Hunting Rifle

"Now that is a sweet-ass scope!"

- Francis

"I'll snipe."

- Rochelle

The Hunting Rifle is the most accurate weapon (alongside the Sniper Rifle in Left 4 Dead 2) in the game, but can be difficult to use correctly. 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 can 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. The Hunting Rifle can fire almost 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 Survivors using Pump Shotguns or Auto Shotguns: the Survivor with the Hunting Rifle kills Infected at long ranges, while Survivors 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.

Pros

 * The Hunting Rifle can shoot through lines of Common Infected with a single shot, except for Realism mode.
 * It easily penetrates walls, allowing you to save stranded teammates from Hunters or Smokers.
 * It shares the highest accuracy of any weapon in the game alongside the Sniper Rifle.
 * A Hunting Rifle user can easily clear out an area or kill Special Infected from a distance.
 * It 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.
 * 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 an issue.
 * Even without scope it can be a very effective close range weapon, cutting through the Horde very easily and with more accuracy than a shotgun.

Cons

 * In close quarters, the Hunting Rifle becomes drastically less effective against a Tank.
 * Accuracy is greatly reduced when running and not scoped, thus making it one of the least accurate weapons in Left 4 Dead.
 * Scoping decreases running speed.
 * When scoped, it is easier to be flanked or pinned, making you more reliant on teammates.
 * The magazine is fairly small, forcing you to reload often.
 * The 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 press the trigger, the rate of fire will remain about 225 rounds per minute.
 * It takes several hits to kill a Common Infected on Realism mode if the penetrated areas are not headshots.
 * Friendly fire can be an issue at close range as a careless shooter can easily take large amounts of health off a whole team.

Left 4 Dead 2
The Hunting Rifle also appears in Left 4 Dead 2. Its cross-hair is tighter when moving, and its ammunition reserve is reduced to 150, but otherwise it functions the same. It does have new animations and new reloading sounds. Though it is a Tier 2 weapon, it seems to be treated like a Tier 1 weapon (with the new Sniper Rifle filling its Tier 2 position), since it tends to be available earlier in campaigns. However, a Survivor who is using a Hunting Rifle who dies and respawns in a rescue closet will not be given a new Hunting Rifle, as only Tier 1 weapons are given to rescued Survivors.

Behind the Scenes
Early screenshots show that the Hunting Rifle's world model had a charging handle on its right side at one time. The handle was removed in the final version, after all cocking animations were removed.

The Hunting Rifle is based on Counter-Strike’s SIG SG 550 rifle. Its "price" in the gun's weapon file is the same as the SG 550's, and it references the SG 550 in its "animation" listing. However, its firing sound is a modified version of the Counter-Strike's Scout's firing sound.