User blog comment:Arbington/DLC Theories/@comment-71.54.246.186-20101009082426/@comment-217683-20101009082956

No, the official description describes it as like a sniper rifle minus the scope, or an assault rifle minus the recoil. Not a "sniper assault rifle", or "sniper/assault rifle", or anything of the sort. In fact, saying it's like a sniper rifle minus the scope or an assault rifle minus the recoil sounds like a pretty typical civilian description of a semi-auto battle rifle, especially coming from someone used to sniper rifles and assault rifles. In-game descriptions back this up, describing the Mattock as a "heavy rifle", and an "old, reliable gun that colonist militias have been using for decades".