I am currently playing a Cowboy guns-oriented character. My character is Level 26, so I have two more perks left to choose. I will almost certainly be taking Pack Rat as one of these, but after that the choice gets hard. Quick Draw, Bloody Mess, Run&Gun or The Professional seem like the only options that actually add something and that I haven't already taken.

My current setup is scoped Trail carbine for sniping + Brush gun for close-range work. The Professional is supposed to add 20% more Sneak Critical damage when using revolvers, pistols and SMGs. The Wiki description says that rifles in the same caliber will still deal more sneak crit damage after the perk is applied. In other words, a Ranger Sequoia with The Professional will not outperform a Brush Gun. BUT if I use a Hunting Revolver as my sniping tool, it WILL have greater damage AND will benefit from the extra crit damage from the perk. Another upside would be combat readiness; having a rifle at the ready slows down your running speed; having a revolver at the ready does not.

Question is, is it a worthwhile tradeoff? Hunting revolvers have an order of magnitude higher spread than any scoped rifle except LLC; I've experimented, and I CAN snipe with them, but follow-up shots are needed much more often. The thing about Cowboy guns is that they are LOUD, so follow-up shots are usually not sneak-crits, and that reduces the usefulness of the perk a great deal.

Does anyone have any experience with Hunting Revolver sniping and The Professional perk?

P.S. The Professional isn't broken, is it?

The Professional is a really bad perk imo, you're much better off if you take the Better Criticals perk, which is simply better, a lot better, then the Professional. The Professional is probably the only perk in FNV that has a perk that's directly better then it.

The Professional doesn't even work on regular crits; if it gives extra 20% crit damage than it would be half decent on top of Better Critical.

I already have Better Criticals.

The difference in spreads should end the debate right there. The Trail Carbine is just going to get more rounds on target. With SWC ammo you're one-shotting Quarry Junction Deathclaws on normal settings.

Hunting Revolver = 0.35
Trail Carbine = 0.035