Do guns in Fallout New Vegas use hitscan or fire bullet projectiles?

In New Vegas (and Fallout 3, which runs on the same engine) when using VATS you can see your character fire a projectile which takes time to travel to your opponent, and the health bar only drops when the bullet impacts.

Outside of VATS it's less clear whether bullets work as hitscan or on a ballistics model. When using guns it seems like the weapons are hitscan - enemies take damage the same moment the gun is fired. But other weapons very clearly fire a physical projectile, like a missile, rocket, or ball of plasma which the player can watch as it travels. Conversely, the laser class of weapons fire a hitscan beam which travels instantly to it's target. Even in the slow-motion of VATS a laser beam appears does not seem to travel, it instantly burns an opponent.

I can't tell if a physical bullet only appears in VATS, or exists outside of the assisted targeting system. Outside of VATS, do guns in New Vegas use hitscan or do they fire a bullet projectile?