There is a total of 10 pistols to choose from in the CS2, but they are not all really that great for Premiere and Competitive, which is also why some of them are never seen in the Pro games. I will try and explain and make you able to decide which to have in your loadout.

Below are the guns you can choose to have in your Loadout, however, the Glock-18 is a fixed one for the Terrorist [T], and you can actually choose between USP-S and P2000 on the Counter-Terrorists [CT]. The majority of Pro players are playing the USP-S, but some choose the P2000, for the additional ammunition.

Each of the guns handle and feel a little different, as shown here below:


As you can see, most the guns, are about the same time to equip and get ready to shot, but the harder it hits, the longer it takes to get ready, which is also why you often see AWP'ers choose not have Dual Berettas, Desert Eagle or the R8, mainly because when they need to switch to the Pistol, it needs to be fast.

Besides this, it's worth mentioning that the R8, while packing a serious punch with the default firing, it comes with a downside, of a .2 second delay, which the second you press, makes a sound, before firing, .2 seconds later, that is in Pro games the main reason for not choosing, while .2 seconds is not a lot, it will warn others nearby, and they will be able to trade you.

Besides the obvious from above in regards to magazine sizes and additional ammo, there are also the numbers:

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Here, some of the things to notice, is that while the default guns, are roughly the same damage, they dont have the same armor penetration and range modifiers as the other pistols, as well as they also don't have the same Rounds per Minute (RPM), which is the rate at which they can fire, and keep in mind, that the higher the firerate and/or the more powerful, the more recoil you will have to handle.

Below we are looking at the damage, at different distances in HU. HU is the measurement in the CS world, to give you an idea, from behind the ticket box to the ramp entrance on Mirage, there is roughly 1200 HU, the playermodel is about 72 HU tall.

In the end it all comes down to how quickly can you kill them, which I have tried to show below. If the time is 0.000, it basically means, you click, you hit, he/she dies. There is however a small but, because while the R8 looks very appealing with the 0.000 when fanning, the chances of hitting your target if they are not within 100 HU diminishes drastically to point where the odds off winning in the lottery are bigger, as they go further and further away, so don't count on it.

This is NOT a do it or die suggestion, but from a Premiere and Competitive standpoint, this is what makes sense, and often also what most of the Pro's use, based on the above information and numbers, this is also what makes sense, to be as useful as possible.

Pistol Loadout

• [CT] USP-S / P2000: At the end of the day, if your aim is good USP-S, if not, opt for the P2000, more bullets.
  
• [CT] Five-Seven: High DPS, High Armor Penetration, Large Magazine, Medium Damage Reduction at Range

• [T] Glock-18: Not really a choice!
  
• [T] Tec-9: High DPS, High Armor Penetration, Large Magazine, Slightly more Damage Reduction than the Five-Seven at Range

• Dual Berettas: Like a small SMG, really good for run and gun! Downside, reload-time.
  
• P250: High DPS, High Armor Penetration, Low Damage Reduction at Range
  
• Desert Eagle - It's like an AWP, but you need to take into consideration the firerate, and you need to learn to control the recoil, by having the right timing between shots. The main downside, the price, and the fact that most people think they can hit with it, but they can't

UMP-45 - Here's why!