P220 Pistol

"Extra pistol? Might come in handy."

- Nick "I'll grab that pistol!"

- Ellis

The P220 Pistol is the backup weapon of the Survivors in Left 4 Dead 2, replacing the M1911 Pistol from Left 4 Dead. It is one of the weapons they can use when knocked down. The Pistol(s) is one of the only weapons that has infinite ammunition. However, they are still limited to a magazine capacity of 15 rounds.

Even though they are meant as emergency weapons, Pistols make great secondaries, or even primaries for Grenade Launcher or shotgun users. They pack a punch larger than that of the M16 Assault Rifle, but smaller than the Combat Rifle, and possess better accuracy than most of the Tier 1 weapons. Pistols will usually spawn on the first level of each campaign. This occurs most frequently on Easy and Normal. However, on Advanced and Expert, they are often not available during the first level.

Dual-Wielding
"Gonna go all akimbo and shit!"

- Coach

If a second Pistol is found, it will be a semi-automatic Glock and the two pistols together can be dual-wielded. Second Pistols are placed periodically by the Director but can also be picked up when dropped by a teammate who has taken a Magnum, melee weapon, or has died. Dual pistols double the player's available pistol ammo capacity to 30 rounds and increases the maximum rate of fire from 300 to 600 RPM, thus allowing the player fire so fast as the trigger is pulled.

The downside of having two Pistols is that it takes slightly longer to reload, but this delay is marginal and does not affect gameplay much, the accuracy for both pistols will slightly decrease, and there will be higher recoil. When dual-wielded, like the M1911 Pistol, the left-hand Pistol has no light. These pistols are the only weapons in the game that can be dual-wielded.

Tactics
The single Pistol is rarely worthwhile unless you're determined to use a shotgun in the early game or are confident enough in your abilities and the Director to give you a second one en-route. Once doubled, the Pistols become a viable weapon for a shotgun user to traverse the field with, switching to the shotgun when targets begin to close in.

The Pistol isn't a great fallback weapon when you're empty and surrounded, so it's always better to be leading with the pistol and falling back on primary, not vice-versa. However, the dual pistols are more effective than the Magnum in tight quarters against many Common Infected, and in Normal difficulty, can drop larger numbers of the Horde before reloading. The downside to this is that they aren't effective against most Special Infected, so the prospects of blasting a Hunter off someone in a timely fashion are not good unless it's a very clear shot.

These pistols rely on rapid, constant, and accurate semi-automatic fire, so fatigue or stress can quickly sneak up on an inexperienced user and cause them to be ineffective down the stretch. As the Director ramps up the intensity through the middle levels, the Pistols also begin to do less and less against increasing Tanks, Chargers, and large swarms of Hordes, making them desirable in the early game but less viable later on. In higher difficulties, the damage from the Pistols becomes negligible and usage is really only seen amongst dedicated head-shotters that can compensate for the lack of power.

If a Survivor is armed with a shotgun, a sniper rifle, or they are running low on primary ammunition, it is advised to switch to these Pistol(s) and engage enemies at nearly any range, provided the user is crouching. Dual-wielding Pistols will greatly compensate for a shotgun's low rate of fire and are reliable mainly at close range and a sniper rifle's low rate of fire and low moving accuracy. They are also good for killing swarms of Common Infected at medium range when spraying bullets, but this may not apply to Special Infected in higher difficulties.

Pros

 * Can be dual-wielded for increased firepower and magazine size.
 * When dual-wielded, inflicts higher damage per second than the Magnum (providing the Pistols are fired as fast as possible).
 * Conserves primary ammo in low-threat environments.
 * Has a high rate of fire, firing as fast as a player can pull the trigger.
 * Has a magazine of 15, 30 if dual-wielded, and has infinite ammo.
 * Has a fast reload.
 * Deals relatively little friendly fire damage.
 * When dual-wielded, it can kill most Special Infected quickly.
 * Particularly handy for people who can easily attain headshots against Common Infected, as the large ammo pool can allow them to easily thin down incoming Hordes with accurate shots before needing to reload.

Cons

 * Can require up to 4 body shots to take down Common Infected on harder difficulties.
 * Inflicts very low damage on the Witch and some other Special Infected, such as the Charger.
 * Much less effective when incapacitated than the Magnum (due to massive accuracy decrease and slowed firing speed).
 * Melee weapons are often superior to the Pistols at close range.
 * Has a longer reload time if there are less than 2 rounds in the pistol(s), especially when dual wielded.
 * Has a relatively high recoil, even at medium range, though not as high as the Magnum.

Behind the scenes
Originally, the P220 pistol had the same firing and reload animations as the M1911 Pistol. Early videos display this.