Hunting Rifle

The Ruger Mini-14 hunting rifle is the most accurate weapon in the game. It is semi-automatic and has an attached scope. It is still accurate when not using the scope, however movement of any kind severely lowers accuracy. It holds a 15-round magazine with 180 rounds in reserve and has the unique ability to shoot through almost any surface in the game, allowing the hunting rifle to take down Infected or save pounced or constricted teammates hidden by objects, walls, or floors. It can hit several enemies at once if they are lined up properly. It is no more accurate when the user is crouching.

Zoey will select this weapon when controlled by the AI.

Tactics
The weapon fires as fast as the player presses the fire button, but distance is the key to this weapon. It is primarily effective at longer ranges and open areas. Players using hunting rifles are very effective when working with players using pump shotguns or auto shotguns: the player with the hunting rifle kills Infected at long ranges, while players with shotguns provide close range protection. The hunting rifle is still useful at close ranges due to its high damage that usually kills common Infected in a single hit, but the other weapons are more effective for groups of very close Infected. The hunting rifle is only moderately effective against the Tank, but has the bonus of allowing the user to attack the Tank from a longer distance, where the Tank is less of a threat. On the other hand, the weapon's accuracy is terrible when running, which makes the hunting rifle less effective than pistols when you need to run and gun.

The hunting rifle can shoot through ceilings, floors, and walls. However, it can only penetrate one obstacle and it must be part of the map's world geometry (a brush). Model-based entities such as dumpsters, cars, etc. cannot be penetrated. Because of the gun's large reserve of ammo, it is more viable to fire blindly at walls in order to kill boomers or smoker when they are heard compared to the auto shotgun or the assault rifle.

The hunting rifle is more effective against mobs than is initially obvious. Its ability to "one-shot" any number of Infected in a straight line is something the other weapons struggle to do, and in narrow hallways the marksman of the group can wipe out entire mobs by himself. Even wild-firing into an onrushing horde can be more effective than using pistols.

If you are playing with computer players only (all AIs) then you should be Zoey if you want to use this weapon, because she will choose this weapon naturally. If you are one of the other survivors, then you will end up with two hunting rifles. This would create an unbalance in the team. It is suggested that no more than one hunting rifle is used in one group as it is more of a support type of weapon.

Further Suggestions for Use
1.) The hunting rifle is simultaneously the most and least accurate weapon in Left 4 Dead. While moving or taking damage, each shot is almost guaranteed to miss.  Pistols are more effective while on the move. 2.) For the hunting rifle, headshots are wasted on common infected. Aiming at the chest affords the best chance of striking many infected in a line, and a hit anywhere on the body is a kill. 3.) Although the hunting rifle boasts considerable stopping power against Common Infected, its power is mitigated against Special Infected. Aim for the head to compensate. 4.) Fire slowly. Although the hunting rifle has a good rate of fire, firing quickly is only effective on the Tank or Witch, both of which require multiple shots to kill. Conversely, more than one shot fired into a line of common infected is wasted. 5.) Reload sparingly. Although this is generally true of every weapon, firing fifteen quality shots with the hunting rifle during an event is fairly rare (following #4).  The hunting rifle takes significantly longer to reload than the assault rifle, and cannot be cancelled like the auto shotgun.