UnMATCHED Potential – Bornheim No. 3 Mastery! | Hunt: Showdown 1896

Intro

Hi guys, Rex here!

Today we’re taking a closer look at one of the fastest firing pistols in Hunt: Showdown — the Bornheim. A compact-ammo pistol with low recoil, fast follow-up shots, and partial reloads that make it feel very different from most other sidearms.

Let’s start with the base stats.

The Bornheim deals 74 damage, which unfortunately means it cannot 2-tap a 150 health hunter to the torso. It fires compact ammo at 380 meters per second and has a drop range of 80 meters.

Recoil is very low across all variants, making the weapon extremely easy to control and excellent for landing quick follow-up shots.

Since it uses partial reloads, the Bornheim ejects a round every time you reload. It can also perform clip reloads if 5 bullets are missing, but you’ll still eject that final bullet if you reload early. This makes the Bulletgrubber trait valuable if you want to avoid wasting ammo. Alternatively, you can empty the gun completely to benefit from the faster clip reload without losing bullets.

Now let’s talk about the variants.

The standard Bornheim is the base version, but for this mastery I skipped it entirely.

The Bornheim Extended functions exactly like the base version but with a larger magazine. The downside is that the extended variant loses the clip reload mechanic. The extra ammo makes it a bit more forgiving, but it still suffers from the same low-damage profile — 74 damage is simply not great.

The Silencer variant reduces damage by 5% from 74 down to 70 and lowers velocity from 380 to 323, with drop range reduced from 80 meters to 70. It’s weaker overall but incredibly satisfying to use. If you can click heads consistently, it becomes a surprisingly strong stealth sidearm.

Finally, we have the Bornheim Match — the clear standout of the entire lineup. As a 2-slot pistol, it features better stats across the board — bumping the damage up to 80 for consistent 2-tap potential, increasing the velocity to 400 meters per second, extending the drop range to 85 meters, and reducing recoil thanks to the added stock, which makes it feel way smoother overall. The Match feels like a legitimate primary weapon rather than just a sidearm, and it completely changes how the Bornheim plays.

Next up, let’s talk ammo.

Regular ammo follows the base stats of each variant and works fine, but it doesn’t address the Bornheim’s low-damage issue.

Incendiary compact ammo ignites hunters up to 20 meters with the first shot, and with 2 shots beyond that range. This is particularly powerful on the Match, as it will usually either kill with 2 hits or set them on fire.

High Velocity ammo increases bullet speed and adds a few meters of drop range. It also increases recoil slightly and reduces damage, which isn’t ideal for this weapon. However, on the Silencer, HV is fantastic — it brings the bullet speed back up to almost 400 m/s, making headshots much easier while keeping the stealth advantage. You get less ammo, but the consistency is worth it.

Subsonic ammo makes the weapon even quieter but drastically lowers velocity, making it hard to justify unless you’re fully committed to stealth gameplay. For most players, it’s simply not worth the trade-off.

For this mastery I ran a few different loadouts.

With the Silencer, I paired it with silenced dualies for full stealth gameplay.

With the Extended, I ran Extended dualies for maximum spam potential.

And with the Match — the star of the entire mastery — I used dual LeMat pistols with buckshot and incendiary. This setup was recommended by my friend and fellow Crytek partner Whityyy, and it turned out to be incredibly viable. The LeMats shotgun barrels dominated in close-range engagements, while the Match handled everything else with fast, accurate shots.

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 Bornheim and its variants, here is my verdict!

The Bornheim has incredible potential if you can land your shots — especially headshots. If you miss, the low damage is punishing and puts you at a disadvantage against most other sidearms in the game.

That said, I had some absolutely insane moments with it, including a 1v3 where I landed three back-to-back headshots and turned what would normally be a loss into a match-winning clutch. When the Bornheim works, it really works.

Among the variants, the Match stood out by a large margin.

It’s easily the best version, and honestly the only one I’d consider running regularly. The 2-tap potential, higher velocity, lower recoil, and overall smoother feel is a gamechanger.

The Silencer was my second favorite — weaker, but extremely fun and incredibly satisfying with High Velocity ammo. If you enjoy stealth loadouts, it’s a viable pick.

The Extended is fine, but it doesn’t fix the core issues: 74 damage is just too low in high-pressure fights. It’s decent, but easily outclassed by most other sidearms.

As for high-MMR gameplay, I genuinely believe only the Match holds up consistently. The rest of the lineup is overshadowed by weapons like the Dolch, Uppercut, LeMat, and pretty much every compact or medium-ammo sidearm that can 2-tap more reliably. Stat-wise, the Bornheim is the weakest pistol in the game — matching the damage of the Quad Derringer — which means you’re heavily reliant on accuracy.

In skilled hands, it can absolutely shine thanks to its fast fire rate, quick reloads, and low recoil, but for beginners, it’s extremely punishing and not worth the frustration.

Price-wise, the Bornheim lineup sits in the mid-range — 146 Hunt Dollars for the base version, 203 for the Extended, 167 for the Silencer, and 180 for the Match. For me, the Match is a steal at that price. The Silencer is worth it for stealth enjoyers, while the rest are kind of not worth it.

My recommendation?

Run the Match with incendiary.
Pair it with dual LeMats — incendiary and buckshot — for one of the most fun, skill-rewarding loadouts in the entire game. This setup absolutely slaps when you hit your shots, and it’s easily the variant I’ll keep using going forward.

But now I want to hear your opinion.

Which Bornheim variant do you prefer, and do you think the Match deserves more love? Let me know in the comments — and until next time, I’ll see you in the bayou!