San Andreas Weapons

Like any GTA game, San Andreas contains a range of weapons to use against your enemies. New to San Andreas is the weapon skill atribute. CJ can incrwase his skill with many of the weapons available. This will generally result in an increased rate of fire, better accuracy, and sometimes the ability to fire while moving and strafing. CJ starts every weapon with a status of "Poor," later skill levels include "Gangster" and "Hitman," achieved through continued use of the weapon.

One way to become more skilled with a weapon is at the Ammu-Nation shooting ranges. Starting the challenge will see CJ against 2 competitors, the objective; to score the most hits. There are 4 weapons to use, with three rounds for each; the first round is the simple task of shooting at 3 targets (each target has 7 spots to hit) at increasing distances. To win you must shoot out all the targets first. The second round is the same, except this time the targets are moving towards you. The third and final round has a moving target that all 3 competitors are shooting at, the person with the highest number of hits wins.

Unlike previous GTA games, the 'weapon slots' can also hold a selection of items. Similar to Vice City, the weapons and items are classed into ten different groups. Only one item can be held from each group at a time. Below is a categorical list of each weapon and item in the game, alongside it's in-game icon and a description.

Fists
	Fists You'll always have your trusty old fists. Of course, they aren't the most effective things, especially when trying to take on a bunch of armed gang members.
	Brass Knuckles A small upgrade for your fists. These brass knuckles will strengthen your punches and allow to kill a pedestrian with fewer hits.

Melee
	Baseball Bat Baseball is not a mini game in San Andreas, so the only use for this is battering vehicles and pedestrians, and quite a fair job it can do.
	Nightstick The San Andreas police force are issued with these as standard. Although they're not as hefty as the baseball bat, you can still do a similar job, with the added bonus of being able to run faster with it.
	Golf Club Again, golf is not a mini game, so the sole use for this lies in clubbing people to death. Lovely.
	Pool Cue Pool is indeed a mini game, and you'll find it difficult to play without one of these. When not in a game, you can use these to batter your opponents.
	Shovel To the disappointment of gardeners and undertakers across the globe, you can not tend to CJ's garden, or indeed dig a grave for any of your victims killed with this. Having said that, you can actually find a shovel in graveyards...
	Knife Ah the trusty knife. Useful for slicing your opponents. Stealth kills can be made with this by sneaking up behind enemies, then holding R1 to target them, and finally pressing circle to slit their throat. Good stuff.
	Katana A traditional Japanese samurai sword. Excellent for cutting up enemies. Tapping circle in quick succession will result in nice combo move, usually finishing with a decapitation. Wow crowds with your impressive manoeuvres.
	Chainsaw Unfortunately you can't cut down trees with this, but then again, who would? Although a rather cumbersome piece of equipment, making it difficult to run away from a crime scene, it cuts through pedestrians with ease. It also has the ability to rip vehicle doors off, and bring down the neighbours fences.

Pistols
	Colt .45 A standard 9mm pistol. All the cops in San Andreas are issued with this. Although not the most deadliest gun available, it serves as a great starter weapon. Increasing your skill level to Hitman with this will give you the ability to wield two at a time, making it a little more fun to use.
	Silenced 9mm Same as the above really, except this gun is fitted with a silencer. This small addition allows you to be far more stealthy about your kills. Unfortunately you can't weild two of these at once when you've increased your skill level to Hitman, however, you'll be far more accurate in your long distance shots.
	Desert Eagle This handgun delivers an unparalleled degree of accuracy and power with a distinctive feel that players will pick up on immediately. Originally intended to be target/sport pistol, players will use this weapon for the immense stopping power the handgun's .50 caliber rounds deliver to a target-stopping assailants in their tracks, usually with one well placed shot. Because of its significant recoil, it's almost impossible to hold onto at first. Look for higher levels of skill with the weapon to reduce this effect and yield quicker reloads and accuracy. The Desert Eagle is even deadly when out of auto-lock range, as a proficient shooter can fire in free target mode and still achieve one shot kills. Hold R1 and line up the sights on a target. The benefit of this approach is it allows sniper results with the free movement offered by a handgun.

