Sniper Rifle

"Pow! I'm gonna snipe some bitches!"

- Coach

This article is about the Sniper Rifle, if you are looking for the other scoped rifle, see Hunting rifle.

The Sniper Rifle is a Hunting Rifle variant in Left 4 Dead 2. The Sniper Rifle does more damage against special infected while still killing the normal infected in one hit. It will also be more accurate when moving. Unlike the Hunting Rifle, the Sniper Rifle is black instead of the wood brown of its predecessor. It has a capacity of 30 bullets each magazine; increased from the 15 from before. It is a Tier 2 weapon.

Differences
Compared to the Left 4 Dead Hunting Rifle, the Sniper Rifle has a higher capacity (30 bullets), but has more recoil and is less accurate when moving. The Military Sniper Rifle has a 0.25 second-longer reload duration than the Hunting Rifle.

Tactics

 * The Sniper Rifle is the most accurate weapon in Left 4 Dead 2, after the Hunting Rifle. Using the Sniper Rifle's scope while moving is another useful option, and allows the player to quickly (although slowed down from normal speed) cover the team without stopping. Note that activating the scope tightens the cross-hairs faster than standing still.
 * Every hit is a guaranteed kill on Common Infected. So, for the sniper rifle, headshots are wasted on them. Use the rifle's piercing ability by aiming at the chest to guarantee the best chance of striking many Infected in a line. However, as with both sniper rifles in Left 4 Dead 2, the sniper rifles enjoy the infinite penetration, so long it doesn't hit a wall, or a Special Infected it can't penetrate, the bullet will deal full damage and kill Infected in it's wake.
 * It also has the power to knock back Riot Infected unlike any other non-shotgun firearms.
 * Although the Sniper Rifle boasts considerable stopping power against Common Infected, its power is mitigated against Special Infected. Aim for the head to compensate.
 * Fire slowly. Although the Sniper 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.
 * Reload strategically. Although this is generally true of every weapon, firing thirty quality shots with the sniper rifle during a minor horde event is fairly rare, yet mostly a waste of ammunition, use melee weapons instead. Be aware that the sniper rifle takes significantly longer to reload than the assault rifle, and cannot be canceled like the auto shotgun, so keep your magazine full enough to protect team members from Special Infected.
 * The Sniper Rifle can be quite useful when running from a horde due to its relatively small on-the-move cross-hair.
 * The Sniper Rifle will penetrate as many common infected as you can line up in a single shot.

Behind the Scenes
In the first footage released, the Sniper Rifle's magazine was shaped like the the PSG-1's 5-round magazine, while later footage showed that the magazine is now shaped like the G3's 20-round magazine.

Early footage showed that the Sniper Rifle used the Hunting Rifle's animations. However, the Sniper Rifle now uses new animations designed for it.