TheHunter: Call of the Wild Heads Back to the Frontier With the Old West Weapon Pack

TheHunter: Call of the Wild is preparing to embrace the smoke, mechanical weight and deliberate marksmanship of 19th-century firearms with the Old West Weapon Pack, a new paid DLC launching on September 15, 2026.

The collection introduces three historically inspired weapons: the Hween .45-90 Buffalo single-shot rifle, the Humphrey 10G Coach Gun and the Maijo .44-40 Special revolver. Each firearm uses ammunition associated with the period, including several black-powder loads with distinctive ballistic and visual characteristics.

Rather than delivering three interchangeable weapons with an Old West appearance, developer Expansive Worlds has designed the pack around three very different hunting situations. Its rifle provides carefully placed power against medium and large animals, the coach gun dominates at close range, and the revolver offers speed and versatility against smaller targets.

Together, the available ammunition covers every animal class from 1 through 9, although hunters will still need to select the correct weapon and load before pulling the trigger.

The Hween .45-90 Buffalo delivers one decisive shot

The Hween .45-90 Buffalo is a falling-block, single-shot rifle inspired by the Sharps Model 1874, one of the weapons most closely associated with long-range hunting and frontier marksmanship.

It is designed for animal classes 4 through 9, giving it the broadest large-game coverage in the pack. Deer and similarly sized animals sit at the lower end of its permitted range, while its heavier ammunition makes it suitable for the most imposing species available across the game’s reserves.

As a single-shot firearm, the Hween leaves little room for careless shooting. Every attempt must be followed by a reload, so hunters cannot depend on a rapid second round if the first projectile misses its intended organ. This should make accurate range estimation, proper positioning and knowledge of animal anatomy particularly important.

The rifle includes an adaptive dual-mode Buckhorn sight for players who prefer traditional iron sights. Two telescopic options are also supported: the Flavus 6×17 and Flavus 10×17 Rifle Telescopes. The additional optics extend its usefulness beyond the distances at which an iron-sight picture remains comfortable.

However, installing a powerful scope does not eliminate the ballistic limitations of black-powder ammunition. Players must still account for velocity loss and projectile drop, particularly when using the heavier load against distant targets.

Two .45-90 loads create different ballistic profiles

The Hween supports .45-90 Lead Flat Nose and .45-90 Soft Lead black-powder ammunition.

The Lead Flat Nose is positioned as the more versatile choice. It produces a more forgiving trajectory and dependable performance against medium and large game, making it the logical general-purpose load for hunters who expect to encounter several species during the same expedition.

Soft Lead ammunition prioritizes impact against the largest animals. Expansive Worlds describes it as the harder-hitting option at approximately 100 to 150 meters, but its velocity falls significantly beyond that distance. Hunters attempting longer shots must therefore understand the increased drop rather than treating the rifle like a modern high-velocity platform.

This distinction gives the Hween a more meaningful ammunition decision than simply choosing the round with the highest listed power. The Soft Lead projectile may be preferable when approaching a large animal at a known distance, while the Flat Nose load should provide greater flexibility during less predictable hunts.

The rifle’s greatest strength is its destructive force, but the absence of a quick follow-up shot is a serious limitation. It will reward players who patiently create broadside opportunities and avoid firing through unfavorable angles.

The Humphrey 10G Coach Gun brings close-range thunder

The Humphrey 10G Coach Gun is a double-barreled shotgun firing heavy brass 10-gauge shells loaded with black powder.

Its design is intentionally theatrical. External hammers, thick white muzzle smoke and the physical process of opening the action reinforce the sensation of handling an older mechanical weapon. A partial-reload system also allows the hunter to replace only the shell that has been fired instead of discarding an unfired round from the other barrel.

That feature should be useful when a single shot is enough to complete a harvest. Players can restore the empty chamber while preserving the second shell, allowing the weapon to remain ready without wasting ammunition.

The Humphrey’s greatest advantage is the massive damage available at close range. Its greatest weakness is the same quality that makes it so intimidating: an unpredictable pellet spread that becomes increasingly unreliable as distance grows.

Dense black-powder smoke may also temporarily obscure the target after the first barrel is fired. Hunters planning to use the second shot must therefore maintain awareness of the animal’s direction instead of expecting a perfectly clear sight picture.

Birdshot, buckshot and slugs cover almost every target

The Coach Gun supports three types of 10-gauge brass black-powder ammunition.

Birdshot is intended for animal classes 1 and 2. It provides the wide pattern necessary for small and agile animals while avoiding the excessive power of heavier projectiles.

Buckshot covers classes 4 through 7, extending the shotgun’s usefulness to medium and large animals, including bears within the supported range. This load should be most effective when the hunter can close the distance without alarming the target.

Slugs cover classes 6 through 9. They trade the multi-pellet spread for concentrated penetration, turning the Humphrey into an extremely powerful short-range option against massive animals.