Sub-machine Guns
	Tec-9 A longtime favorite of gang members on the streets of Los Santos, the Tec-9 is a relatively cheap firearm made with low-grade stamped metal. One of the more interesting new features is that the player can dual wield Tec-9s, evening up long odds in the middle of a gang fight, increasing your respect and power in the 'hood. Once you've upgraded CJ's weapon skill to the point where he can hold two weapons (Hitman skill level), all you need to do is find another weapon and he will automatically hold 2. All ammo between the guns is now shared, and reloading happens automatically. Rate of fire is effectively doubled, perfect for cases where you really want to kill someone-fast.
	Micro Uzi While the HUD icon resembles an Ingram MAC-10 (or the smaller MAC-11), the identifier and in game model definitely show this as being a legendary Uzi 9mm. It's pretty much the same as the Tec-9, it even uses the same "machine pistol" statistic, although tends to have a slightly faster rate of fire, and in turn is a little less accurate.
	MP5 The MP5 is often referred to as being one of the best (if not the best) sub-machine gun in the world. It's accuracy, strength, and range give it the feel of an assault rifle, but with the portability of an SMG allowing you to perform drive-bys with ease. You can't dual weild these thanks to their larger physical size, but that doesn't make it any less deadlier than the two guns above. SWAT teams and FBI will use these on you, should your crime spree call for a greater need to be stopped before you cause to much destruction.

Shotguns
	Chrome Shotgun This is your standard shotgun. You'll occasionally see cops using once of these, in any case, all cop cars have one of these inside with a couple of shells, so jump in and nab it if you're in need. Increasing your skill level will result in faster strafing, improved accuracy, faster reload rate, and greater rate of fire.
	Sawnoff Shotgun Much shorter barreled than the shotgun above, this one is pretty useless in long range situation. Short range however and this thing is amazing, it's incredibly powerful. An increased skill level with this means you can wield two at once. Resulting in a burst of four shells before stopping to reload, be careful though as the reloads can be rather lengthy in comparison to other guns.
	SPAS-12 A combat shotgun manufactured by the Italian company Franchi S.p.A. Some consider this shotgun to be the best out of the three available, thanks to it's semi-automatic functionality. This is of course a lot more useful when facing a larger group of enemies rather than just a couple of cops. The power and range of this thing are slightly better than that of the traditional shotgun, and you're unable to wield two of these so bear that in mind when considering which shotgun would be best for your situation.

Assault Rifles
	M4 M4-is the modified version of the M-16, the shortened stock and barrel makes it more compact while still retaining the accuracy and power of its cousin. The weapon will allow the player the pinpoint accuracy to target an opponents specific body parts or vehicle tires. One particularly satisfying feature is the ability to target gas tanks. A single well-placed round will cause any car in San Andreas to explode-aim for the gas cap to find out how decidedly badass this new feature is in action. Kneeling greatly increases the accuracy of the M4, try kneeling as often as possible when using the weapon. Even while kneeling, it is possible to roll side to side while holding R1 by pressing left or right on the left analog. To the concern of San Andreas' police forces, the M4 is readily available at Ammu-Nations across the state.
	AK-47 The Kalashnikov AK-47, probably the most popular and widely used assault rifle in the world. It's ruggedness and reliability being excellent traits. It works more or less the same as the M4, although the slightly smaller magazine size and slower rate of fire mean it's a little more accurate. The range is excellent, and increased skill levels will extend this further, as well as allowing you to strafe quicker.

Rifles
	Rifle This is just a basic rifle you'd expect to see in the hands of any random farmer/cowboy/hunter. You can not auto target people with this gun, it's aim is like that of the sniper rifle, without the scope. Although it has a very slow reload time, it's power is immense and is brilliant for use in close range.
	Sniper Rifle Like the standard rifle, the reload rate of this is quite poor. That said, the range this thing has (with zoom) is unrivalled, bringing with it the greatest accuracy of any gun in the game. Crouching will of course steady your shot slightly in turn provide you with a more accurate shot. While using R1 to look through the scope, the L2 and R2 buttons can be used to zoom in and out, moving the right analogue stick moves the crosshairs.

