The Most VERSATILE Sidearm?! Haymaker Mastery | Hunt: Showdown 1896

Intro

Hi guys, Rex here!

Today we’re diving into one of the most unique sidearms in Hunt: Showdown — the Haymaker. A 2-slot long-ammo pistol with a built-in shotgun barrel, giving it a level of versatility that no other long-ammo sidearm can match. The only other pistol that has this underbarrel shotgun feature is the compact-ammo LeMat. The Haymaker actually used to be part of the LeMat family under the name “UpperMat”, before being renamed and moved into it’s own weapon family.

Let’s start with the base stats.

The Haymaker deals 122 damage, fires long ammo at 530 meters per second, and has a drop range of 65 meters. It has a relatively low fire rate, but makes up for it in raw power. The real twist is the underbarrel shotgun — allowing you to cover both close- and mid-range in one mean package.

The Haymaker only has one variant, so let’s move onto ammo types:

Regular ammo follows the base stats of the weapon. A powerful and well-rounded option with decent penetration power.

Poison ammo prevents healing and limits hearing and vision, but has no penetration power, making it somewhat unreliable.

FMJ has better penetration power and damage retention through surfaces and on range, but it reduces velocity and drop range enough that it hurts consistency.

The shotgun barrel offers four ammo types.

Buckshot is the default — a balanced option with solid damage, reasonable spread, and the ability to penetrate wooden surfaces.

Slugs are single, high-damage projectiles. They have higher one-shot potential over distance than buckshot and can even land headshots. They aren’t perfectly accurate at long range due to a bit of deviation, but they are still incredibly consistent overall.

Dragon Breath can char health bars, apply pressure, and burn bodies, but is less reliable overall.

And finally, starshell works for illumination or burning downed hunters. It can be used as a replacement for your flare pistol or fuses, but overall I wouldn’t recommend it.

Now let’s talk loadouts.

I ran the Haymaker as my primary weapon for this mastery. My two main setups were:

• Haymaker + Rival Shorty, using the Rival for close range and the Haymaker to handle mid-range fights
• Double Haymakers, which turned into one of the most fun — and surprisingly powerful — builds I’ve played in a long time

With double Haymakers, if you utilize the quickswap mechanic, you can completely skip the cycling animation and fire the second pistol almost instantly. This gives you a ridiculously fast two-tap potential. What started as a meme idea turned into an incredibly viable loadout, and I even made a dedicated video showing just how powerful it is, so make sure to check that out after watching this one!

This video covers the best rounds from this mastery, and at the end I’ll share my thoughts and recommendations. So stay tuned — but without further ado, let’s dive into it!

Thoughts & Recommendations

After spending several days with the Haymaker, here is my verdict.

The Haymaker is an extremely powerful and fun weapon. It hits hard at mid-range, has a powerful shotgun option, and offers some of the strongest quickswap potential in the entire game.

I had multiple fights where I quickswapped between two Haymakers and downed entire trios in seconds.

In high-MMR lobbies, the Haymaker absolutely holds up as a long-ammo sidearm — especially if you run Quartermaster. It fills a similar role to the Uppercut, but the underbarrel shotgun gives it way more flexibility in close-range fights. The main downside is the 2-slot size, which limits what you can bring alongside it unless you invest in Quartermaster, but if you do, the payoff is huge.

At 279 Hunt Dollars, the Haymaker is absolutely worth picking up if you want a powerful, reliable, and versatile sidearm.

My recommendation?

Run regular long ammo in the pistol barrel and slugs in the shotgun barrel. Slugs are my preferred choice — they’re consistent, reliable, and incredibly satisfying to use. Buckshot is still a great option if you prefer a more traditional shotgun feel, but the remaining ammo types don’t offer enough value to be worth using in most situations.

For maximum fun — and honestly, for some of the strongest plays you can get out of this weapon — try dual Haymakers with quickswap. It feels borderline illegal at times and is easily one of the most entertaining builds I’ve ever played.

On a final note, I’d say the Haymaker is best suited for more experienced players, mainly because you need to manage two firing modes. That said, it’s not so complex that beginners can’t learn it. The Uppercut is more straightforward and beginner-friendly, but the Haymaker has a much higher ceiling once you get comfortable with it.

But now I want to hear your opinion.

What do YOU think about the Haymaker, and will you be giving the quick-swap loadout a try?

Let me know in the comments — and until next time, I’ll see you in the bayou!