APS / APB

The Stechkin Automatic Pistol is a soviet select-fire pistol, first produced in 1951. It is chambered for the 9x18 round. Its intended use was for vehicle crews and officers.

It features select-fire (semi and automatic) and a cyclic rate of 750 RPM. The APB variant is sold with a detachable wire stock.

The Stechkin has two variants in EFT:

• APS
  Base variant.

• APB
  Suppressed variant. Features a suppressor. Also in Tarkov, this variant is sold with a detchable wire stock. The stock can be fitted on the APS variant. However the suppressor only fits on the APB variant.

9x18 vs 9x19, same graph scale

APS / APB Ammo

The 9x18 is the weakest caliber in the game because of the low penetration capabilities. While weapons using 9x18 tend to be avoided by players because of the low penetration, there are a few potential advantages that are overlooked.

• Most rounds are subsonic (slower than 334 meters per second) which makes it a natural choice for quiet shooting.
• The low kinetic energy allows the weapons that use it to be very compact and easy to shoot.
• Penetration is low, damage is high. If we look at the above graphs, we can see the 9x18 being boxed in a low penetration area, on the bottom left. However the damage of 70% of the rounds is at the same levels as 9x19 rounds. This means if the shooter hits the squishy parts of a target, the damage caused is the same. And that for much lower recoil and price than with more powerful calibers.

Shooting the APS / APB

Semi-Auto
The recoil is reasonably low for a pistol and the accuracy is among the highest of the pistols in EFT (accuracy: 0.32). This makes it an ideal standard-issue pistol for PMCs who want a reasonably priced pistol and ammo with a high magazine capacity. As with all select-fire weapons in EFT, select-fire means you can select if you want to shoot full auto. Just because a weapon has that capability does not mean it is the best way to use it.




Full-Auto
Full-auto is not useless either, it has a narrow range of situations where it is useful. In a room-to-room combat situation, 20 9x18 rounds coming at a target in under 2 seconds can destroy opposition or establish fire superiority.

• With stock
  The stock provides the weapon enough stability for controllable full auto fire. It won't outperform dedicated submachineguns.
• Without stock
  Shooting full-auto without a stock will cause considerable abuse to the shooter's wrist and the compactness of the shot groups. This lowers the effective range of the fire. It can still have its uses in close quarters combat.

Modding the APS

The modding options for the APS / APB are very limited. There are currently modding parts in EFT except for the standard issue parts. The only real modding option is to detach or attach the wire stock.

APS / APB Summary

The ideal combat pistol for expert marksmen who can compensate for the low penetration of the caliber with accurate shooting. The select-fire feature offers a cheap way to gain fire superiority in close combat. And the suppressed variant is currently the cheapest option for quiet shooting in EFT.



Accuracy 7/10
The most accurate pistol in the game along with the Makarov and P226R (both 0.32).

Recoil 6/10
Mild horizontal recoil (for a pistol) with a considerably stiffer vertical recoil make it an average weapon to control.

Ammo 2/10
Fires the weakest caliber in the game that is stopped by class 2 body armor. The slow rounds help with quiet shooting and the base damage has serious bite against unarmored targets.

Weapon-specific Modding 1/10
The selection of weapon-specific modding parts is limited to standard-issue parts.

General Modding 0/10
No third-party or alternative modding options available.