CS2 SCAR-20 rifle displayed in the weapon inventory

SCAR-20 Guide for Counter-Strike 2

Damage, the scope, and when a $5,000 auto-sniper is worth it.

The SCAR-20 is the CT side's auto-sniper and, together with the T side's G3SG1, the most expensive gun after the M249. It costs $5,000, pays $300 a kill and fires 240 rounds a minute, one shot every 0.25 seconds. A headshot kills at any distance, and two chest hits kill an armoured player in 0.25 seconds out to about 174 metres.

The trade-off is price and speed. It costs $250 more than the AWP, never kills with a single chest shot, and with the scope up you move at 120. It holds 20 rounds a magazine and 60 in total. This page goes through the numbers, the scope, when to buy it, and the skins and cases.

Last checked

September 2026

Weapon stats checked against CS2 build 1.41.7.6.

SCAR-20 at a Glance

The full stat sheet, straight from the game.

Every number below comes from the game build of 18 March 2026. Two of them define the SCAR-20: 240 rounds a minute and a helmet one-tap at any distance. It is a sniper that can fire again a quarter of a second after the first shot. What it gives up is money and speed - $5,000, and 120 mobility with the scope up.

Damage and money

Price	$5,000
Kill reward	$300
Side	CT only
Base damage	80
Armour penetration	82.5%
Headshot multiplier	4x
Damage lost at 500 units	2%
Wall penetration	250%
One-tap range, helmet	Any distance on a map
One-tap range, no helmet	Any distance on a map

Handling and ammo

Rate of fire	240 RPM (one shot every 0.25 s)
Magazine	20
Reserve	40 (60 total)
Reload	3.07 s (mag in at 1.40 s)
Deploy	1.00 s
Mobility	215, scoped 120 (knife is 250)
Tagging power	65%
Accurate range, standing	5.8 m (scoped 66.3 m)
Running inaccuracy	176.6 (scoped 152.8)
Recoil	Set pattern
Console command	`give weapon_scar20`

The weak spot is the price. At $5,000 it costs more than an AWP, and it pays $300 a kill, three times the AWP's reward but no more than a rifle. Unscoped it is accurate only to 5.8 metres, and scoped you move at 120 - faster than a scoped AWP (100), but a lot slower than anyone holding a rifle.

SCAR-20 Damage & Armour

What one bullet does, and how many it takes.

Everything here assumes a full-health player at close range. Armour means kevlar on the body and a helmet on the head. The general rules behind these numbers are on the weapons hub.

Damage per bullet

Hitbox	No armour	Armour	Bullets to kill, no armour	Bullets to kill, armour
Head	320	264	1	1
Chest and arms	80	66	2	2
Stomach	100	82.5	2	2
Legs	60	60	2	2

One number sits exactly on the edge. A stomach hit without armour does 100, precisely what it takes to kill a full-health player - but only with no distance at all. Any gap drops it just below, so in practice the stomach takes two hits, which is what the table shows.

Where the SCAR-20 holds up

The SCAR-20 loses only 2% of its damage for every 500 units of distance. Only two bullet counts have a limit:

Shot	Works up to
Head, helmet or not - 1 bullet	Any distance on a map
Chest, no armour - 2 bullets	Any distance on a map
Stomach, armour or not - 2 bullets	Any distance on a map
Chest through armour - 2 bullets	6,871 u (about 174 m)
Legs - 2 bullets	4,512 u (about 115 m)

Damage is multiplied by 0.98 for every 500 units of distance, and it drops smoothly in between.

What this means in a fight

A headshot kills in one bullet. Anything else from the legs up takes two, and at 240 rounds a minute the second one comes 0.25 seconds after the first. That is what separates the SCAR-20 from the SSG 08, which needs the same two body shots but waits 1.25 seconds between them. The AWP still kills with one body shot, but its next shot takes 1.45 seconds.

SCAR-20 Scope & Accuracy

What the scope gives you, and what a fast second shot costs.

The SCAR-20 fires one shot every 0.25 seconds, and its recoil follows a set pattern. That means shots fired as fast as possible do not all land where you aimed - each one kicks the next a little. Two body shots are what it usually takes, so the second one matters as much as the first.

Without the scope

Unscoped, the SCAR-20 is accurate only to 5.8 metres standing, and its running inaccuracy is 176.6. A shot without the scope works only when the opponent is right in front of you.

