Intratec TEC-9

As the full-automatic weapons market in the USA is very restrictive, the basic submachine gun was converted in semi-automatic only variant, apparently suitable for civilian US market. This semi-automatic pistol, like its submachine gun predecessor, was a simple blowback design, firing from the open bolt. It was designated Interdynamic KG-9. But, sooner than later, US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) found that this semiautomatic pistol can be easily converted back to full automatic, and restricted it manufacture. Interdynamic of USA had no other solutions but to redesign KG-9 from open bolt to "closed bolt" design by adding the separate striker, and designated it KG-99. Only 2500 of KG-9 were made before they were forced to cease production in 1982, and of those 2500, most were converted and registered as machine guns before the 1986 window closed. Of the remaining semi auto KG-9's many were illegally converted to Full Auto and subsequently confiscated and destroyed, so the number of surviving specimens of semi auto KG9’s is extremely low. It was around August of 1985 that Interdynamic ownership changed and the name was also changed to Intratec giving a new name of TEC-9 to the KG-99 gun, but about 1989 renamed it into DC-9. Nothing changed except the markings and the name, it was the same identical gun. With the introduction of the infamous US Assault Weapons Ban in 1994 the Intratec pistols were prohibited for manufacture (but not for ownership, if made before the ban). Intratec subsequently slightly redesigned the basic design, dropping some "assault" features like the threaded barrel, barrel shroud, and forward pistol grip. In this "post-ban" version the pistol was manufactured and sold as AB-10 (AB stands for After Ban). The AB-10 pistols were sold with 10-round magazines, but still could accept both factory and aftermarket high capacity magazines from its predecessors, TEC-9 and DC-9. There were several manufacturers in US, who made copies of DC-9, such as AA Arms, which produced DC-9 look-alike AP-9 pistols. Like originals, AP-9 pistols were of cheap construction and marginal reliability.