I looked through the game guide and on the internet a little but i can't find out what DPS is.
damage per shot?
damage per second?

Per second.

DPS=Damage Per Sec.
awe you beat me to it

And how to make use of that stat, a gun with high DPS and low damage is good for unarmored enemies, whereas armored enemies require weapons that sacrifice DPS for damage. So a 9mm SMG for radroaches, an Anti-Materiel Rifle for Deathclaws

Damage per second. Makes it easier to compare the relative effectiveness of different weapons. SMG's, for example, have a low-looking DAM rating, but when you consider how much hot lead they spew forth per second, you realize that they can be quite effective against low-DT foes.

Edit: Bloody ninjas!! :ninja: :ahhh:

Think of DPS as Rate of Fire and your not far off. Machine Guns or Automatic weapons will have a higher DPS than a Bolt Action where a Lever Action or Pump Action will bit a bit faster than Bolt Action.

However, don't discount the Reload Time for a Weapon also, that can be more important in a battle than how fast it shoots. I would give up some Dam and DPS for a gun that reloads faster.

Damage / Rate Of Fire = Damage per second

Yeah, I really love the Trail Carbine.... until I have to reload it, and not all the enemies are dead yet.

Same with Cowboy repeater. Good to snipe with, but don't let the enemy spot you when you have fired 6 of the 7 shots :ahhh: