Dead Man's Hand rules question regarding multiple weapons

[the Goat]

In Dead Man's Hand, as I understand it, all models come with a single weapon (pistol or repeater or rifle or shotgun). But one of the actions a model can perform is to "switch weapons".  That action only makes sense if a model has more than one weapon.  How does a model get more than one weapon?

I assembled all my shotgun, rifle, and repeater models with holstered pistols before fully reading the rules. That seemed to be how the plastic gun fighters were supposed to be assembled as all the legs have gun belts molded around their waists. Is it possible to give those guys sidearm pistols for extra reputation points?

[Lawgiver]

There are a few models where it says something like "Pistols, up to half may have shotguns".   It's always been unclear to me, but we took it to mean all of them have a pistol and 50% of them also have shotguns. 

The FAQ/Errata says the Two guns ability of the Desparados Killer is an error and covered in the Legends Expansion.   But if you look at the change weapons section (#9) and #18 having a pistol and shotgun seems to fit the intention.
https://www.greatescapegames.co.uk/uploads/DMH/DMH%20FAQ%202020.pdf

[the Goat]

Thanks for the reply.  Yes, the wording in the rulebook is not 100% clear.  Like you, I originally thought that when you give a guy a shotgun (or rifle, or repeater) he keeps his pistol.  But based on this section from the FAQ, I think that is incorrect.

A Note on Weapons
Unless stated otherwise, characters in your
gang only have a single weapon. If the profile
says, for example, Pistol, Rifle or Repeater, that
means you have one of those weapons. Just
one.

The two pistols for the Desperado Killer is a special case.  I have a later printing of the rulebook which includes the two pistols rule.  Regardless two pistols doesn't use the "switch weapons" action.

[Lawgiver]

But look at the units like Deputies, Dudes, Cowboys and Bandits.   There first 3 weapons have an "or", but then there is a semicolon and statement about the shotgun separate.   Which could mean that trumps the previous or that it's an addition.   Based on the other comments it seems like it's an addition:

Reload, Unjam or Change Weapon (pg 7)
 9. If a model is carrying multiple weapons
when does the model choose which weapon it
uses to shoot?
When you fire the first time you can choose
which weapon the model fires from those
they are carrying. From that point on
though to change weapons requires one
action.

and

18. Can you do the following for the 3
activations, shoot, change weapon, shoot?
So for example if you fire both barrels of a
shotgun (giving the +6) at point blank and
thus making the firer out of ammo, can he
then if he declared his actions as above change
weapons to his pistol and fire that in the same
activation turn for the model? The rules state
that out of ammo uses up any remaining shoot
actions, but in this case it is a different weapon
that he’s changed to?
Yes you can

[the Goat]

I don't think the semicolon means the shotgun is in addition to the pistol.  Some gangs from Legend of Dead Man's Hand explicitly have models with "Pistol and Sword" and "Hand Weapon and Pistol" (7th Cavalry Officer and Renegade Indians Warrior respectively).  If the shotgun option was in addition to the pistol, I think they would have explicitly said "Shotgun and Pistol".

[greatescapegames]

It's generally one weapon. So, in the entries with the semicolons, it's this weapon OR the other weapon.

There are some rogues and some characters in the published factions that have multiple weapons. Additionally, in campaign games (Legend of DMH), you can arm up your fellas and give them extra weapons. And, of course, you may want to make your own characters with extra weapons.

[the Goat]

Thank you for the clear answer.  I have the Legend of Dead Man's Hand book.  But I haven't read through the campaign rules yet.  I'll check it out to see how arming guys with extra weapons works.