The assault rifle is the only gun in the base game that utilizes 5.56 ammunition.Sold at the Nuka-Cade for 10100 Nuka-Cade tickets (items rotate every couple of days).Carried and sold by Allen Lee in Far Harbor.One can be found in Kendall Hospital, on a table next to a lit lantern in the raider area above the deathclaw.One can be found inside the crashed vertibird at Coast Guard Pier (may require the use of explosives to get into reachable range).Another is carried by Edward Deegan, an employee of the Cabot family.One is carried by Captain Maria at Parsons State Insane Asylum.One can be found next to the Expert locked terminal in the National Guard recruitment office on top of a container.One can be found next to a door control terminal in the lowest level of the Massachusetts State House, outside the area where a mirelurk queen spawns.
At higher levels, modified assault rifles may appear as loot. Any modification requires investment in the Gun Nut perk, and some investment in the Science! perk for its advanced optical sights. The assault rifle has low recoil and high accuracy even when fitted with an automatic receiver. The weapon is heavy for an assault rifle, weighing 13.1 pounds (5.9 kg) unmodified with a short barrel, and when modified can weigh as much as 26 pounds. This damage can be increased by finding a legendary variant with the mighty/powerful prefix. A regular, semi-automatic assault rifle with all of the highest level mods equipped deals around 99 damage with all of the Rifleman perks. The assault rifle starts off semi-automatic but can be modded or found with an automatic receiver at the expense of significant damage reduction. A common sight in the Commonwealth, this assault rifle is used by higher-ranking raiders, Gunners officers and some super mutants.