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, although with a slower rate of fire and greatly decreased accuracy than that of the first game. 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.

Upon picking up a melee weapon, Survivors drop their Pistol (if they are dual-wielding, they will drop both Pistols). However, when they are incapacitated, they still pull out a Pistol, and once revived, the Pistol is no longer part of their inventory and the melee weapon is still in the secondary slot. While illogical, this is due to the fact that a Survivor downed with no handgun of any kind is a sitting duck, and it would be impossible to defend a teammate reviving them.

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

- Coach

If a second Pistol is found, it can be dual-wielded. Once you equip another, that Pistol will be a semi-automatic Glock. Second Pistols are placed periodically by the Director and can also be picked up if dropped by a teammate who has picked up a Magnum, melee weapon, or has died. This allows for twice the ammo capacity, as well as the rate of fire being increased from 300 to 600 RPM. The downside of having two Pistols is that it takes slightly longer to reload, but this delay is marginal and doesn't affect gameplay much. When dual-wielded, the Pistol in the left hand will not have a light. It's the only weapon that can be dual-wielded in the game.

Pros

 * Can be dual-wielded, unlike the Magnum.
 * When dual-wielded, has higher damage per second than Magnum (providing Pistols are fired as fast as possible).
 * Has a higher rate of fire, firing as fast as you can pull the trigger.
 * Has a magazine of 15, 30 if dual-wielded, and has infinite ammo.
 * Has a fast reload.
 * Good backup for any weapon.
 * Deals relatively little friendly fire damage.
 * Can be superior to melee weapons when at beginning of earlier campaigns due to range.
 * When dual-wielded, can kill most Special Infected quickly.
 * Powerful on easier difficulties, when one or two shots can kill a Common Infected.

Cons

 * Can range from 1-4 shots to take down the Common Infected (depending on difficulty).
 * Very low amount of damage towards the Tank and Witch.
 * Much less effective when incapacitated than the Magnum, due to massive accuracy and firing speed penalties.
 * Melee weapons often superior in dealing damage at close range.
 * Has a longer reload time if there are no rounds or 1 round in the pistol(s).