Snipers in Hunt: Showdown have gained a good meta shake-up thanks to the addition of bullet drop and unlimited headshot range in the last engine update. Nowadays, sniping is a whole lot more challenging—and rewarding. In this Hunt Showdown Sniper tier list, I’ll be ranking the best (and worst) snipers in the game, taking into account the new mechanics like bullet drop range, bullet velocity, and the impact of different special ammo types. Each sniper is going to have a short review of its strengths and weaknesses that rank it within a certain tier.
Sniper Tier List Criteria
When ranking the sniper rifles in Hunt: Showdown, I’ll be focusing on several key factors that determine their effectiveness in the current meta:
- Bullet Drop Range: The distance at which bullet drop begins. Rifles with longer ranges allow for easier headshots without compensating for drop.
- Bullet Velocity: Faster bullets are more accurate over longer distances, reducing the need to lead shots and making them less affected by bullet drop.
- Ammo Type: Special ammo like High Velocity (and Spitzer) can drastically improve performance by increasing speed and reducing drop, while some ammo types can hinder a rifle's sniping capabilities.
- Scope and Zoom: Higher zoom levels make long-range sniping easier, while lower zooms are more suited for medium-range engagements.
- Versatility: Weapons that offer secondary strengths, like fast reloading or Levering for close combat, gain extra points for adaptability.
Each sniper will be ranked based on how well it performs in these areas, considering the challenges posed by the new bullet drop mechanics.
Hunt Sniper Tier List
S
Lebel 1886 Marksman
The Lebel boasts the highest bullet velocity in the game and a 10-bullet magazine which makes it great by default, and even better when paired with Scopesmith. The sniper has great ammo options and a good scope with zoom that easily supports long distance shots.
Centennial Sniper
Along with the Lebel 1866, one of the best snipers in the game. It has a high bullet drop range and a velocity of 725 m/s. It outperforms most long ammo rifles in terms of bullet drop and also comes with a 10-bullet magazine just like the Lebel, but with an additional option for Levering, making it hip-fireable in close combat.
Springfield 1866 Sniper
The Springfield 1866 Sniper excels at extremely long range sniping due to its bullet drop range of 185 with high-velocity ammo. It also has decent close combat capabilities because of its high hip-fire accuracy, but it is a breech-loading sniper that shoots once per reload so keep that in mind.
A
Berthier 1892 Marksman
The Berthier 1892 Marksman shares the same stats & bullet types as the Deadeye version, but is simply better for ranged play due to the Marksman scope.
Mosin-Nagant Sniper
One of the best long-ammo snipers with a velocity of 820 m/s and a drop range of 145 meters. It still struggles with bullet drop over long distances but performs well overall. It is however, very expensive to run it in conjunction with Spitzer ammo.
Infantry 73L Sniper
The new Infantry 73L Sniper is a beast, it uses compact ammo and sports a bullet drop range of 180 meters and a velocity of 525 m/s when using high-velocity bullets. Its long drop range, synergy with Levering and low cost make it a great sniper when you're freshly prestiged, but even for advanced hunter builds too.
Krag Sniper
I like the Krag Sniper, it's a bolt-action sniper that can hold up to 5 bullets, which synergizes well with Scopesmith as it allows you to track and confirm dead targets. The gun has great base muzzle velocity and very high drop range but lacks good special ammo. You can really only run the default ammo or Incendiary, Incendiary is good but it does reveal your location, which means you'll have to reposition after a few shots.
B
Berthier 1892 Deadeye
While the Deadeye scope isn't great for long-range sniping, it received some buffs recently making it have no movement penalty during zoom and less scope sway. These changes, combined with Berthier's ability to get strong ammo types with base-gun having high muzzle velocity make it a decent contender in the mid-long range sniper department.
Vetterli 71 Marksman
Solid option with a good drop range and decent velocity when combined with high-velocity ammo. A reliable, but not exceptional, mid-tier sniper. It has a good amount of ammo making it great for newbies looking to get into sniping.
Frontier 73C Marksman
Frontier 73C Marksman has one of the highest drop range in the game when combined with the high-velocity compact ammo. It does however lack in the muzzle velocity department, making those long range shots that much harder to hit. Overall, the Infantry 73L Sniper seems to be a better choice in this price bracket.
C
Martini-Henry Marksman
The Martini-Henry Marksman is a single-shot breech-loading sniper that comes modified with a mid-long range scope. It has the same problems as the Sparks Sniper—low muzzle velocity and single-shot reload making it hard to keep track of targets.
Sparks Sniper
The Sparks Sniper uses a single-shot mechanic with high damage and drop range that can combine into some deadly gameplay. More often than not though, the low muzzle velocity (due to lack of Spitzer of High-Velocity bullets) and single-shot mechanic become too much of a detriment to long range sniping.
Vetterli 71 Deadeye
The Vetterli 71 Deadeye is a bolt-action carbine that has a mid-range scope mounted on the basic Vetterli 71. It uses medium ammo, and is generally speaking very range-limited because of it. It does however feel decent around the 60-70 meter range or for shooting at compound peepholes.
D
LeMat Carbine Marksman
LeMat Carbine Marksman has only a 2x zoom and poor long-range utility due to compact ammo limitations, this makes sniping hard, especially at distances beyond the drop range. The only kill potential at distances is a headshot, which is generally hard to hit due to bullet drop.
Martini-Henry Deadeye
The Martini-Henry Deadeye is a single-shot breech-loading rifle with a "Deadeye"—midrange scope mounted on it. It does perform better than the Vetterli 71 Deadeye at range, but it still finds itself in that mid range grey zone which you don't wanna be in with snipers.
Officer Carbine Deadeye
The Officer Carbine uses the base double-action revolver with a Deadeye scope mounted on it. It's currently in a very bad state as it has to be used in very close-mid range to be even remotely effective.
