The Intratec TEC-9 is an infamous pistol. It gets the anti-gunners’ panties in a bunch and is a true testament to the fact that the anti-gun crowd knows nothing about guns. The TEC-9 is a terrible firearm. It’s not reliable, has excessive recoil, is not very accurate, and generally isn’t built very well.
They certainly look cool. The TEC-9’s appearance made the gun massively successful. It looks scary, and it looks like it should be a full-auto firearm. It’s not; it LARPs as a machine pistol with an intimidating appearance thanks to its large size and ventilated barrel shroud.
The TEC-9 and Its Offspring
The gun might not have performed very well, but it was cheap and sold well. They sold incredibly well; over a quarter million were made and sold. They were so popular that Intratec continued to produce various models after numerous bans to keep the market. Anything that’s popular will be cloned.
Everyone wants a piece of the proverbial pie, and with that in mind, let’s talk about some of the companies that more or less cloned the TEC-9. The TEC-9, as a firearm, is most well-known for its forward magazine design, its blowback operation, and general largeness factor. Three distinct clones of the TEC-9 have emerged, and I think one might be surprising.
Kimmel AP-9
The Kimmel AP-9 looks like an uncanny valley version of the TEC-9. If you described a TEC-9 to a sketch artist, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a drawing of the AP-9. The Kimmel AP-9 has the ventilated barrel shroud, the forward magazine design, and the TEC-9 layout. They even used a healthy amount of polymer for the lower receiver.
I’d argue the Kimmel AP-9 is better than the TEC-9 in a few ways. The sights are better, not by a lot, but they are sturdier. The ergonomics are better, with a safety that’s not just a charging handle. It’s not necessarily a good gun, but it’s better than the TEC-9.
A.A. Arms out of North Carolina produced the AP-9 for about six years and ceased production in 1994. The most interesting AP-9 was probably the Target model with a 12 or 11-inch barrel, depending on the year. It looks like they intended to produce a rifle version with a folding stock, but it’s either very rare or was never produced and sold.
Enfield MP-45
John Foote was no dummy. He was an American designer who decided to cash in on the Enfield name. Enfield America had no relation to the British Enfield. This did mean Mr. Foote had to change the name to Encom eventually, but the gall to use Enfield on a TEC-9 clone is hilarious.
The Enfield MP-45 came in both 9mm and .45 ACP, which gave it a unique caliber for TEC-9 clones. The MP-45 features a very long magwell that seems to be intended to double as a forward grip, so you don’t have to use the magazine as a grip, which could ruin your reliability. The MP-45 used an AR grip, which was neat for the time.
The gun allowed for quick barrel changes, and a carbine kit was produced. It allowed you to add a 16-inch barrel and a wire stock. It’s kinda neat. The really neat version was the ultra-rare side-loading model, which was a lot like a Sten gun, which I want so damn bad.
Beretta PMX/s
Yep, Beretta qualifies for producing a TEC-9 clone. It’s the most refined version of a TEC-9 to ever exist, but it qualifies. Am I being sacrilegious? Let’s look at it. Blowback operated, tubular bolt, reciprocating bolt, forward magazine, 9mm, and a handguard that’s more or less ventilated?
It’s different, a lot different, but the PMX/s lines up with the TEC-9 in a lot of ways. Even the lower receiver is made from polymer. Like the TEC-9, the PMX/s descends from a submachine gun and serves as a semi-auto pistol. The PMX/s does have fantastic ergonomics; it’s also reliable, accurate, and easy to shoot.
The Beretta PMX/s is the best TEC-9 clone by far. It might not be what you’d picture as a TEC-9 clone, but boy oh boy, it scores high on the TEC-9 scale. With that said, if you ever buy a TEC-9 clone, buy the PMX/s and don’t buy the rare side-loading Encom; save that for me.
TEC-9 Clones
Only the first two of these TEC-9 clones were built to compete with the TEC-9. These two were built to cash in on the TEC-9 design and popularity, but never reached the same degree of fame or infamy. The Beretta is clearly a few decades removed and not just a simplistic clone trying to cash in on the TEC-9 infamy. Interestingly, such a terrible gun has remained in its design to this day.
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