The NEW Shotgun META? Homestead 78 Mastery | Hunt: Showdown 1896

Intro

Hi guys, Rex here! With the 1896 update and the Web of the Empress event, Hunt: Showdown introduced two brand-new scarce weapons — and today, we’re taking a closer look at one of them: the Homestead 78.

This double-barrel shotgun can’t be bought from the store like most weapons.
To get it, you’ll need to spend three pledge marks at the Bileweaver’s Nest, where you’ll open a special weapon box with a 50/50 chance of granting either the Homestead 78 or the new Wildland rifle — which I’ll cover in a separate mastery video soon.

The devs have confirmed that these scarce weapons will stay in the game after the event ends, though it’s still unclear whether they’ll remain scarce or become purchasable for Hunt dollars.

The Homestead 78 is, in essence, a perfect hybrid between the Rival 78 and the Romero 77 — combining the Rival’s fast two-shot action with the Romero’s excellent range and buckshot consistency.

Mechanically, it’s straightforward — a break-action double-barrel with a clean, crisp reload.

Think of it as the Rival and Romero 2.0 — and it absolutely lives up to that name.
Despite its scarcity, it’s quickly becoming one of the most popular shotguns in Hunt right now.

It deals 220 damage, has a drop-off range of 30 meters, and a muzzle velocity of 450 meters per second.

Now, let’s talk ammo options — because this shotgun has plenty.

Buckshot is the default and the most reliable choice. The stats on the Homestead and the Romero are almost identical, meaning the buckshot itself performs the same — but thanks to the Homestead’s faster double-barrel fire rate, it’s essentially a much stronger Romero.
You get that same tight spread and reliable one-tap potential, but with a rapid follow-up shot that gives you a huge edge in close-quarters fights.

Slugs turn the Homestead into a pseudo-rifle. These heavy projectiles can headshot at longer ranges and deal massive impact damage, though they’re not pinpoint accurate due to slight deviation.

Pennyshot deals heavy blunt damage and excels in PvE — perfect for bosses and meatheads, and it can even one-shot immolators without triggering their explosion — but its lack of penetration makes it less consistent in PvP. Due to its high blunt damage, Pennyshot can also be used to break open doors and windows to make a quick entry!

Dragon Breath sets enemies on fire, chars or destroys health chunks, and ignites explosives or downed hunters — but sacrifices raw damage and penetration power.

And finally, Flechette fires razor-sharp darts that cause medium bleeding and have a very tight spread. It’s great for applying pressure at range or softening up enemies before pushing.

In this video, I’m putting the Homestead 78 and all of its ammo types to the test.
For my loadouts, I mostly paired it with an Uppercut or Trueshot pistol to cover mid- to long-range fights.

Make sure you stick around until the end, where I’ll be sharing my final thoughts and recommendations for this new weapon — but without further ado, let’s dive into it!

Thoughts & Recommendations

After spending some time with the Homestead 78, I can confidently say it’s an absolute blast to use.

It feels and sounds amazing — smooth, powerful, and extremely satisfying. It’s basically a more versatile Rival, with the Romero’s consistency.

The ability to fire two rapid, hard-hitting shots gives it a serious edge in close- to mid-range fights, and the buckshot reliability makes it deadly even slightly beyond where most shotguns start to fall off.

In my experience, buckshot is by far the most reliable, with slugs coming in as a close second.

The other three ammo types — Pennyshot, Dragon Breath, and Flechette — are fun to experiment with, but I personally don’t find them as worth running for serious matches.

Slugs are strong, but I still think buckshot is the way to go for this weapon — it’s the most consistent and makes the weapon shine in its intended range.

The Homestead’s firing speed and spread pattern makes it arguably the most dependable shotgun in the entire game right now.

It’ll be interesting to see if it ever becomes purchasable for Hunt dollars. But for now, it’s a scarce treasure — powerful, fun, and absolutely worth grinding for.

But now I want to hear your opinion! What do YOU think about the Homestead 78, and what’s your favorite ammo type to run with it?

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