that I had not eaten meat in some time.

I feel strong now. Nourished. I have learned so much today.