The best machine pistol

History

The Intratec TEC-9 is a blowback-operated pistol chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum. It was developed by George Kellgren and produced by Intratec between 1989 and 2001. Originally developed for military purposes, Intratec was unable to find any potential government buyers, so it was imported to the United States as an open bolt single-fire pistol named the KG-9. It was very easy to modify to be fully-automatic, so the U.S government had Intratec switch to a closed bolt system. This variant was then called the KG-99. This did not discourage people from continuing to convert them into fully-automatic pistols.

The TEC-9 became infamous due to its use in the Columbine High School shooting and was eventually banned in the U.S in the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban. This bill expired in 2004 and used TEC-9s can be found in circulation today. However, it and its variants are still banned within multiple U.S states by name.[1]

In-Game

General Information

The TEC-9 is an extremely fast-firing, low damage weapon. Damage is slightly lower compared to other weapons, with a four-shot kill (4SK) up close and a 5SK at longer ranges, but is average for a machine pistol. Range is good for its class, sporting the longest 4SK range in its category. Muzzle velocity is relatively low, at 1500 studs per second—on par with other machine pistols but poor in comparison to other weapons.

Rate of fire (RoF) is excellent, at 1500 RPM, making it the fastest firing fully-automatic weapon in-game, fourth fastest firing weapon overall (only surpassed by the AN-94's 1800 RPM burst, the G11K2's 2100 RPM burst, and the Stevens DB and Sawed Off's burst mode. This equates to the TEC-9's time to kill (TTK) to be quite quick up close and even remains competitive out to medium range.

Recoil is quite high, with high horizontal drift and vertical kick. Although per-shot recoil is fairly mild, due to the very high RoF, the recoil does not have enough time to return to center before the next shot is fired, meaning in full-auto it is very hard to control, especially outside of point blank range.

Magazine capacity is fair, at 20 rounds, and sporting 60 rounds in reserve. However, compared to other automatic weapons, its magazine size is somewhat smaller. Coupled with the very high RoF, magazines deplete quickly, making the TEC-9's ammunition consumption rate very high. Ammunition type is quite common, though, picking up from other machine pistols, pistols and personal defense weapons, so replenishing ammunition is fairly easy.

Reload times are average, requiring 2.5 seconds for a tactical reload and a longer 3.1 seconds for an empty reload. Regarding other handling traits, mobility is equal to other pistols. Hip-fire performance is good. Although hip-fire spread and recoil is higher than other machine pistols, performance remains good due to the high RoF.

Usage & Tactics

The TEC-9 is the most uncontrollable machine pistol in-game, being powerful but equally hard to use effectively. Being able to empty its entire magazine within one second makes it a powerful close-quarters secondary, however, it also has major drawbacks. With high muzzle flash and recoil, it is very difficult to control the weapon in full-auto, even outside of close-range. This is less of an issue within its maximum range, but makes tap-firing or switching to semi-auto mode a priority outside of this distance.

With conventional use, the TEC-9 is best deployed as a back-up weapon to a longer-ranged weapon, such as an LMG, DMR or sniper rifle. The user can switch to the TEC-9 when in tight corridors or when enemies are within close proximity to the user and quickly eliminate targets. A user can also take advantage of the TEC-9's good hip-fire performance at such ranges. Although difficult to control, the fast TTK combined with the good magazine size makes hipfire quite viable up close.

In a more untypical role for a machine pistol, the TEC-9 is an effective semi-automatic pistol. Its fairly good damage for its class and low per-shot recoil make it suited to a role more akin to a pistol such as the M9. This makes the TEC-9 more versatile and a good choice for users who are able to take advantage of its semi-automatic mode and low per-shot recoil. However, as with the M9, it should not be treated as a second primary weapon. The TEC-9 in semi-auto is still outclassed at longer distances compared to other weapons due to its poor muzzle velocity.

Trigger discipline is essential with the TEC-9 regardless of how many enemies are around a user. The high RoF and relatively small magazine capacity for an automatic weapon means ammunition will run out quite quickly. This can be somewhat mitigated by firing in controlled bursts, although this remains marginally effective.

In terms of attachments, a Compensator is helpful given the high recoil - the compensator being the only attachment to temper the TEC-9's otherwise unruly recoil. Suppressors can also be viable—removing the muzzle flash and providing a stealth benefit ties in well to the close-quarters nature of the weapon. Regarding optics, the iron sights are generally good enough for most engagements, although a Mini or Delta Sight help improve the sight picture and a more precise aiming device.

As for auxiliary attachments, a laser sight is extremely useful in improving close-quarters-combat (CQC) performance by tightening up the hipfire spread. The laser also assists when aiming with the alternate aiming mode. The alternate aiming mode is also good for reducing the impact of the visual recoil, making it good for CQC. The TEC-9 is also able to utilize Hollow Point rounds, which gives the TEC-9 a 3SK in CQC, but at the cost of losing its 5SK at long range. Doing this gives the TEC-9 an extremely fast TTK, one of the quickest in-game. However, the TEC-9 will be less versatile as a sidearm as a result.

Conclusion

With the fastest full-auto firerate in-game, the TEC-9 is capable of quickly obliterating targets. It is difficult, however to use effectively; its extremely high RoF and recoil make it difficult to handle, and all too easy to use an entire magazine on a single enemy. With practice, it is one of the more viable secondary weapons available, and its incredible firerate ensures it remains one of the deadliest CQC weapons out there.