Sniper Rifle

A Sniper Rifle has been featured in every Grand Theft Auto game since Grand Theft Auto III with the exception of Grand Theft Auto Advance. It is often required in missions to shoot enemy gang members at a distance, especially when the goal is to protect an ally from far away. At long range, the sniper rifle usually provides a stealth kill, however it is not silenced, and should be fired far away from pedestrians and police. The rifle's magnifying scope is a valuable reconnaissance tool, and is also useful for viewing small game details like magazine covers and in-car objects.

Like in many computer games, the rifle's bullets fly straight to the targeted point (it is a 'hitscan' weapon) - real life variables like distance, wind, or target movement don't affect the bullet.

The GTA IV Sniper Rifle is said to be twice as powerful as the Combat Sniper rifle; it is, however, a bolt action rifle, and thus can't fire nearly as fast. It provides a one-headshot kill in single player and multiplayer, unless the target is heavily armored.

The sniper rifle only appears in certain missions of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, where the player has to assemble the rifle using the touch screen. The whole top screen is then used to display the scoped view.

Design
In Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Grand Theft Auto IV, the sniper rifle is based on the Remington M40A1, however in San Andreas, the gun's HUD icon appears to resemble a PSG-1. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is the lone exception; its sniper rifle is based on a M21, reflecting the game's setting of 1984, but it functions incorrectly as a bolt-action rifle.

GTA III

 * Belleville Park, Staunton Island - On top of the building south of the Belleville Park Fire Station behind the MSX FM sign (and next to the body armor icon) (use the angled edge of the Shoreside Lift Bridge Loop to jump to it).
 * Newport, Staunton Island - Available to buy from Ammu-Nation after completion of Last Requests ($10,000).
 * Cochrane Dam, Shoreside Vale - In the trees along the path to the base of the Cochrane Dam from the main entrance (near Cedar Grove).

GTA Vice City

 * North Point Mall - Available to buy from Ammu-Nation after completion of Phnom Penh '86 ($1,500).
 * Starfish Island - In the hedge maze at the west part of the Mansion.
 * Viceport - On the ledge on the south side of the base of the south bridge housing at the west end of the South Bridge that connects Ocean Beach and Little Havana.

GTA San Andreas

 * Jefferson, Los Santos - On the roof of the County General Hospital. It is only accessible by jetpack, helicopter, Hydra, etc..
 * Vinewood, Los Santos - On a deck with a ramp leading to it, inside a studio
 * Mulholland, Los Santos - On a balcony of a house, near a body armor pickup
 * In small house on top of hill between The Farm and Foster Valley
 * Downtown, San Fierro - Atop a building beside Otto's Autos
 * Doherty, San Fierro - In the exterior of the Doherty Garage after photographing all 50 Snapshots
 * Julius Thruway North, Las Venturas - On the roof of a little chapel near the Las Venturas Police Headquarters
 * The Clown's Pocket, Las Venturas - Somewhere on the Clown's Pocket Casino roof
 * The Four Dragons Casino, Las Venturas - On the lower roof of the casino
 * Can be bought from Ammu-Nation for $6000 after the completion of Pier 69.

GTA Liberty City Stories

 * Hepburn Heights, Portland Island - On top of the construction site roof (to get it use the ruins of the doll house as a ramp).
 * Torrington, Staunton Island - On top of the large star monument.
 * Francis International Airport, Shoreside Vale - Underneath a small wooden ramp/bridge leading to Wichita Gardens.
 * Cochrane Dam, Shoreside Vale - In the large tunnel entrance (tunnel leading to Cedar Grove).

GTA Vice City Stories

 * Starfish Island - Behind a mansion in the southern part of the island.
 * Outside every safehouse after bursting 80 red balloons.

GTA IV
The Sniper Rifle can be purchased from the back-alley gun shops for $6,000 and each additional magazine will cost $800. You cannot purchase the weapon from Little Jacob; however, you can purchase the Combat Sniper from him for less than the standard sniper rifle.

Broker Dukes Algonquin
 * East Hook - Can be found on a gantry crane at the docks where the Platypus is berthed, which is located on Mohanet Ave. Specifically, the gantry crane closest to the bow on the starboard side of the ship.
 * Steinway - Can be found atop a ferry terminal-type structure in Gantry Park, located off Dukes Drive. From the leftmost portion of the docks, the rifle is located atop the second structure.
 * Northwood - Can be found atop a crude oil refining tower at the intersection of Exeter Ave and Grummer Rd, near the water's edge.

Trivia

 * The Sniper Rifle in GTA San Andreas has three weapon skills defined in the game's files, however only one is used in the game. The unused skill levels can be attained with cheats.


 * Apart from GTA IV, TLAD and TBOGT, shooting at the moon in every Grand Theft Auto game with the Sniper Rifle will make it bigger and smaller.


 * In Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, the icon for the Sniper Rifle resembles the PSG-1 from Vice City and Liberty City Stories. However, while being assembled, the rifle resembles a cross between the Remington 700 of Grand Theft Auto IV and the M21 of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.


 * In Grand Theft Auto IV you receive a Sniper Rifle during certain missions such as Luck of the Irish and Lure.


 * In all the GTA 3 era games, the sniper rifle's cocking animation can either be seen in multiplayer (Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories) or when set on fire (Grand Theft Auto: III, Vice City and San Andreas only).


 * A possible overlook, when you use the Poor Weapons cheat in GTA IV, instead of recieving this rifle, you instead get the Combat Sniper.
 * Some games in the GTA III era, setting fire to yourself then using the sniper rifle would allow it to lock on to any opponent and fire without utilizing the scope.
 * In GTA IV and its episodes, the sniper rifle's bolt is on the right but Niko/Johnny/Luis will pull an invisible bolt on the left.
 * From San Andreas up to the latest games, shooting the birds flying in the air causes them to disappear. (Although these birds were not in-game entities, they are just sprites.)