Magnum Pistol

"Oh… my… GOD."

- Rochelle

"Niiice!"

- Nick

The Magnum is a powerful handgun in Left 4 Dead 2. It has an eight bullet magazine and deals a lot more damage. However, it cannot be dual-wielded like the regular P220 Pistol can. The Magnum is modeled after a Desert Eagle. This weapon does more damage than regular pistols, able to achieve a one hit kill almost anywhere on a common infected, as well as being able to penetrate several common infected in one shot. It can also blow limbs off common infected, which the P220 Pistol cannot do. The Magnum appears to typically be found where an extra Pistol would be waiting,though it is more rare.

Tactics

 * When using the Magnum, aim for the body to compensate for its huge recoil.
 * The Magnum can be used as both a close range weapon to quickly kill Infected and a long-range weapon to pick off Infected at a distance.
 * The Magnum has superior penetration against Common Infected, making it easy to take out many rushing Infected in lines with a few well-placed shots. Common Infected can have their limbs shot off, heads exploded, and large holes blown through their torsos by this weapon, unlike the standard pistol.
 * The Magnum is great against common infected, but not as useful against special ones - especially on higher difficulties. This is because a single shot will only kill a Boomer on expert difficulty; making the Magnum's small magazine, high recoil and mediocre fire rate it an unsuitable weapon against more powerful foes. Stick to your main weapon when confronting special infected.
 * If you have an Assault Rifle or Submachine Gun, the Magnum could make a good compliment to your primary weapon, useful for shooting back Infected when overwhelmed and picking off idle Infected to save ammunition.
 * Generally, shotgunners do not need to carry the magnum. Their primary weapons already do high damage, and they could easily run out of ammo using only these low capacity weapons. But they might want it for effective long distance shooting.
 * This weapon is essentially a hand-held Sniper Rifle. As such, it is quite possible to go through large portions of a map without ever firing a round from your primary weapon. This is very useful for saving ammunition, especially with automatic weapons.
 * While increased damage is always good against infected, it is much worse against team mates. The magnum will do much more friendly fire damage than normal pistols, so watch your fire.

Pros

 * Extremely powerful for a sidearm, kills Common Infected in one shot.
 * 80 damage per bullet and infinite ammo.
 * Useful against hordes as its penetration is high.
 * Very accurate at all ranges.
 * Provides superior ground cover when incapacitated.
 * Rounds can pierce through multiple infected

Cons

 * Lower rate of fire.
 * Holds only 8 shots at a time.
 * Does more friendly fire damage.
 * Cannot be dual-wielded.
 * On the harder Difficulties, such as Advanced and Expert, the Magnum will take 2 shots to take out a normal Infected if they are further away.

Behind the Scenes
The Magnum was originally supposed to be called the "Desert Cobra". A string calling the Magnum the Desert Cobra is in "left4dead2_english.txt" under a line about the Magnum. This name is still used in the final version, but only on the sign next to the Magnum in Whitaker's Gun Shop, which calls it the ".50 Desert Cobra".

Trivia

 * Even though the Magnum is modeled in the .50 AE caliber, the 8 round magazine is only used in the .44 magnum variant. Still however, it is indeed a .50 AE (action express) caliber sidearm.
 * Similar to the P220 Pistols, the Magnum has no walking animation.
 * According to the text on the Magnum's side, the Magnum is produced by "1337 Weapon Industries (yOgi) PWN." and is made in Shyville.
 * Both the left and right side of the Magnum are identical, down to the grease stains, while the P220 Pistol has slightly different left and right sides.
 * While incapacitated, the Magnum's accuracy and rate of fire is the same as if you are not incapacitated and standing still. Holding crouch while incapacitated will result in unbelievable accuracy.
 * On Nick's survivor page on L4D.com, the bottom picture has him holding the basic P220 pistol. However, one of the picture's captions says that it is a Magnum.
 * On Realism mode, the Magnum can still kill Common Infected in one shot regardless of where it hits.
 * The HUD icon shows a different flashlight attachment than the in game model has.
 * According to the sign next to the Magnum in Whitaker's Gun Shop, only 2000 Magnums were made.