Sniper Scope

The Sniper Scope is an optional scope for bolt action rifles and some semi automatic rifles such as the M1 Garand and the PTRS-41 (Note: The PTRS-41 has a scope that cannot be removed and has no other attachments.)

Unlocking
Unlike in Call of Duty 4, the scopes on all but two rifles (the Springfield and the PTRS-41) must be unlocked through the Marksman challenges.

On all bolt action rifles, it takes only 25 kills with the gun, unlocking Marksman I, and a Sniper Scope. The only other gun which the Sniper Scope can be unlocked for is the M1 Garand, which requires a Marksman IV challenge (150 Kills) to unlock the sniper scope.

The Scope increases zoom by approximately 2x compared to aiming down the gun without. It also decreases hip-fire accuracy and increases base damage from whatever it was (35-45 for the M1, 40-50 for bolt actions on PC, 50 for bolt actions on consoles) to 70. Also, damage multipliers are changed. Note that the "Statistics" displayed in-game are misleading and oftentimes flat-out wrong. The following sections analyze the actual statistics of snipers to better help players choose a rifle to fit their needs.

Accuracy
When breath is held, all snipers are perfectly accurate. However, idle accuracy differs from one rifle to the other. The rifles with the most sway are the Springfield, Mosin-Nagant, and Kar98k at 6 degrees each. The Arisaka is unique in that its sway is reduced from 6 degrees when standing to 4.5 degrees when crouching or prone, making it the most accurate "true bolt-action sniper". The PTRS has 4 degrees of sway. The M1 Garand has 4 degrees of sway when standing and 3 degrees when crouched or prone.

Rate of Fire
Though very similar in rate of fire, the bolt-actions do have minor differences in the rate cartridges are cycled. The Mosin-Nagant and Arisaka are the slowest, each taking a full second to cycle the bolt (60 RPM). At .9 seconds, the Kar98k is the next slowest (66 RPM), followed closely by the Springfield at .87 seconds (69 RPM). The PTRS-41 is the fastest rifle in the bolt action category (although it is not technically a bolt-action), requiring only .8 seconds between each shot (75 RPM). The M1 Garand is by far the fastest sniper rifle, able to fire every .135 seconds (444 RPM).

Damage
The Springfield, Kar98k, Mosin-Nagant, Arisaka, and PTRS-41 are all 1-shot kills to the chest, neck, or head. When coupled with Stopping Power the stomach is also a one shot kill. The PTRS-41 is technically the most powerful of these as it has the deepest penetration through objects (but contrary to popular belief, does not do more damage). The M1 Garand is the weakest sniper rifle; it is only a one shot kill to the head, unless using Stopping Power, in which case the neck and chest are also one shot kills. Note that enemies with Juggernaut will negate the effect of your Stopping Power, which hurts the effectiveness of the M1 Garand the most. Because of this, the scoped M1 Garand is not an extremely common sight in Core games.

All sniper rifles are 1-shot kills to any part of the body in Hardcore, even if the enemy is equipped with Juggernaut and you are not equipped with Stopping Power. Because of this, the M1 Garand is far superior to the others when playing Hardcore.

Conclusion
The PTRS-41 is the most effective sniper rifle in Core. The PTRS outclasses all bolt action snipers in sway, rate of fire, and bullet penetration. If you have not yet unlocked the PTRS-41, the sniper rifle of choice would be the Springfield (fastest rate of fire) or Arisaka (lowered sway while crouching or prone). It should be noted that the PTRS-41 has one significant disadvantage to other sniper rifles; it only starts with 10 additional rounds of ammunition, whereas the other bolt-actions have 15. This can be compensated for by taking the Bandolier perk, but most snipers prefer bouncing betties in this slot. For this reason, many players ignore the PTRS-41 altogether in favor of the 5 extra rounds. Of note here is the M1 Garand, with an astonishing 56 + 8 rounds. As described earlier, the difficulty of obtaining one-shot kills with this weapon, especially against Juggernauts, limits this weapon in Core.

In hardcore however, The M1 Garand is easily the most effective sniper rifle given its high rate of fire and the fact that all sniper rifles kill in a single shot on Hardcore. However, it is also one of the more difficult ones to unlock, as the M1 Garand requires 150 kills for the scope.

Trivia

 * Attaching a sniper scope to any of the bolt-action rifles (note that the Garand is unaffected by this) greatly increases the weapons sound when fired, causing it to be heard across the entire map. Although unrealistic, this is likely due to the psychological trauma that snipers inflicted on soldiers during the war.


 * Also unrealistically, sniper scopes increase the damage of any weapon it is attached to.


 * Players who wish to hone marksmanship skills or prefer unscoped bolt actions rifles commonly add the Bayonet for an extra melee reach and skip the Sniper Scope altogether.