AWP

"I'm gonna grab this range rifle."

- Bill

"Gonna scope some Smoker ass with this!"

- Coach

The Accuracy International AWSM is a bolt-action sniper rifle but, unlike the other Counter-Strike Source weapons, there is no other weapon that matches it precisely. This rifle inflicts a high amount of damage per shot — second only to that dealt out by Shotguns measured on a per-shot basis.

It has the slowest rate of fire (excluding the Grenade Launcher) of any firearm in the game and its accuracy whilst moving is very low so it is only effective against a Horde in narrow environments when standing still. This rifle comes into its own when engaging enemies such as weaker Special Infected from afar. However using it against a Witch or Tank is not recommended due to its low rate of fire. Compared to the Steyr Scout, the AWSM inflicts slightly more damage per second on account of its powerful .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge.

Tactics

 * Take advantage of its accuracy and higher damage per shot to take down Special Infected from far away.
 * Better accompanied with a melee weapon because of its extremely low rate of fire.
 * Always keep the distance from the Common Infected, as you can easily get surrounded by them with no defense if you do not have a melee weapon.
 * Players using this gun should be the last of the group to kill the few Common or Special Infected left behind and to give extra penetration when facing Hordes.
 * Always stand still or crouch while using the AWSM, especially when using ammo upgrades.
 * Unlike the shotguns players can skip the bolt animation by shooting and shoving at the same time to increase DPS.

Pros

 * Highest damage per shot of the all firearms except shotguns and the Grenade Launcher.
 * Second highest sniper magazine capacity.
 * The highest total damage of all weapons, except the Tier 2 shotguns and the AK-47.
 * Firing and shoving at the same time can increase your DPS.

Cons

 * Low fire rate, behind all weapons except the Grenade Launcher.
 * Too slow to use as self-defense when surrounded by Infected.
 * Extremely bad for Crescendo Events.
 * Out of all the weapons in the game, it takes the second longest time to kill a Tank, behind even the pistols. On Normal, it would take the AWSM 41 seconds to kill the Tank with it, while the pistols dual-wielded would take 20.
 * Lower Damage Per Second than any weapon in the game, except the Steyr Scout. All other weapons in the game have a higher DPS (including sidearms). The pistols deal 65 more damage every second than the AWSM when both are fired as fast as possible.
 * Firing and shoving at the same time wastes your shoving leaving you into cooldown or disadvantage