Projectiles
	Tear Gas A non-lethal 'weapon', at least in real life, in GTA however, you can kill people if you toss several of these cannisters. Exposure to the gas will cause any pedestrians (including yourself) to stop and cover their faces, coupled with a nasty coughing fit. It's not useful for killing a large group of enemies, moreso for slowing them down and allowing you to escape.
	Molotov Cocktail The concept is rather simple. Fill a bottle with a flammable liquid (petrol), shove a rag in the top, light it, then throw towards your target. If used effectively these can take out a substantial group of enemies. One new feature in San Andreas is the ability to set the environment on fire, with the fire spreading and growing. A strategic throw could build a wall of fire stopping enemies from getting to you, or setting themselves on fire and usually dying should they try to get through it. The longer you hold circle the further you'll throw the molotov.
	Grenade Used rather like the molotovs. Grenades can be used to explode a large group of pedestrians and/or vehicles. Holding circle for longer will result in a farther throw - you'll need to be careful you don't blow yourself up. You'll also need to be careful you don't set off a huge chain of exploding vehicles, unless you want to do this.
	Satchel Charge These do the same amount of damage as grenades, causing a nice little explosion. These are better used as a strategic alternative to standard grenades, though, as once thrown, you'll need to use the detonator (described further below) to explode it. You can actually throw quite a large number of these before the CPU will start removing the first laid ones. They're sticky too, meaning you can attach them to vehicles, buildings, or even pedestrians!

Heavy Artillery
	Flame Thrower Like the molotov cocktails, this thing can invoke a large environmental fire. It does exactly what it says on the tin - throws flames. Useful for clearing out a hefty amount of people who are in your way, it can also be great fun, albeit very hazardous to use.
	Vulcan Mini Gun This formidable weapon is the player's best friend. Designed to deliver massive and withering barrages of ammunition at an alarming rate of fire, this weapon is designed for total destruction of the target and anything around it. Despite its massive size and weight, the gun is portable enough to be carried-and fired-on the streets of San Andreas. Police responding to an incident where a mini-gun is in use would be quick to call in SWAT to deal with the menace. An intricate piece of machinery, its belt driven mechanics will turn the barrels even if the gun is not firing, a sound that eerily forecasts the destruction that is about to be unleashed. Hold R1 to spin up the barrel and squeeze L1 to fire.
	Rocket Launcher A standard Rocket Propelled Grenade launcher. You're basically firing grenades at people/vehicles while targeting them through a scope. One shot can kill any number of people, and take out nearby vehicles. Of course, tanks and another armored vehicles may need a few more shots before they'll eventually concede and blow up. It needs no explanation that this shouldn't be used at close range.
	Stinger - Heat Seeking Rocket Launcher RPGs and other shoulder-fired missiles have long had a place in Grand Theft Auto. The STINGER is the next level. Lightweight and portable, this shoulder-fired guided missile system is designed to shoot down low-altitude jets, propeller-driven aircraft and helicopters. The fire-and-forget system allows the player to lock onto a heat source, usually a car or plane, fire the weapon, and begin acquiring new targets before the warhead has even destroyed the first target. To activate, bring up the targeting reticle by pressing R1. Continue holding down R1 and center the viewfinder on the target. The reticle will acquire the nearest target, and then change from green to yellow and finally to red, indicating that you have achieved target lock. You can fire the weapon at any stage of the lock-on process, but the closer to red, the more effective your strike will be. The production, research, and development of the Stinger Missile System is a secret, but intrepid pilots flying over the deserts on the outskirts of Las Venturas have a ton of stories about near misses with the Stinger.

