It’s the gun everyone remembers. If you played the original Resident Evil 4 back in 2005, the Red9 in RE4 Remake carries a heavy burden of nostalgia. It was the "Broomhandle" Mauser that hit like a truck. But honestly? The 2023 remake changed the math. You can't just pick it up and expect to win every encounter without a plan. The remake's mechanics—specifically crosshair bloom and movement speed—mean this pistol isn't the undisputed king it used to be. It’s a specialist tool.
The Raw Power of the Red9 in RE4 Remake
Let’s talk damage. That’s why you’re here. Most players gravitate toward the Red9 because they want to save ammo. In a survival horror game, every bullet counts. If a standard handgun takes five shots to drop a Ganado and the Red9 takes three, you've basically increased your ammo efficiency by 40%. It’s simple. At max level, the Power stat hits a staggering 2.70. With the Exclusive Upgrade, that jumps to a 1.5x multiplier, bringing the total damage to 4.05.
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That is massive.
For perspective, the SG-09 R (Leon’s starting pistol) caps out much lower. Even the Blacktail, which is the Red9’s biggest rival, can’t touch that raw per-shot impact. When you're staring down a Plagas-infested villager in the mines, that extra "oomph" prevents them from closing the distance. It staggers enemies better than anything else in the handgun class. You feel the weight of every pull of the trigger.
But there is a catch. There's always a catch.
The Red9 is slow. It’s clunky. The reload speed is borderline painful until you dump thousands of Pesetas into it. If you’re surrounded in the Water Room, the slow fire rate might actually get you killed. You have to change how you play. It isn't a "spray and pray" weapon. It’s a marksman’s pistol. You stop. You aim. You wait for the reticle to settle. You fire.
Where to Find the Red9 and the Stock
Don't buy it from the Merchant. Seriously. You can get the Red9 in RE4 Remake for free, and you should. Once you have access to the boat on the lake in Chapter 4, head straight for the center. There’s a shipwreck there. It’s sitting in a chest. It’s easy to miss if you’re just rushing to the next boss, but grabbing it for free saves you a chunk of change that you’ll need for the stock.
The stock is mandatory.
Without the Red9 Stock, the gun kicks like a mule. The bloom—the way the crosshair expands when you move or fire—is atrocious in the remake. CAPCOM clearly wanted to balance the high damage by making the gun harder to handle. If you try to use it "naked," you’ll miss headshots you swear you should have hit.
You buy the stock from the Merchant using Spinels. It takes up extra slots in your briefcase, which is a huge downside. You have to decide: is the extra firepower worth the inventory management nightmare? For most veteran players, the answer is yes. But if you’re a loot goblin who carries every herb and grenade you find, you might feel the squeeze.
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Handling the Bloom
- The Stock Fix: It drastically reduces recoil and makes the reticle settle faster.
- Precision over Speed: Don't spam the trigger. The "recenter" time on the Red9 is longer than the Blacktail.
- The Laser Sight Dilemma: Unlike the SG-09 R or the Punisher, the Red9 cannot use the Laser Sight. This is a huge deal. You are forced to rely on the traditional crosshair, which means you lose that 100% "on-the-dot" accuracy while moving.
Red9 vs. Blacktail: The Great Debate
This is the argument that keeps the Resident Evil community up at night. The Blacktail is objectively "better" on paper for many playstyles. It’s faster. It takes up way less space (only 4 slots compared to the Red9’s 9 slots with the stock). It fits the "modern" feel of the remake perfectly.
However, the Red9 wins on "stoppage." In the remake, enemies don't always flinch. They tank hits. The Red9’s high base damage has a hidden benefit: it reaches the stagger threshold faster. If you want to set up a melee kick, one shot from a Red9 to the knee is almost a guaranteed stun. The Blacktail might take two. In the chaos of a professional run, that one extra bullet is the difference between a successful parry and taking a chainsaw to the neck.
Maximizing Your Investment
Upgrading this gun is an investment. It’s expensive. To get that 1.5x Power Exclusive Upgrade, you’re looking at a total cost of over 400,000 Pesetas (unless you use an Exclusive Upgrade Ticket).
Is it worth it?
If you are playing on Hardcore or Professional, yes. The enemies have more health. They move faster. You need the ability to "one-tap" or at least "two-tap" basic enemies. If you’re on Standard, the Red9 might actually be overkill. You might find more joy in the Punisher’s penetration or the Matilda’s burst fire. But for the purists, the Red9 remains the king of the "Handgun Only" runs.
Technical Nuances You Might Have Missed
The Red9’s reload animation is unique. It uses a stripper clip. This is cool, but it means you can't just "top off" one bullet as efficiently as a magazine-fed pistol in real-world logic, though the game simplifies this. What’s interesting is the sound design. CAPCOM gave the Red9 a distinct, metallic crack. It sounds more like a rifle than a handgun.
One thing people get wrong is the "effective range." Because of the bloom, the Red9 is actually worse at long range than the SG-09 R with a Laser Sight. If you’re trying to snip a Ganado off a turret from across a bridge, the Red9 will fail you more often than not. Use it for mid-range encounters where you have time to breathe.
How to use the Red9 effectively:
- Get the Stock immediately. Don't even bother using the gun seriously without it.
- Abuse the stagger. Aim for the head or knees, wait for the stun, and follow up with a melee attack. This preserves the Red9's precious (though common) ammo.
- Manage your briefcase. Since the Red9 + Stock is a long L-shape, rotate your other items to fit around it. Treat it like a mini-rifle.
- Know when to swap. If you're in a tight corridor with three dogs jumping at you, the Red9's slow fire rate is a liability. Switch to a shotgun.
The Red9 in RE4 Remake isn't just a gun; it’s a lifestyle choice in the game’s economy. You are choosing power over speed. You are choosing precision over inventory space. It requires a calm hand. In a game that is constantly trying to make you panic, the Red9 rewards the player who can stay still for just a half-second longer to land that perfect, devastating shot.
To get the most out of your run, commit to the upgrades early. Don't half-heartedly upgrade three different pistols. Pick the Red9, get the free version from the lake, spend your Spinels on the stock, and pour every cent into the Power stat. By the time you reach the Island, you'll be popping heads like watermelons while other players are struggling with pea-shooters.
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Go to the lake in Chapter 4, find the shipwreck in the center, and grab the chest. Then, save 9 Spinels for the Merchant's stock. Focus all your early-game weapon part spending on the Power attribute before touching fire rate or reload speed.