MAC-10

   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.