Pistol (Doom 3)

The pistol is the most basic firearm in Doom 3 and the first weapon the player acquires aside from his or her own fists. Compared to other weapons, the pistol is weak, but it is also highly accurate and has a generous supply of ammunition available. This makes it useful throughout the game for use on weak enemies. "All UAC Security and Military personnel are supplied with this basic projectile side arm."

- PDA description

Tactical analysis
"Standard marine issue semi-automatic pistol. It’s highly accurate and provides solid stopping power without expending too much ammo."

- Doom 3 instruction manual

Headshots are more effective than body shots. It is considerably more powerful than the classic pistol, but often seems weaker, due to the fact that several of the weaker monsters have been “beefed up” compared to their classic counterparts. Best used to conserve ammo or as a backup weapon for when stronger weapons get close to emptying their magazines.

In mid and close range, the machine gun is far more powerful, but the pistol is very accurate, so use it for enemies at long distance, or when you run out of ammo. It is also a worthy weapon against trites and ticks, being able to kill one in two bullets, and against lost souls and forgotten ones if your aim is reliable. But when they come closer, swap to something more powerful.

While the pistol, machine gun, and chaingun all technically fire bullets, they do not share the same ammo pool as in earlier and later Doom games.

Trivia

 * The appearance of the pistol is influenced by the pistol that 's character carries in the  film.