Winchester Minigame Guide

Winchester is an NPC who appears randomly in Enter the Gungeon and runs a paid shooting mini-game. Players use the Prize Pistol — 4 shots to hit 4 targets — and receive a chest based on how many they hit. Achieving a perfect score in his mini-game three times unlocks the Seven-Leaf Clover.

How the mini-game works

• Blue blocks: bullets bounce off them.
• Green blocks: bullets bounce off them, and the block disappears.
• Red blocks: bullets are immediately absorbed.
• Bullets can bounce up to 4 times total — off walls, blue blocks, or green blocks.
• A laser sight is active throughout, showing the predicted bullet path.

Reward tiers

• The reward chest can still be a Mimic, so shoot it once before opening; it is however unaffected by Mimic Tooth Necklace, which will not turn it into one
• Oubliette and Abbey count as the "Chamber 1–2" tier
• Winchester can rarely award a Glitch Chest or Rainbow Chest regardless of performance

Tricks

This section covers three things: which tricks are not judged as cheating, how passive items affect the Prize Pistol, and what to drop before you pay.

Tricks that do not count as cheating

• Using movement items to approach targets: Grappling Hook, Bloodied Scarf, Wax Wings, Ring of Ethereal Form, Partially-Eaten Cheese, Jetpack, Cat Bullet King Throne
• Increasing shot count: Magazine Rack (infinite ammo for Prize Pistol), Duct Tape (total shots equals combined ammo of both guns), Ring of Triggers (bullets bounce many more times), Double Vision
• Destroying targets without firing the Prize Pistol: Gunboots (kick shots, do not count as hits), Cat Bullet King Throne, Heart of Ice (falling into a pit triggers an ice explosion that destroys all targets)
• Remote Bullets: can trivialize the game, and the game layout gives sufficient room for shots to be curved

How passives affect the Prize Pistol

Most bullet passive items affect the Prize Pistol. Effects by category:

Items worth dropping before you start

Some passives can make the mini-game harder. Check your passive items before paying — once you pay, the game starts immediately and you can no longer drop items. Recommended to drop before starting:

• Backup Gun: reduces the Prize Pistol's forward accuracy; if the backward shot resolves all its bounces first, the game ends immediately
• Helix Bullets: causes bullets to deviate from the laser sight path
• Orbital Bullets: prevents bullets from bouncing
• Eyepatch: reduces accuracy
• Vorpal Bullets, Chaos Bullets: replace bullets with unpredictable behavior
• Bloody 9mm: may replace bullets and cause deviation

Notes and traps

• Ancient Hero's Bandana and Holey Grail have no effect on the Prize Pistol
• Switching to another gun and back reduces the Prize Pistol to 1 bullet remaining
• Escape Rope: removes the Prize Pistol from your inventory when used, ending the mini-game with no reward
• Leaving the room forfeits the Prize Pistol and produces no chest

Reference video

For a legitimate perfect-score run without any tricks, here is a player-shared video with solutions for every possible layout:

Unlock reward

Achieve a perfect score (all 4 targets) in Winchester's mini-game three times to unlock the Seven-Leaf Clover. Every encounter is a chance to make progress — join whenever you have enough coins.