It's one of my favorite beginning weapons in the game.
Repairable with normal Hunting Rifles, faster RoF than Hunting Rifles, and more damage. Make your way to The Republic of Dave and get your hands on Ol' Painless. The guns will become more available as you progress through the main quest. 32 hunting rifle, then an R91 Assault Rifle, an AER9 laser rifle, and an Enclave Plasma Rifle. When you find one, you should upgrade to a. The N99 10mm Pistol Amata hands you in Escape is excellent.
Also, I'm trying to take into consideration the availability of ammo. I'm wondering what the best weapons are that you can get this early in the game. I'm still pretty early in the game (level 7, just did some of Moira's sidequest and I'm at the Rivet City main story line quest).
