Keep your friends close, and enemies even closer? A nice idea, but you never know when you need to send a piece of lead into the middle of a target that’s several hundred meters away.
Factory-made sniper rifles are hard to find in post-war Russia, let alone ones in good working condition. Despite being a makeshift weapon, the Valve is more than capable when it comes to accuracy, and the power of the old rifle cartridge is enough to defeat most protection.