Intratec TEC-DC9
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The Intratec TEC-9 is a blowback-operated, semi-automatic 9mm Parabellum caliber firearm, classified by BATF as a handgun. It is made of inexpensive molded polymer and stamped steel parts. 10, 20, 32, 36 and 50 round magazines are available. There are 3 different models, all of which are commonly referred to as the TEC-9, although only one model was sold under that name. The Tec-9 weighs about 10 pounds.
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History
The TEC-9 was originally designed by Swedish company Interdynamic AB of Stockholm as the MP-9, a cheap submachine gun based on the Carl Gustaf M/45 for military applications. Interdynamic was unable to drum up any interest among governments, and the MP-9 never entered production. Unwilling to give up on the design, Interdynamic set up a U.S. subsidiary to market a semiautomatic version to civilians. The MP-9 was redesigned by George Kelgren, and became the model KG-9. Owing to its submachine gun heritage, the original TEC-9, model KG-9, featured an open bolt design which made it relatively easy to illegally convert it to a fully automatic submachine gun. Criminals soon discovered this fact and the TEC-9 became associated in the public mind with gang violence, especially drive-by shootings.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) responded in 1982 by forcing Interdynamic--now called Intratec--to convert it to a closed bolt design that is harder to make fully automatic. The closed-bolt model was designated KG-99 and marketed at first as TEC-9 and later the TEC-DC9. The fearsome reputation of the TEC-9 kept its popularity high among criminals even though few if any were able to convert the TEC-DC9 to full auto. Gun control advocates pushed for the TEC-DC9 to be outlawed, even though it was in reality little more than an oversized, inaccurate, and relatively unreliable pistol. The Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 banned manufacture of the TEC-DC9 by name, and forced Intratec to introduce a new model called the AB-10 (for "After Ban") that lacked a barrel shroud and threaded muzzle. A few years later, in 2001, Intratec went out of business and AB-10 production ceased. More recently, the KG-9 variant has found some demand among collectors due to its increasing rarity, while a sustained fall in gang violence during the late 90s has caused criminals to seek out smaller, more concealable weapons. The KG-9 originally sold for around $200 USD, but now sells for upwards of $1000 USD. The TEC-DC9 variant was among the weapons infamously used by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold in the Columbine High School Massacre.[1]
Limitations
The TEC-9 is inherently inaccurate due to crude sights. It is reliable with full metal jacket bullets but does not work well when other types of bullets are used. It has been made with a threaded barrel for attachment of a suppressor, flash suppressor, or barrel extension.
In fiction
The TEC-9's real-world notoriety has made it famous in several films and video games. Some examples:
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Jackie Brown (Not seen in the film, but Samuel L. Jackson's characters makes a reference to the TEC-9 being "The most popular gun in American Crime"