Sniper Rifle

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

- Coach

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



Differences
Compared to the Left 4 Dead Hunting Rifle, the Sniper Rifle has a higher capacity (30 rounds) and has a tighter crosshair when moving or getting hit by enemies. Also, the Sniper Rifle has a longer reload time when you empty the entire magazine.

Tactics

 * The Sniper Rifle is simultaneously the most and least accurate weapon in Left 4 Dead 2. 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 Sniper 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.
 * Every hit is a guaranteed kill on Common Infected. So, for the Sniper Rifle, headshots are wasted on them. Aiming at the chest affords the best chance of striking many Infected in a line.
 * Although the hunting 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. Conversely, more than one shot fired into a line of Common Infected is wasted.
 * 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. 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.
 * The Sniper 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 Sniper Rifle still kills them in one hit). The rifle does kill any number of Infected in the horde by penetrating, as long as they are appropriately lined up.
 * 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.
 * In hallways, tunnels, and other areas where the horde is funneled towards you, the Sniper Rifle is incredibly potent. Since it kills infected in one shot and the shots can pierce through a large number of Infected, it is possible to clear out a large horde in just a few shots.

Behind the Scenes
In the first footage released, the Sniper Rifle's magazine was shaped like the the G3's 5-round magazine, while later footage shows 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.

Trivia

 * It is modeled after the G3SG/1.