StatTrak™ M4A4 | Howl (Field-Tested)

Field-Tested covers more of the scale than any other condition on the StatTrak™ M4A4 | Howl. The counter nearly doubles the price of a plain copy in the same wear, well above the markup Minimal Wear carries. Contraband is the rank, and this finish holds it alone; Valve withdrew the rifle from the game. Float spans 0.15 to 0.38.

What the StatTrak™ M4A4 | Howl looks like in Field-Tested

A dark gray base, nearly black, carries torn red bands that gather on the handguard and the stock. The howling wolf occupies the left side of the receiver: orange and yellow, red mane, eyes and bared teeth visible. The barrel shroud, grip and magazine floor are red, the carrying handle and sights dark gray.

This condition strips red from the raised edges. The handguard ribs and the carrying handle's lip lighten along their full length, then the magazine corners. At the bottom of the band the body looks close to clean, at the top plainly rubbed. The wolf sits on a flat panel and comes through whole.

Where the StatTrak™ M4A4 | Howl came from

A Steam Workshop entry brought the design in, and the rifle shipped on May 1, 2014. Six weeks later a Valve note stated that the rights to the image lay elsewhere. The submitters lost access to the Steam Community, and the finish became Contraband, not to be reissued.

The wolf on copies today is Valve's replacement for the original artwork, issued to every owner. In the finish catalog it is number 309.

What to check before buying

Compare these across listings:

• the counter reading, which stays with the rifle and cannot be reset;


• the float, since edges at the top of the band are visibly lightened;


• Stickers and an applied name, which change hands with the copy.

Picking inside 0.15 to 0.38 is worth the effort: the band's two ends do not look alike. The layout is fixed, and every copy repeats it.

What the StatTrak™ M4A4 | Howl costs in Field-Tested

The counter adds close to the plain rifle's whole price. Minimal Wear charges less and Factory New the most, placing this wear in the middle on premium alone.

Within the counter version, Factory New stands about four fifths above and Minimal Wear about a tenth above. Only Well-Worn sits lower: the scale ends at 0.40, and Battle-Scarred does not exist for this finish. Among M4A4s this is the third dearest listing, under two counter copies of the same finish.

Getting the StatTrak™ M4A4 | Howl

CS2 cases do not list this rifle. The finish belongs to no collection, and a trade-up needs one, so there is nothing to craft it from. A finished listing is what remains.

StatTrak and Souvenir

The version without a counter is a separate product. Anyone indifferent to counting kills should look there; in this wear it costs appreciably less. No Souvenir edition was ever made: the finish dropped from an ordinary case, and Souvenir packages exist only for tournament map collections.

Stickers and craft on the StatTrak™ M4A4 | Howl

Artwork takes up almost the whole rifle, leaving the magazine and a stretch of the stock. White and cool stickers read against the dark base; red ones sink into the bands. Edges are already lightened here, so a tidy craft sits awkwardly, and no sticker comes off without a trace.

Who this wear suits

Buy the StatTrak™ M4A4 | Howl here when:

• the counter matters and showcase condition does not;


• the rifle enters a CS2 loadout and will see matches;


• you would rather choose a float than take the first copy offered.

Bodies vary more inside Field-Tested than in any cleaner condition, and this is the one wear where inspection changes what you get.