Red9

Ah, the choice of an avid gun collector. It's a nice gun Stranger!

-The Merchant

The Red9 is a handgun that is available for Leon to purchase from the Merchant in Resident Evil 4. It is notable for having an antique appearance. It is also a reliable and powerful gun, and can be fitted with a stock to help Leon steady his aim. The name "Red 9" refers to the red-colored "9" that was cut into C96s modified to fire the 9mm Parabellum (see trivia).

The Red9 is available for purchase for 14,000 pesetas. The equitable stock, which absorbs recoil and steadies aim, costs 4,000 pesetas. The Red9 takes up 8 spaces (4x2) of Leon's inventory, making it the bulkiest 9mm handgun in the game. The stock takes up an additional 3 spaces (3x1). To start, it has a firepower of 1.4, can fire every .53 seconds, takes 2.73 seconds to reload, and has a capacity of 8 rounds. Fully upgraded, it has a firepower of 3.5, can fire every .40 seconds, takes 1.67 seconds to reload, and has a capacity of 22 rounds. The Red9 costs 331,000 pesetas to fully upgrade (335,000 if the player bought the stock).

Its exclusive upgrade increases its firepower to 5.0 (6.0 in PAL Gamecube version, as well as the PS2 version, and 6.5 in the Wii version), making it, shot-for-shot, the most powerful 9mm handgun in the game (more powerful than any shotgun when first bought), killing most enemies in one or two shots.

Luis Sera uses this weapon throughout the battle at the cabin, aiding Leon in holding off a seemingly infinite force of Ganados.

Sergei Vladimir also uses a C96 (Bolo model) with the stock attachment in The Umbrella Chronicles during his standoff with Wesker.

Stats
Lvl | Firepower | Firing Speed  | Reload Speed  | Capacity    Exclusive: -||---|---|--- Increases Firepower 1 |    1.4     |     0.53      |     2.73      |     8       6.5*    2  |    1.7     |     0.47      |     2.20      |    10            3  |    2.0     |     0.40      |     1.67      |    12           4  |    2.4     |           |           |    15         5  |    2.8     |           |           |    18         6  |    3.5     |           |           |    22


 * 5.0 in US and Japanese Gamecube versions, 6.5 in all other versions.

Trivia
In real life, the Red9 is the Mauser C-96 7.63mm semi-automatic pistol (often referred to as the Broomhandle due to it's distinctive grip, or the Boxcannon due to it's angular frame) modified to fire 9mm rounds for the Imperial German Army during WWI. The specific variant in Resident Evil 4 is the Mauser C96 M1916 Prussian Red 9. The nickname "Red 9" came about when the German Military switched the C-96 pistol cartridge from 7.63mm to 9mm Parabellum. In order to signify the change, Mauser engraved a large red "9" on the grip of each C-96 chambered for the Parabellum round so that soldiers could easily determine which ammunition to use. This is obviously the source of the weapon's in-game nomenclature. The C-96 could also be outfitted with a shoulder stock (similar to the one seen in Resident Evil 4) that could double as a holster, not unlike the stock used on the more recent Heckler & Koch VP70.

In-game, the weapon can be reloaded at any time, but the actual weapon can only be reloaded if the ammunition has completely been expended and the bolt locked open.

In real life, the Red9 is a machine pistol and can shoot fully-automatic at approximately 1000 rounds per minute.