Intratec KG-99
Intratec · Pistol · Discontinued · 1982
Also known as: KG-99, Interdynamic KG-99, KG99
Overview
The Intratec KG-99 is a blowback-operated, closed-bolt semi-automatic pistol chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum, designed by Swedish engineer George Kellgren and produced from 1982 by Interdynamic USA, the Miami, Florida company that was later renamed Intratec. It was created as the direct, legal successor to Kellgren's earlier open-bolt KG-9, which the ATF had ruled too readily convertible to full-automatic fire and reclassified as a machine gun in 1982. Redesigned to fire from a closed bolt with a separate firing pin and a heavy internal striker acting on the sear, the KG-99 retained the family's unmistakable profile - a stamped sheet-metal lower receiver, a tubular polymer upper receiver with an integral ventilated barrel shroud, and a threaded, exposed muzzle. Its 127 mm barrel and lack of a shoulder stock kept it legally classified as a handgun, while oversized 20, 32, and 50-round detachable box magazines and a submachine-gun aesthetic gave it an outsized street presence. When Kellgren left the company and Carlos Garcia renamed the firm Intratec around 1985, the KG-99 was rebranded as the TEC-9, the far more famous name under which the essentially identical design became a fixture of 1990s popular culture.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 1400 g (49.4 oz) |
| Overall Length | 317 mm (12.48") |
| Barrel Length | 127 mm (5.00") |
| Height | 216 mm (8.50") |
| Width | 38 mm (1.50") |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Striker Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 32 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 365 m/s (1198 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 496 J (366 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 50 m (55 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 100 m (109 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Rifling Twist | 254 mm (10.00") |
| Number of Grooves | 6 |
| Frame Material | Stamped Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Finish | Phosphate |
Calibers
- 9x19mm Parabellum · primary · 9mm NATO — also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO, 9x19mm
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety, Firing Pin Block
- Features: Threaded Barrel, Barrel Shroud, Extended Magazine Compatible, Polymer Upper Receiver, Stamped Steel Lower, Exposed Barrel Threads, Closed Bolt Operation
Variants
- Intratec TEC-9 - Successor
- Intratec KG-9 - Open Bolt Predecessor
Base model
Production
Production years: 1982-1985
Produced by Interdynamic USA / early Intratec before being rebranded as the TEC-9 around 1985; total KG-99-marked production is undocumented but far smaller than the estimated 250,000+ units built across the wider TEC-9 family.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: George Kellgren
Discontinued: 1985
Notes
The KG-99 is the closed-bolt redesign of the open-bolt Interdynamic KG-9 and the direct predecessor of the Intratec TEC-9. It was marketed by Interdynamic USA before that company became Intratec circa 1985, at which point the model was renamed TEC-9. Pre-ban KG-99 examples are sought by collectors as the original Kellgren-era pistols. Some export and semi-select-fire submachine-gun variants of the KG-99 pattern also existed.
Background
Designer George Kellgren left the company shortly after the KG-99 reached the US market and went on to found Kel-Tec CNC Industries in 1991, producing far more conventional and widely respected firearms such as the P-11 and SUB-2000. The KG-99 gained early notoriety when a machine-pistol version appeared in the 1983 film Scarface, and its rebranded descendant, the TEC-9, would go on to become a cultural shorthand for urban street crime throughout the 1990s.