Its no huge task to wipe out the family of deathclaws in quarry junction with a stealth boy and a suppressed anti-materiel rifle, but if you're on the ground and detected, which is the best weapon for them? I've used the smitty special which absolutely tore through five or six of them before they could get close, and earlier today I used survivalists rifle (with jhp ammo and slasher) which wiped out most of the deathclaws in gypsum train yard (on v hard)

Depends:

1. Want power and devastation? Go minigun or Gatling laser.
2. Rifles your thing? AMR using AP rounds or Gauss rifle using the optimized cells
3. Unsure of pistols or shotguns.

if i go in planning to fight deathclaws, fatman. otherwise its medicine stick.

Forgot about explosives, good point.