The bolt-action rifle, also called the hunting rifle, is Joel's long-range gun, taken from a dead Firefly on the second floor of the Capitol building in The Outskirts. Its armor piercing upgrade makes it one of your best answers to armored soldiers and bloaters.
Its workbench upgrades include reload speed, scope, armor piercing and power.
Without upgrades it won't kill an armored human outright, so put parts into armor piercing and power early. Two fully upgraded shots kill a bloater.
Lead pipe
The lead pipe is the toughest breakable melee weapon in the game, lasting nine hits. Joel can first pick one up in The Outskirts while clearing infected on his own, and another lies where Ellie drops it after hitting Bill in Lincoln.
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail is a crafted firebomb made from alcohol and a rag, the same ingredients as a health kit. One hit kills almost any enemy outright, and the pool of fire it leaves kills anyone who walks through it.
Revolver
The revolver hits harder than the 9mm but fires slower, and it is the pistol Joel draws in scripted scenes. You pick it up in The Outskirts from a dead soldier in downtown Boston, next to his field ops log.