Items
	Spray Can Although you could use this to choke your opponents, it's primary use is in creating 'tags', or graffiti if you will. You'll require lots of this when tagging the streets of Los Santos at the beginning of the game, and thereafter, probably won't ever use it again. To paint over a rival gang's tag, simply hold R1 to target it and hold circle until finished. Simple.
	Camera Those of you who have played Vice City will remember this was only able to be used in one mission. In San Andreas you use it a lot more, it is used not only in several missions, but also in collecting 50 snapshots of various landmarks in the state. Holding R1 will cause CJ to look through the camera's viewfinder, you can aim with the right analogue stick and zoom in and out with the L2 and R2 buttons. The circle button will take a picture. Pressing L1 after this will allow you to save the image to your memory card, should you wish to look at it again. The gallery can be accessed via the options menu.
	Fire Extinguisher You could use this to target peds, but it's very ineffective. It's more useful for extinguishing the flaming trail of mess you've left in wake of your rampage. Chances are you don't particularly care much about the environment. Where you might want to use one of these is in missions where you're forced to run and jump through burning buildings.
	Parachute A necessity should you choose to jump off a tall building or out of a plane or helicopter thousands of feet in the sky, that is of course unless you want to try your luck falling into a body of water... or for some strange reason, go splat. When jumping out of an aircraft you'll automatically be equipped with a parachute, even if you didn't have one before entering. When falling, you can use the left and right analogue sticks to control your speed and direction. It would also be a good idea at some point to open your parachute by pressing your circle - dramatically increasing your chances of survival by slowing you down to a landable rate.
	Night Vision Goggles Not to be confused with swimming goggles, these ingenious things will increase the dim light and turn it a bright shade of green, allowing you to see what's happening at night. Moving around can be tricky as the land will all look the same, but it sure is easier finding people to target.
	Thermal Goggles The thermal goggles do indeed look similar to the night vision goggles, and also have an identical HUD icon, but they have a different functionality. These won't improve your vision at night, but will turn your display a range of colours from blue, purple, yellow and red, and all shades in between. The darker blueish colours are attributed to the colder things, buildings and the general landscape, while pedestrians and vehicles will be warmer and have a yellowish or reddish colour. Again, moving around while wearing these isn't advisable.
	Jetpack Probably something you won't see often is the HUD icon for this, since after equipping the jetpack you're sub machine gun (if one is available) will be selected. The jet pack is indeed fully functional. X will increase thrust, square will decrease it, the L2 and R2 buttons control your strafing and the left analogue stick controls your direction. Circle will of course fire your gun, and R1 can be used to target. Holding both the L2 and R2 buttons will allow you to hover should you need to. Much like a vehicle, pressing triangle will un-equip your jetpack, letting you run around again (or fall to the floor if you're any number of feet off the ground).
	Remote Detonator You'll only ever see this icon once you've laid some satchel charges. Pressing circle will detonate the bombs, and this detonator will disappear from your inventory a second after, that's it.

Other
	Cane Nobody is sure why the cane is placed in the 'other' section. It's actually listed as a gift, though understandably, there's nobody that it can be given to. It can pretty much be used like a regular melee weapon.
	Flowers Girls love flowers, and that's exactly who they're intended for in San Andreas. While it may be amusing to batter an opponent with a bunch of flowers, they're more useful as gifts for your girlfriend(s). There are two different flower textures, both of which share the same HUD icon.
	Dildo 1 Again, something else (most) girls will love. This huge double-ender might not be the most advisable gift on a first date, but it can be done. Likewise with the flowers, beating an opponent with this can be hilarious.
	Dildo 2 Same as the above really, except this one's a little smaller and discreet. If used as a weapon it actually emulates the knife stabbing movement. Quite funny in some cases.
	Vibrator 1 This is not actually used in the game, as there doesn't seem to be anywhere to get hold of one. The weapons data file gives it the same traits as "Dildo 1" above.
	Vibrator 2 This is another item not actually available in the game. The weapons data file gives it the same traits as "Dildo 2" above.
	Cell Phone You never actually see the HUD icon for your cell phone, quite why it's included is unknown, but it's listed here nonetheless.
	Skateboard This would have been a great little addition to the game, but unfortunately it seems it was scrapped. There is no way of obtaining this in game. Some third-party modifications have been made for the PC version of San Andreas, however, they only make it so the skateboard can be used as a weapon, not as a method of transportation.