With this guide, I am going to try and tell you guys how to totally wreck on the other team with your pistols. This guide will be essential for Snipers, and anyone who gets into those close quarters situations with an empty primary weapon. Don't reload, switch weapons!
Everything in this guide comes from personal experience and knowledge. Once, while at level 53 in a prestige, I was training up my M16 again so that I would not be unprepared when I prestiged again. After one match, one of my opponents started getting on my sack about being an "M16 n00b!" So, I naturally said to him that I didn't need my M16, I could gladly tool on him with my M9. For the entire next match (except for three M16 kills), I pwnd him with the Beretta using a class I have now named the "R Kelly" (
He looked at the closet/ I pulled out my Beretta). In the lobby after the match, he acted like the three kills with my M16 out of the seventeen overall totally washed out my accomplishment. So naturally I continued shaming him with my M9 for the rest of the night. This guide will talk about the general capability of all pistols, and the individual benefits of each pistol, and situations in which you should use your sidearm.
Silenced or Not?First off, you should decide what role your pistol is going to take in your class. Do you want a silenced pistol for movement around the map with out being noticed (good for snipers), or do you want an un-silenced pistol, useful for taking out enemies from further away than just a couple meters. I recommend that with a silenced and UAV Jammed class, you should use a silenced pistol, so that if you have to resort to your sidearm, you still have the luxury of being unseen. If you are sniping, I would also recommend a silenced pistol for ease of relocation while remaining off the radar. However, for a class in which it is not essential to be a ghost, such as an assault or run and gun class, or most classes using perks other than UAV Jammer, an un-silenced pistol will serve you well, as it eliminates the decrease in damage by distance effect produced by the silencer. With an un-silenced M9, I have "sniped" people from one side of the wooden bridge on Overgrown, all the way to the sniper's rock on the other side, and I have done it even further on Ambush. In the right hands, the pistol is a deadly tool.
How and When to Use Your SidearmImagine you have just killed a guy, and you start to reload. Then, another enemy comes around the corner in true "here comes the cavalry" fashion, and proceeds to blast you straight to hell as you frantically try to finish reloading. That sucks. Now, imagine the same scenario, except instead of trying to finish reloading, you pull out your sidearm, and proceed to blast
him to bits. That rocks. This is one example of how the proper pistol for your style of play, and the proper use of it, can save your life, and your kill streak. Another instance of pistol use is this: perhaps you are using a shot gun class, and there is an annoying person on the turret in Backlot preventing your team from capping the Headquarters. All you have to do is pull out your pistol, and in a few swift shots he is down. There are countless other applications, as well as just using your pistol for the entire match. Use the Last Stand perk to train up your pistol skills, and increase the spreed at which you can fire. Use the G3 a lot in order to increase your rate of fire as well. These babies fire as fast as you can pull the trigger. Figure out when it is the right time to aim down your sights. as soon as they are three meters away from you, you should aim down the sight, but anywhere two meters and up, don't aim at all, but rather fire from the hip. What about that middle meter? Do whatever is the most comfortable for you. Remember, this guide is for you, but if something I recommend never works out for you, don't do it. It may work for me, but not for you. It depends on your style of play.
Which Sidearm is Right for You?In this section, I will discuss the pro's and con's of each pistol, and give suggestions on how and when to use each of them.
For the basic stats for each pistol, see here:
http://www.cod4central.com/cod4-weapons-pistols.php
M9 BerettaThis pistol is great for Last Stand. You will have a deep clip in case you miss, and this bad boy has excellent range. It still takes three to five shots to kill someone, but it comes with the most ammo. As long as you fire fast enough, this should be no problem. This gun shares ammo with the MP5 (9mm bullets) so if you like your pistols, don't pair these two guns. However, this gun comes with an extra 45 bullets. No replacement for Bandolier, but it could help.
HK USP .45The tactical model of the USP .45, this pistol looks rather stylish with the silencer, and packs a surprising punch. With only two to three shots, this bad boy will down even the strongest of opponents. I like to put a silenced version of this on my sniper classes because I favor the ability to drop an enemy swiftly, silently, and unseen. In Hardcore modes, one shot from the USP .45 is enough to kill. The .45 caliber rounds are shared by no other guns.
Colt m1911 .45This antique still packs enough power to be favored in modern law enforcement, and is even slightly more accurate than the USP .45. However, this bad boy only gets eight bullets in a clip, so choose wisely where you place your shots. It looks nice, but for aesthetic reasons, never put a silencer on this, as it looks god awful. The .45 caliber rounds are shared by no other guns.
Desert EagleThis .50 caliber rifle-in-one-hand is the most powerful handgun in the game. It will down a man in two shots max, and has the range of a sniper rifle. However, this thing also has the kick of a sniper rifle, and so it is ill advised to try and fire as fast as you can with the other pistols. It is well to note that this gun does not share ammo with the Barrett .50cal.
Train Your SkillsIn the story at the beginning of this guide, I talked about having played several games with only my pistol. This is a good idea if you want to become proficient with your pistol so that you may survive longer in each match. Also, if you are below level 32 and running out of ammo is a constant problem, these skills may help you live long enough to get another gun. Another important thing to not about the pistols is that these babies will fire just as fast as you can pull the trigger, so you need to train up your speed with them. One way to do this is to use the G3 assault rifle, because it is also a single shot, and has almost nonexistent recoil, much like the pistols. Practice over and over, and your speed will improve.
Actually Using the PistolWhen you pull out your sidearm, you need to know what to do with it, so here are some basic techniques to get you set to pwn. First off, all of the pistols (except for the Desert Eagle) have a rather tight grouping of shots, even when fired fast. Secondly, this tight grouping continues to stay tight even at long range. With this knowledge in mind, I will now discuss how to use your pistol in different situations. At close range, when perhaps you are out of ammo with your primary weapon, you needn't aim down your sights if they are two meters away from you or closer. In a building, you will almost never need to aim down the sights, except perhaps on stairs. When at a range of three or more meters, you should almost always aim down your sights. In the middle meter, whether or not you should aim down your sights is determined by how fast you can track the enemy while sighted. If they move too fast, don't sight. If otherwise, do. At long range, here is my advice on how to use the pistol. Line up your shot on their chest and torso area, then pull the trigger once. If you get the hit detector to pop up, take a few more shots. If these don't hit or kill the guy, adjust your aim, and repeat. When shooting at long range, take your time to make sure you get the kill. When using a pistol, anywhere you hit your target will result in the same damage multiplier (except the head), so aim for the general body mass as you are most likely to get a hit there. Hopefully this guide has helped you, good luck embarrassing others with your
sidearm skillz
Weapons
