P220 Pistol

"I'll grab that pistol!"

- Ellis

The P220 Pistol is the backup weapon of the Survivors in Left 4 Dead 2, replacing the M1911 Pistol from Left 4 Dead. It is one of the weapons they can use when knocked down. The Pistol(s) is one of the only weapons that has infinite ammunition. However, they are still limited to a magazine capacity of 15 rounds.

Even though they are meant as emergency weapons, Pistols make great secondaries, or even primaries for Grenade Launcher or shotgun users. They pack a punch larger than that of the M16 Assault Rifle, but smaller than the Combat Rifle, and possess better accuracy than most of the Tier 1 weapons. Pistols will usually spawn on the first level of each campaign. This occurs most frequently on Easy and Normal. However, on Advanced and Expert, they are often not available during the first level.

Dual-Wielding
"Gonna go all akimbo and shit!"

- Coach

If a second Pistol is found, it will be a semi-automatic Glock and the two pistols together can be dual-wielded. Second Pistols are placed periodically by the Director but can also be picked up when dropped by a teammate who has taken a Magnum, melee weapon, or has died. Dual pistols double the player's available pistol ammo capacity to 30 rounds and increases the maximum rate of fire from 300 to 600 RPM. The only downside of having two Pistols is that it takes slightly longer to reload, but this delay is marginal and does not affect gameplay much. When dual-wielded, like the M1911 Pistol, the left hand Pistol has no light. The pistol is the only weapon in the game that can be dual-wielded.

Pros

 * Can be dual-wielded for increased firepower and magazine size.
 * When dual-wielded, inflicts higher damage per second than the Magnum (providing the Pistols are fired as fast as possible).
 * Has a high rate of fire, firing as fast as a player can pull the trigger.
 * Has a magazine of 15, 30 if dual-wielded, and has infinite ammo.
 * Has a fast reload.
 * Deals relatively little friendly fire damage.
 * When dual-wielded, it can kill most Special Infected quickly.

Cons

 * Can require up to 4 shots to take down a Common Infected on a harder difficulty.
 * Inflicts very low damage on the Tank and Witch.
 * Much less effective when incapacitated than the Magnum (due to massive accuracy decrease and slowed firing speed).
 * Melee weapons are often superior than this at close range.
 * Has a longer reload time if there are less than 2 rounds in the pistol(s).
 * Has a relatively high recoil, even at medium range.