The three loads make the Coach Gun surprisingly versatile, but carrying multiple shell types introduces inventory and preparation considerations. A weapon capable of hunting both birds and the largest terrestrial animals is only useful if the correct ammunition is loaded when the opportunity appears.

There is also no class 3 coverage among its available shells. Hunters targeting animals in that category will need the Maijo revolver or another weapon in their loadout.

The Maijo .44-40 Special favors handling and rapid reloading

The Maijo .44-40 Special completes the pack with a six-shot, single-action revolver inspired by the Smith & Wesson Schofield.

Its top-break design incorporates an automatic extractor that ejects all six spent casings as soon as the frame is opened. This gives the Maijo a considerably faster and more dramatic empty-cylinder reload than revolvers requiring each cartridge to be manually removed.

Expansive Worlds says the weapon sacrifices a small amount of raw power in exchange for superior handling. It covers animal classes 2 through 5, making it suitable for smaller and medium-sized species that do not require the extreme power of the Hween rifle or 10-gauge slugs.

Its six-round capacity also gives the Maijo more flexibility when a hunt does not unfold perfectly. Although accuracy remains essential for an ethical harvest, the revolver can deliver additional shots much faster than the single-shot Hween.

That makes it a useful secondary weapon for close encounters, follow-up opportunities and situations where a player needs something more maneuverable than a full-length rifle.

Black powder or modern penetration

The Maijo supports two distinct .44-40 ammunition choices.

The .44-40 Black Powder Cowboy Load provides the traditional frontier experience, producing a deep report and a heavier-feeling firing sequence. It is the more atmospheric choice for players interested in completing a fully historical loadout.

The .44-40 Full Metal Jacket cartridge uses smokeless propellant and offers higher velocity and stronger penetration. Its sharper recoil behavior and improved ballistic performance make it the more practical option when reliable penetration matters more than historical presentation.

This contrast allows the revolver to bridge two periods of firearm technology. Players can either commit to the black-powder identity of the pack or use a more modern cartridge without abandoning the Maijo’s top-break handling.

The official description does not provide detailed penetration, expansion or accuracy statistics for either cartridge. Direct numerical comparisons will therefore need to wait until the DLC is released and its in-game values can be examined.

One pack covers animal classes 1 through 9

Collectively, the Old West Weapon Pack provides ammunition for all nine animal classes.

The Coach Gun’s birdshot handles classes 1 and 2. The Maijo covers classes 2 through 5. The Hween rifle begins at class 4 and continues through class 9, while the Coach Gun’s buckshot and slugs provide alternative solutions for large animals at shorter distances.

That coverage makes it possible to construct an entirely Old West-inspired hunting loadout without leaving an animal class unsupported. It does not mean every reserve can be approached with a single ammunition type, however. Players will need to carry several loads and change them according to the species being tracked.

The pack’s three firearms also have deliberate mechanical drawbacks. The Hween offers only one shot, the Coach Gun is constrained by range and scatter, and the Maijo cannot match the power of a dedicated large-game rifle. Those limitations are central to their identity and should prevent the DLC from becoming a simple collection of statistically superior weapons.

Patch 9.3 adds free content for every player

The weapon pack will launch alongside Patch 9.3, a free update available to all theHunter: Call of the Wild players regardless of whether they purchase the DLC.

Expansive Worlds has confirmed that the patch introduces a new Great One, although the species has not yet been officially identified in the initial announcement. Great Ones are exceptionally rare, prestigious versions of selected animals, so the addition will create a new long-term objective once its identity and available reserves are revealed.

Fallow Deer will receive an antler remaster, improving the appearance and variation of one of the game’s established species. Borderless Windowed display support is also being added for PC players, accompanied by an assortment of bug fixes.

The complete Patch 9.3 notes are scheduled for September 14, one day before the Old West Weapon Pack arrives. Until those notes are published, any claims about further balance adjustments or animal changes should be treated as unconfirmed.

Historical character without abandoning practical variety

The Old West Weapon Pack appears designed for players who value the process of firing as much as the final harvest. Falling-block operation, external hammers, top-break extraction and clouds of black-powder smoke give every weapon a distinct mechanical personality.

That historical character comes with compromises. Slow projectiles make long-distance calculation more demanding, smoke can obscure follow-up shots, and limited capacities punish inaccurate shooting. Modern rifles and shotguns will remain more convenient in many situations.

Convenience, however, is not the only reason to select a weapon in theHunter: Call of the Wild. The game’s appeal also comes from planning a hunt around specific equipment and accepting the restrictions attached to it.

The Hween, Humphrey and Maijo offer enough ammunition variety to remain practical while encouraging a slower and more deliberate approach. When the Old West Weapon Pack launches on September 15, every successful harvest should feel earned—and every missed shot will arrive with a considerable cloud of smoke.