| TEC-9 | |
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| Type | Handgun |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | From 1.23 kg to 1.4 kg depending on model |
| Length | From 241 mm to 317 mm depending on model |
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The Intratec TEC-9 is a blowback-operated, semi-automatic 9x19mm Parabellum caliber firearm, classified by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms as a handgun. It is made of inexpensive molded polymer and stamped steel parts. Magazines holding 10-, 20-, 32-, 36- and 50-round capacities are available. There are three different models, all of which are commonly referred to as the TEC-9, although only one model was actually sold under that name.
Contents |
History
The TEC-9 was originally designed by Swedish company Interdynamic AB of Stockholm as the MP-9, intended as a cheap submachine gun based on the Carl Gustaf M/45 for military applications. Interdynamic was unable to acquire interest among governments, and the MP-9 never entered production. Unwilling to abandon the design, Interdynamic set up a U.S. subsidiary to market a semiautomatic version of the handgun to civilians. The MP-9 was redesigned by George Kellgren, and became the model KG-9, which represents the initials of the firearm's designers, George Kellgren and Carlos Garcia. From its submachine gun heritage, the original TEC-9, model KG-9, featured an open bolt design which made it relatively easy to convert illegally to a fully automatic submachine gun. Criminals soon discovered this fact and the TEC-9 became associated in the public's mind with gang violence, especially from drive-by shootings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) responded in 1982 by forcing Interdynamic — by then known as Intratec — to convert the design to a closed-bolt action that would be harder to make fully automatic. The closed-bolt model was designated the KG-99 and was marketed at first as the TEC-9 and later as 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. The TEC-9 and TEC-DC9 variants were listed by name in the 19 firearms banned by name by the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban. [1] This ban caused the cessation of their manufacture, and forced Intratec to introduce a newer model called the AB-10 (for "After Ban") that lacked a barrel shroud and threaded muzzle. The TEC-DC9 variant was among the weapons used by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold in the 1999 Columbine High School Massacre. [2] Two years after Columbine, in 2001, Intratec went out of business and the AB-10 model production ceased. The use of the TEC-DC9 at Columbine in April 1999 also led California to amend its 1989 Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act (AWCA) later the same year, effective January 2000, to ban firearms having newly-introduced firearm features used at Columbine (e.g., pistols with barrel shrouds that enable handling guns firing large numbers of rounds). [3][4][5]
See also
- Intratec
- Kel-Tec George Kellgren's current company.
- Silveira v. Lockyer a court case involving California's Assault Weapons Control Act amendment of 1999, partially a result of the use of a TEC-DC9 at Columbine
