AP Pistol

The AP Pistol is Grand Theft Auto V's automatic-fire sidearm — a machine-pistol-class handgun (the "AP" is widely read as Auto Pistol per community discussion, though specific Rockstar-canonical expansion of the abbreviation is deferred to verifiable archive review). It's available at Ammu-Nation and fills V's "full-auto fire-mode handgun" slot — the sidearm option for players who want pistol-tier mobility paired with sustained-burst combat capability.

What's confirmed

• Class: Sidearm — machine-pistol / automatic-fire handgun
• Fire mode: Full automatic (distinguishes the AP Pistol from V's semi-automatic Pistol .50, Pistol, Combat Pistol, and other pistol-tier weapons)
• Game: Grand Theft Auto V (2013 original, 2014 PS4/Xbox One re-release, 2022 PS5/Xbox Series X|S "Expanded and Enhanced") and GTA Online
• Acquisition path: Available at Ammu-Nation as a sidearm-tier purchase (specific price tier and unlock-progression beat deferred)
• Tier position within V's pistol catalog: Distinct slot — not above or below the semi-automatic pistols on a damage-tier scale, but separate by fire-mode register

What this entry doesn't yet include

Deferred until verifiable:

• Specific Rockstar-canonical expansion of "AP" (Auto Pistol vs Armor-Piercing — community readings differ; specific Rockstar in-game text deferred to verifiable archive review)
• Exact damage / fire-rate / accuracy / recoil stats (community-measured numbers vary by patch)
• Magazine capacity (standard and extended options) and reload speed
• Specific Ammu-Nation price tier and unlock-progression beat
• Customization catalog (extended magazine, suppressor, scope variants, finish options)
• Specific real-world handgun aesthetic inspiration (Glock 18 / Beretta 93R / similar machine-pistol-platform variants are plausible; specific reference deferred)
• Specific mission appearances (the AP Pistol is available across V's open-world; specific mission-by-mission citation deferred)

Why it's catalog-worthy

The AP Pistol is V's clearest demonstration of fire-mode-as-design-axis within a single weapon class. Where V's Pistol, Combat Pistol, and Pistol .50 vary by frame size and caliber but share semi-automatic fire mode, the AP Pistol breaks that pattern by offering full-auto sidearm capability. That fire-mode differentiation gives players tactical options that single-fire-mode handgun catalogs don't — the AP Pistol is the answer to "I want pistol mobility with sustained burst output."

In GTA Online specifically, the AP Pistol has been one of the most-cited weapons in PvP free-roam discussion. The combination of sidearm hip-fire flexibility with automatic fire mode makes it effective in close-quarters encounters that benefit from sustained output rather than single-shot precision.

For GTA VI's eventual sidearm catalog, the question of whether Rockstar preserves V's multi-fire-mode handgun architecture — separate slots for semi-automatic and full-automatic sidearms — is one of the trackable design questions. The Leonida setting's likely cartel / paramilitary antagonist registers may surface specific machine-pistol references that update the AP Pistol's role for the late-2020s combat aesthetic.

What's connected

• Pistol .50 — V's high-caliber semi-automatic sidearm; the AP Pistol's fire-mode counterpart
• Carbine Rifle · Marksman Rifle — V's mid-tier and DMR-tier rifles; the AP Pistol's longer-range counterparts in the broader weapon-tier ladder

Sources

• Grand Theft Auto V (2013) — base game, primary source
• Rockstar Newswire archive — weapon catalog context across V updates

Skeleton entry. Specific damage stats, magazine capacity, customization catalog, and AP-acronym Rockstar-canonical expansion land when sourced.