With the scope

The right mouse button brings up the scope, and a second click zooms in further. Scoped, the accurate range goes from 5.8 to 66.3 metres, second only to the AWP's 69.3. Unlike on the bolt-action snipers, the scope stays up between shots, so the second shot can follow straight after the first. The price is speed: with the scope up you move at 120 instead of 215.

Between shots

A shot every 0.25 seconds is fast for a sniper, but not a reason to hold the trigger. A short pause between the first and second shot gives the crosshair time to settle, and 20 rounds a magazine with 60 in total leave less room for missed shots than a rifle.

Moving and stopping

Scoping in will not make the SCAR-20 accurate on the move - scoped running inaccuracy is still 152.8. Stop first: tapping the opposite movement key - counter-strafing - brings you to a stop faster than just letting go of the key.

When to Buy the SCAR-20

What a SCAR-20 round costs, and how it compares with an AWP buy.

The SCAR-20 is one of the most expensive buys in the game. It makes sense only when your team has money to spare after everyone else has a full buy.

What a full buy adds up to

Item	Price
SCAR-20	$5,000
Kevlar + helmet	$1,000
Defuse kit	$400
Smoke	$300
Flashbang	$200
Total	$6,900

The same buy with an AWP costs $6,650, with an M4 $5,400 and with an AUG $5,800.

SCAR-20 or AWP

The SCAR-20 costs $250 more. The AWP kills with one hit to the chest or stomach; the SCAR-20 needs two, but they come 0.25 seconds apart instead of 1.45. The SCAR-20 pays $300 a kill against the AWP's $100, carries 60 rounds against 15, and moves at 120 scoped against 100. The AWP's scope reaches a little further, 69.3 metres against 66.3.

SCAR-20 or a rifle

An M4 costs $2,100 less and an AUG $1,700 less. Neither M4 one-taps a helmet, and the AUG does only inside about 5 metres; the SCAR-20 does at any range. Up close a rifle kills through armour in 0.30-0.40 seconds, and the SCAR-20's two body shots take 0.25. Where the rifles win is movement - 220-225 against the SCAR-20's 215, and 120 once it is scoped - and ammo: 80-150 rounds against 60.

Against an eco

The SCAR-20 pays $300 a kill, like a rifle. Against players with no armour, most SMGs earn twice as much per kill and cost roughly a quarter as much.

SCAR-20 vs Other Snipers

What the SCAR-20 does better, and what it gives up.

The SCAR-20 wins on time between shots, and loses on price and on damage to the body compared with the AWP. The table below has all the numbers side by side.

vs G3SG1

The T side's auto-sniper, at the same $5,000. Damage, fire rate, accuracy and mobility are the same. By the source sheet the G3SG1 has weaker tagging power, 50% against 65%, and a slower reload, 4.7 seconds against 3.1. Details in the G3SG1 guide.

vs AWP

$250 cheaper. How the two compare on body shots, money and ammo is in When to Buy above. On top of that, the AWP takes 1.25 seconds to pull out against the SCAR-20's 1.00. Details in the AWP guide.

vs SSG 08

$3,300 cheaper. Like the SCAR-20, it one-taps a helmeted head at any distance and needs two chest hits - but its second shot comes 1.25 seconds after the first, not 0.25. It moves at 230 against 215, and its scope reaches 47.2 metres against 66.3. Details in the SSG 08 guide.

vs scoped rifles

The AUG costs $1,700 less and the SG 553 $2,000 less. Both fire in full auto and have scopes that reach 37-38 metres. Only the SG 553 one-taps a helmeted opponent at range, out to about 115 metres. More in the AUG and SG 553 guides.

Sniper Stats Table

All four snipers side by side, with the SCAR-20 already open.

This is the same table as on the weapons hub, but filtered down to snipers. The SCAR-20 row is open with its damage per hitbox and full stats, and it is already ticked for comparison with the G3SG1, AWP and SSG 08 - all four at once.

Click a column header to sort. Each sniper row shows the gun without the scope, and the scoped numbers are in its card under variants. The full table with all 36 weapons is on the weapons hub.

Click any weapon for damage per hitbox, full stats and variants.

	Weapon	Type	Price	Kill $	Damage	Armour pen	RPM	Mag	Total ammo	HS kill vs helmet

Stats from the CS2 Weapon Spreadsheet, game build of 18 March 2026. Shotgun damage is per pellet. Headshot ranges are converted from game units at 39.4 units per metre. Zeus and knife values come from the game files rather than the sheet.

