The Mac 11/nine was a popular and cheap submachinegun produced by SWD in both fully automatic and semiautomatic variants. It is often confused with the Mac 11 (or M11-A1). The Mac 11 is a subcompact version of the Mac 10 and made by MAC, RPB, and SWD as well as being chambered in .380acp - however the Mac 11/nine is a thinner, longer, lighter, more
streamlined version of the original Mac 10. The Mac 11/nine (or M11/9) was made only by SWD and is the only "Mac 11" to fire the more powerful 9mm Luger and is more popular than standard Mac 11's for this feature, despite being slightly larger. The Mac 10 model had a 9mm variant as well, the M10/9.
The Mac 11/nine was manufactured as an inexpensive powerful small arm for military use but never caught favor. SWD then promoted the machine pistol to the
general public and also offered an open-bolt semiautomatic version as well. SWD was soon forced by the BATFE to cease commercial production of the open-bolt semiautos as they were too easily converted to fully automatic. This, coupled with banning all new civilian
machine guns in 1986, ultimately led to the demise of SWD. Several Semi automatic closed bolt variants are currently manufactured by several companies today, which adhere to the BATFE guidelines of being closed-bolt and not able to be easily converted to full automatic fire.
The MAC family of firearms, and especially the model 11/nine, has become iconic in the depiction of gang
violence, drive by shootings, and thug-life due to their inexpensive price and high rate of fire. A fully automatic Mac 11/nine will fire
approximately 1200 rounds per minute, or twice that of a military M16. They are often dubbed "bullet hoses".
Since the 1986
Machine Gun ban (prohibiting civilians from owning
machine guns manufactured after 1986) the Mac 11/nine has increased in price from $200 to nearly $3500 for legal registered machineguns.