Country of origin |
United States |
Entered service |
1970s |
Caliber |
.45 ACP / 9x19 mm |
Weight (empty) |
2.84 kg |
Length |
584 mm |
Length (with folded stock) |
269 mm |
Barrel length |
146 mm |
Muzzle velocity |
330 / 280 m/s |
Cyclic rate of fire |
1 145 / 1 090 rpm |
Practical rate of fire |
40 - 120 rpm |
Magazine capacity |
30 / 32 rounds |
Sighting range |
100 m |
Range of effective fire |
50 - 70 m |
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The MAC-10
submachine gun was designed by Gordon B. Ingram, an American arms designer. He began to work on this compact
weapon in the mid 1960s.
This submachine gun was mainly aimed at special operations and law enforcement
forces, as well as VIP security teams. By 1965 several prototypes were made. This submachine gun
was evaluated by the US Army, however it
was not adopted. Production commenced in
1970 by the Military Armament Corporation (MAC). In 1976 the MAC
went bust and production rights for this weapon were transferred
to RPB Industries Inc. Later this submachine gun was also manufactured by some other
companies. Ingram's submachine guns were exported to Chile, Yugoslavia and some other
Asian and South American countries. Copies of this weapon were
manufactured in Japan, South Africa and Taiwan. Today the MAC-10 is
no longer a premier submachine gun. However it is still used by
around 15 countries.
This
submachine guns has been designed for close encounters and concealed
carrying. It is a blowback-operated, selective fire weapon, that
fires from an open bolt. It has some features of the Israeli
Uzi. There are two baseline MAC-10 (or M10) models,
chambered for .45 ACP and 9x19 mm Parabellum rounds.
This weapon
is simple in design and technology. Its receiver is made of sheet
steel and consists of only two parts. These are held together by a steel
pin. Generally the MAC-10 is a reliable weapon.
Cocking
handle is located at the top of the gun. It does not reciprocates
when the gun is fired. The weapon can be reloaded with either hand.
The cocking handle also acts as a safety, as it locks the bolt in forward
position, when turned 90 degrees sideways. When this safety is on,
you can not see the front sight, as the sighting line is blocked. Another safety switch is
located inside the triggerguard. A separate fire mode selector is
located above the triggerguard on the left side of the receiver. It
has settings for single shots and full-auto firing.
The MAC-10 is fed from a box-shaped magazines, inserted in the pistol
grip. The .45 ACP model comes with 30-round magazines, while
the model chambered for 9x19 mm ammunition is fed from 32-round magazines. This weapon can be fired by
holding it with one hand, in the same manner as firing pistols. A leather loop is attached to the front of
the weapon. It can be held by a
non-firing hand and provides additional stability.
The Ingram
M10 has a simple non-adjustable diopter-type sights. Sighting range
is set at 100 m. Though effective
range of fire is limited to around 50-70 meters. Accuracy
suffers as this weapon is uncomfortable to hold with both hands and
it becomes hard to compensate the recoil force.
This
submachine gun comes with a telescopic steel wire stock. Some of its
versions were fitted with detachable wooden buttstocks. This
submachine gun is compatible with silencers. Silencers on this
weapon are quite efficient. Due to the short barrels of the MAC-10
bullets leave the weapon without generating enough muzzle velocity
to cause sonic boom.
Variants
MAC-11 (or M11), chambered for a smaller 9x17 mm (.380 ACP)
round. This model has smaller dimensions and weight, as well as a
shorter barrel. This weapon is fed from 16 or 32 round magazines.
This submachine gun fires only in fully-automatic mode. Its effective range is
limited to around
30-50 meters.
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