SCAR-20 Skins & Cases

SCAR-20 skins by market listings and price, and where they come from.

Three ways to look at SCAR-20 skins. Most listed are the ones with the most offers across the markets I track, in other words the ones currently offered most often. Most expensive are the skins that stay expensive even in their cheapest wear. Cheapest are the ones that stay cheap even in their best wear. Prices update every 15 minutes, and the range on each card runs from the cheapest variant to the most expensive one, wear and StatTrak included.

Consumer Grade

Contractor

$0.01 - $9.71

View prices →

Consumer Grade

Sand Mesh

$0.01 - $11.30

View prices →

Mil-Spec Grade

Poultrygeist

$0.05 - $0.20

View prices →

Mil-Spec Grade

Fragments

$0.02 - $0.38

View prices →

Consumer Grade

Short Ochre

$0.01 - $0.02

View prices →

Consumer Grade

Zinc

$0.01 - $0.02

View prices →

Restricted

Enforcer

$0.36 - $5.95

View prices →

Industrial Grade

Carbon Fiber

$0.07 - $2.74

View prices →

All of them, with a price for every wear, are on the SCAR-20 skins page.

Cases with SCAR-20 skins

Every case that can drop a SCAR-20 skin, newest first. The number under each case is how many SCAR-20 skins it holds.

Gallery Case2024 · 1 skin

Revolution Case2023 · 1 skin

Dreams & Nightmares Case2022 · 1 skin

Prisma 2 Case2020 · 1 skin

Shattered Web Case2019 · 1 skin

CS20 Case2019 · 1 skin

Spectrum 2 Case2017 · 1 skin

Spectrum Case2017 · 1 skin

Gamma 2 Case2016 · 1 skin

Gamma Case2016 · 1 skin

Revolver Case2015 · 1 skin

Shadow Case2015 · 1 skin

Chroma Case2015 · 1 skin

Operation Vanguard Weapon Case2014 · 1 skin

Huntsman Weapon Case2014 · 1 skin

CS:GO Weapon Case 22013 · 1 skin

SCAR-20 skins that never came from a case

Some SCAR-20 skins come from map collections, operations, or the Armory instead of cases. Collections marked "souvenir" also come in souvenir packages from Majors.

The Achroma Collection1 skin

The Alpha Collection1 skin

The Arabesque Collection1 skin

The Canals Collection1 skin

The Chop Shop Collection1 skin

The Cobblestone Collection1 skin · souvenir

The Control Collection1 skin

The Dust 2 Collection1 skin · souvenir

The Dust Collection1 skin

The Genesis Collection1 skin

The Graphic Design Collection1 skin

The Militia Collection1 skin

The Norse Collection1 skin

The Radiant Collection1 skin

The Safehouse Collection1 skin · souvenir

The Spy Tech Collection1 skin

The Train Collection1 skin · souvenir

Browse all CS2 cases and all collections, or check what your own skins are worth with the Inventory Value Calculator.

Common SCAR-20 Mistakes

Small habits that cost rounds, and what the numbers say instead.

Reloading after every fight

Since the 18 March 2026 update, a reload throws away whatever is left in the magazine and takes a full one from your reserve. The SCAR-20 has two spare magazines of 20, so a reload with ten rounds still in the gun throws away half a magazine, a sixth of your 60 for the round. How this habit caught me out is in the AK-47 guide.

The second reload mistake is reloading when you are not safe. From pressing R to being able to shoot again the SCAR-20 needs 3.1 seconds. Only reload when you are sure nobody can swing on you for more than three seconds.

Buying it before the team has full buys

A SCAR-20 buy costs $6,900, $1,500 more than a full buy with an M4. If it means a teammate plays without armour or a rifle, the round is usually better without it. More in When to Buy.

Holding the trigger

The SCAR-20 can fire every 0.25 seconds, but its recoil follows a set pattern, so each fast shot pulls the next one off target. Two chest shots or one headshot kill; a short pause before the second shot lands more of them than holding the trigger down.

Shooting without the scope

Unscoped, the SCAR-20 is accurate only to 5.8 metres. Past that, a shot without the scope may hit, but you can't count on it.

Moving with the scope up

Scoped, you move at 120 instead of 215, and running inaccuracy only drops to 152.8. Walking between angles scoped makes you slow and doesn't make the shots land. Scope in when you stop, and counter-strafe before you shoot: tapping the opposite movement key brings you to a stop faster than just letting go of the key.