Should You Use the Blacktail Pistol in Resident Evil 4 Remake?

There are quite a few viable weapons in Resident Evil 4 Remake, and many of them are handguns. One of the last you’ll encounter in the Merchant is the Blacktail, a powerful, slow-firing beast from a sidearm that, when fully upgraded, can take down even some of the toughest enemies in just a few shots. But should you use it?

Related: What is the best pistol in Resident Evil 4 remake?

You should use the Blacktail in Resident Evil 4 Remake, with some caveats

The Blacktail is the most powerful handgun in Resident Evil 4 Remake when you take it shot for shot. No other sidearm has as much stopping power per bullet. While it doesn’t pack as much punch as the Magnum options, Shotguns, or fully upgraded Assault Rifles when you get it to the bottom of its upgrade tree, no other handgun can dish out as much damage as effectively.

However, the Blacktail lacks two things that make the Punisher our pick for best pistol overall. First is the magazine size. Even fully upgraded, the Blacktail only has 14 bullets available before you need to reload. It also lacks the Punisher’s ability to penetrate targets and is the most expensive handgun to upgrade, with later upgrades costing more than 50,000 pesetas. Y

For both of these reasons, you might be better off using the Punisher or even the SG-09R when attempting to do S+ ranked runs, even at Standard difficulty, as they are that much more forgiving. However, if you’re a crack shot and like to invest heavily in your weapon of choice, there are few better options in all of Resident Evil 4 Remake.

The Blacktail rewards good aim, has a satisfying heavy hit, and is usable from purchase to late game, especially when upgraded. There are better options on paper, but sometimes the fun trumps the optimization.