Pistol



The pistol is the default weapon, and fires bullets. Each player enters the game with a pistol, fifty bullets, and his fists, with the pistol selected as the active weapon. Neither the players nor the monsters can drop a pistol.

The pistol fires individual bullets. If the player holds the fire button down, the Doom marine fires the pistol repeatedly, at a rate of roughly 150 rounds per minute. As with the chaingun, the initial shot accurately strikes the centre of the screen. If the player continues to hold the fire button down, subsequent shots have a dispersal of roughly 7 degrees. Accurate fire is only possible if the player repeatedly taps the fire button.

The images for the pistol in Doom were most likely created from the Beretta 92FS pistol, which is currently the standard service pistol of the U.S. military. Because neither the players nor the monsters can drop a pistol, it is the only weapon (apart from the fists) that does not have an in-game sprite. None of the monsters are armed with the pistol. The trooper appears to be armed with a rifle that fires pistol bullets.

An icon for the pistol can be seen in the DOOM Collector's Edition or Final Doom instruction files. The sprite does not appear in the game, however.