They are like everything else. in my first 48 hours, I found 4 or 5 M4 rifles. after 5 more days of playing, i cant find one to save my life. My first two or three days of playing i didn't find a compass or a canteen, i found 5 compasses today and a few canteens. All of this was of no use, as my character "Failed to load" and im back to day:z e r o. Sometimes loot is generous, and sometimes its not, I think its a good dynamic to the game. If everyone continually finds the same stuff, then it will end up a KOS game instead of a realistic survival game.

I have performed twice (after finding out by accident) and i was able to replicate an M4 4 times on a single server. If you have your slots for melee and gun full, and log out with an m4 in your hands you can relog onto the server, pick up the M4 and there will be another waiting in its place. You are able to duplicate the M4/scopes/mags/ect with this. It could create havoc if a rather un-geared team geared up in a matter of minutes to high quality rare pristine weapons with the best mags/sights/ect. i will provide a video when i get one.

Notes: These two attempts were 12 hours apart and on different servers

       The results were the same
       The first server was well populated/the second was not
       I performed this action in the vicinity of other players/and alone
       I Physically picked up both items and shot them (separately) successfully
       The M4 i picked up was still next to my character after 12 hours

Edit: Completed with SKS.