M21 (Part 1)

The M21 is unlocked at Level 7. It is the second sniper rifle to be obtained (the first being the M40A3). The M21 has the lowest damage multipliers, but its low recoil and fast fire rate make it very easy to fire multiple rounds very quickly. This means that if the first shot is a miss, or does not kill the target, the shooter still has the opportunity to get the kill. Unfortunately, this can lead to the bad habit of trigger mashing, which can result in a lot of missed shots. It is more effective to aim and fire accurate shots individually, unless spraying is more beneficial. When fitted with an ACOG Scope, the M21 has almost no recoil, making it the most suitable sniper rifle for close quarters combat (however, for this purpose, it would be more practical to use the similar M14 rifle, or a weapon specialized for CQC, such as a sub-machine gun.)

Many consider the M21 to be the best sniper rifle in Hardcore modes due to its low recoil and the fact that all sniper rifles are one hit kills if a direct hit is landed. Statistically, the M21 and Dragunov are the best for Hardcore. The M21 has less recoil, and the Dragunov has slightly better wall penetration (if Deep Impact is on the difference is not noticeable and the M21 becomes the clear winner, unless one would want a slightly better hit multiplier in the chest). In most situations, regardless of perks, the M21 is more effective.