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 is usually shown in official media with this weapon, and her AI almost always grabs it when it is available.

Basic Information
The semi-automatic weapon fires as fast as a single pistol, 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 Smokers 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.

In summary, this weapon is designed for long ranges and high damage per shot. Because of its basic design, the hunting rifle is not obviously useful in mundane horde situations or at easy difficulties, but it does shine at killing Special Infected that are: or very often, all of the above. The hunting rifle is thus an immediately respectable support weapon, with some unique qualities that also make it possible to keep pace with the other weapons (see Tactics).
 * Far away
 * Amidst or behind the horde
 * Behind obstacles

Pros

 * The rifle can shoot through lines of Infected with a single shot.
 * The rifle easily penetrates walls, allowing you to save stranded teammates from Hunters or Smokers.
 * The rifle has the highest accuracy of any weapon in the game.
 * One rifleman can easily clear out an area or kill Special Infected from a distance.
 * Smokers become much lower threats.
 * Headshots stun the Witch temporarily on all difficulties as long as she is idle (crying).
 * Tanks can be engaged from a distance, where only their rock throw becomes and issue.
 * The rifle has a high reserve ammunition pool. Running out of ammo seldom becomes a problem.
 * High accuracy means that there is a lower chance of friendly fire.

Cons

 * In close quarters, this weapon becomes drastically less effective against a Tank.
 * Accuracy is greatly reduced when running and not scoped.
 * Scoping slightly decreases running speed.
 * When scoped, it is easier to be flanked or pinned, making you more reliant on teammates.
 * The weapon's magazine is fairly small, forcing you to reload often.
 * The rifle's reload animation is significantly longer than the assault rifle and cannot be stopped like a shotgun.
 * The rate of fire is capped, meaning that no matter how fast you can press the fire key, the rate of fire will remain about 225 rounds/minute.

Tactics

 * 1) The hunting rifle is simultaneously the most and least accurate weapon in Left 4 Dead. While moving (unless you are using the scope) or taking damage, each shot is almost guaranteed to miss. Pistols are generally more effective while on the move or being hit. Using the rifle's scope while moving is another useful option, and allows the player to quickly cover the team without stopping. Note that activating the scope tightens the crosshairs faster than standing still.
 * 2) Every hit is a guaranteed kill. So, 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.
 * 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 strategically. Although this is generally true of every weapon, firing fifteen quality shots with the hunting rifle during a minor horde event is fairly rare (following #4). Be aware that the hunting 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.
 * 6) The hunting rifle is a one hit kill on the horde, no matter how much HP they have (the rifle does about 75 damage per shot, the horde has 90 health on expert, and the hunting rifle still kills them in one hit). The rifle does kill any number of zombies in the horde by penetrating, as long as they are appropriately lined up.
 * 7) Be incredibly careful of friendly fire. This applies the most on expert difficulty, as one shot will leave a Survivor with very low health, and an easy target for any Infected.

Trivia

 * The Mini-14 is a lightweight, semi-automatic carbine manufactured by Sturm, Ruger and Co. since 1974. It fires both the .223 Remington and 5.56x45mm NATO round, and realistically should have the same stopping power as the M16 (though due to the differing gas systems, the recoil differs). The mini-14 is in essence a rifle based off of the M14, the name derived from the larger rifle. Although most commonly used as (and called by Ruger) a "Ranch Rifle" for small game hunting, many countries have adopted it as a paratrooper or military rifle, often with burst or full-auto firing modes. The Mini 14 comes out of the box with iron sights, but several third-party manufacturers make scope mounts for it that clamp onto the receiver. The magazine size in-game in reality holds 10 rounds, although magazines are available in 5, 20 and 30 round capacities. A variant, the Ruger Mini-30, fires the 7.62 X 39mm round used in the AK-47 and similar rifles, not to be confused with the 7.62 X 51mm/.308 Winchester used widely in main battle rifles and marksman's weapons, including the weapon's basis: the m-14.
 * Ironically, unless the weapon is heavily modified, a mini-14 from the box is renowned for having extremely poor accuracy (albeit extreme reliability) due to the rifle's thin barrel, which upon heating up from continuous fire, actually whips per shot. Common fixes for this problem include a lower supporting strut, a shortening of the barrel (increasing its thickness is difficult due to the gas block at the end of the stock), as well as several bedding modifications to the stock itself--all of which seem to be missing from Left 4 Dead's hunting rifle.
 * The Hunting Rifle is based on Counter-Strike's SIG 550 sniper rifle. Its "price" in the gun's weapon file is the same as the SIG's, and it references the SIG 550 in its "animation" listing.
 * The words "Patriot 809" are on the metal part that is just before the scope.
 * Contrary to popular belief, the hunting rifle will NOT get you the Cr0wnd achievement (killing the Witch with a single headshot).
 * The mini-14 is referenced to in The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks. He recommends this weapon during a zombie attack because it is a  semi-automatic rifle, making it better for getting the headshots necessary to kill the living dead.
 * In Left 4 Dead 2 the hunting rifle resembles the Heckler & Koch G3SG/1 rifle, a scoped G3 variant.