P220 Pistol

"Extra pistol? Might come in handy."

- Nick

"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 downside of having two Pistols is that it takes slightly longer to reload and the accuracy for both pistols will slightly decrease, 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. These pistols are the only weapons in the game that can be dual-wielded.

Tactics
The single pistol is rarely worthwhile unless you're determined to use a shotgun in the early game or are confident enough in your abilities and the director to give you a second one en-route. Once doubled, the pistols become a viable weapon for a shotgun user to traverse the field with, switching to the scattergun when targets begin to close in.

No pistol makes a great fallback weapon when you're empty and surrounded, so it's always better to be leading with the pistol and falling back on primary, not vice-versa. However, the dual pistols are more effective than the Magnum in tight quarters against many Common, and in normal difficulty can drop larger numbers of Horde before reloading. The downside being that they aren't effective against most Specials, so the prospects of blasting a Hunter off someone in a timely fashion are not good unless it's a very clear shot.

These pistols rely on rapid, constant, and accurate semi-automatic fire so fatigue or stress can quickly sneak up on an inexperienced user and cause them to be ineffective down the stretch. As the Director ramps up the intensity through the middle levels the pistols also begin to do less and less against increasing Tanks, Chargers, and large swarms of Horde, making them desirable in the early game but less viable later on. In higher difficulties the damage from the Pistols becomes negligible and usage is really only seen amongst dedicated head-shotters that can compensate for the lack of power.

If you're armed with a shotgun or you are running low on primary ammunition, you  can switch to the pistol(s) and engage enemies at nearly any range, provided that you are crouching. Dual-wielding pistols will greatly compensate for a shotgun's low rate of fire and are reliable mainly at close range. They are also good for killing swarms of common infected at close range when spraying bullets but this may not apply to uncommon infected in higher difficulties.

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).
 * Conserves primary ammo in low-threat environments.
 * 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 Witch.
 * Much less effective when incapacitated than the Magnum (due to massive accuracy decrease and slowed firing speed).
 * Melee weapons are often superior to the pistols 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.