ASP pistol

ASP
ASP
Type	Pistol
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Designer	Paris Theodore
Designed	1960's
Manufacturer	Armament Systems and Procedures
Produced	1970s–1987; 2002–2007 (ASP 2000 tribute, not by ASP)
No. built	450
Specifications
Mass	680 g (1.50 lb)
Barrel length	82.5 mm (3.25 in)
Cartridge	9×19mm Parabellum
Action	Double action, tilting barrel, locked breech
Feed system	7-round box magazine
Sights	Guttersnipe

Last updated January 22, 2024

ASP handgun (notice clear lexan hand grips for keeping count of ammunition in magazine). Asphandgun.jpg — ASP handgun (notice clear lexan hand grips for keeping count of ammunition in magazine).

The ASP is a custom made handgun designed and built by Paris Theodore (owner of Seventrees, Ltd., a custom gun leather shop in New York City) from the early 1970s to 1987. The ASP was based on the Smith & Wesson Model 39 pistol. The ASP featured clear Lexan grips allowing the shooter to see how much ammunition is left, a rounded hammer, hooked trigger guard and no front sight. The ASP was responsible for later innovations made in the development of concealable handguns.^[2]

Background

The ASP was a reworked Smith & Wesson Model 39 or 39-2, employing a shortened slide; a fixed bushing (in lieu of the Smith & Wesson designed collet bushing); the unique Guttersnipe sight system; clear Lexan grip-panels; a fully ramped and throated, shortened barrel; and a smoothed and radiused profile to ensure no risk of snagging on the draw.^[3]

The fixed bushing was tightly fitted to the shortened barrel and dry-lubricated by Teflon-S, which was applied to all components of the pistol, except for the clear Lexan grip panels. This coating is somewhat more durable than the more typical Teflon formulations used in cooking appliances and utensils. The unique sighting system, referred to as the "Guttersnipe", was a narrowing U-channel with fluorescent yellow panels that would form three triangles, all pointed at the target when the sight was properly aligned.^[3]

Checkering was kept to a minimum, and reserved for the frontstrap and backstrap, as opposed to the grip panels, which were smooth to prevent the drawing hand from catching prematurely on draw, thereby minimizing the risk of any misalignment of the pistol during presentation, aiming, and firing.

The ASP 9 mm handgun was made in either right-handed, or left-handed models, as the extended trigger guard (which included a recurved hook for the index finger of the supporting hand — one of the earliest known instances of such a feature) was cut away on the side of the strong-sided hand (which would depend on the handedness of the individual using the pistol).^[2]

Included with the gun was a patented double magazine pouch which used a magnet to hold the spare magazines in place. The cost for the complete ASP modification package on a customer-supplied handgun was $475, and was done by a subsidiary company, Armament Systems and Procedures, Inc. ^[4]

Production of holsters and magazine carriers for the ASP 9 mm were contracted out to Ken Null, who still produces those designs. Theodore ceased production of the ASP in 1987.^[5]

Devel pistol

In 1976 a gunsmith from Cleveland, Ohio named Charles Kelsey ordered an ASP pistol and never received one. His experience led him to develop an improved version of the ASP. Working with firearms instructor Ken Hackathorn, he developed the Devel pistol.^[2]

The wood grips featured a clear Lexan insert, allowing the shooter a visual account of the number of rounds in the magazine. The pistols were coated in an electroless nickel finish and featured traditional sights. Kelsey sent a sample gun to Smith & Wesson, for a factory agreement to produce these pistols on a large scale. An agreement was never reached, yet several of Kelsey's improvements were incorporated into the S&W 3913.^[2]

Cultural presence

In his quest to replace the fictional secret agent's traditional sidearm, Walther PPK, novelist John Gardner goes through an array of weapons before settling for an ASP 9mm for almost the remainder of the continuation novels to equip James Bond with. The weapon also serves as Bond's sidearm in the 1989 comic book, Permission to Die.

This pistol is a usable weapon in Call of Duty: Black Ops .^[6]

Related Research Articles

The Smith & Wesson Model 29 is a six-shot, double-action revolver chambered for the .44 Magnum cartridge and manufactured by the United States company Smith & Wesson.

The Smith & Wesson Model 1006 is a recoil operated double-action/single-action semi-automatic handgun chambered in the 10mm Auto cartridge manufactured by Smith & Wesson.

The Smith & Wesson Model 19 is a revolver produced by Smith & Wesson that was introduced in 1957 on its K-frame. The Model 19 is chambered for .357 Magnum. The K-frame is somewhat smaller and lighter than the original N-frame .357, usually known as the Smith & Wesson Model 27. A stainless steel variant of the Model 19, the Smith & Wesson Model 66, was introduced in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beretta M9</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Beretta M9, officially the Pistol, Semiautomatic, 9mm, M9, is the designation for the Beretta 92FS semi-automatic pistol used by the United States Armed Forces. The M9 was adopted by the United States military as their service pistol in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smith & Wesson Model 10</span> Service revolver

The Smith & Wesson Model 10, previously known as the Smith & Wesson .38 Hand Ejector Model of 1899, the Smith & Wesson Military & Police or the Smith & Wesson Victory Model, is a K-frame revolver of worldwide popularity. In production since 1899, the Model 10 is a six-shot, .38 Special, double-action revolver with fixed sights. Over its long production run it has been available with barrel lengths of 2 in (51 mm), 3 in (76 mm), 4 in (100 mm), 5 in (130 mm), and 6 in (150 mm). Barrels of 2.5 inches (64 mm) are also known to have been made for special contracts. Some 6,000,000 of the type have been produced over the years, making it the most-produced handgun of the 20th century.

The Smith & Wesson Model 686 is a six- or seven-shot double-action revolver manufactured by Smith & Wesson and chambered for the .357 Magnum cartridge; it will also chamber and fire .38 Special cartridges. Smith & Wesson introduced the Model 686 in 1981. It is the stainless steel version of the Model 586, which featured a blued steel finish. They are available ported and unported with a choice of 6- or 7-round cylinders.

In American English, a pocket pistol is any small, pocket-sized semi-automatic pistol, and is suitable for concealed carry in a pocket or similar space.

The Colt Delta Elite is a modified series 80 M1911 pistol chambered for the 10mm Auto cartridge. It was first introduced in 1987 by the Colt's Manufacturing Company.

The Smith & Wesson Model 39 is a semi-automatic pistol developed for the United States Army service pistol trials of 1954. After the Army abandoned its search for a new pistol, the Model 39 went on the civilian market in 1955 and was the first of Smith & Wesson's first generation semi-automatic pistols.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smith & Wesson Model 4006</span> Handgun

The S&W Model 4006 is a semi-automatic handgun introduced by Smith & Wesson on January 17, 1990 along with the new .40 S&W cartridge. It is a 3rd-generation S&W pistol.

The Colt Detective Special is a six-shot, carbon steel framed, 2-inch (5.1 cm) or 3-inch (7.6 cm) barreled, double-action revolver, and the first example of a class of firearms known as "snubnose revolvers". Made by Colt's Manufacturing Company, this model revolver, as the name "Detective Special" suggests, was intended to be a concealed weapon used by plainclothes police detectives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paris Theodore</span>

Paris Theodore was an American inventor of gun holsters, firearms and shooting techniques, which were used by government agencies and police departments in the U.S. and abroad, as well as by the fictional James Bond.

The Smith & Wesson M&P is a polymer-framed, short recoil operated, locked breech semi-automatic pistol introduced in the summer of 2005 by the American company Smith & Wesson. It uses a Browning-type locking system. While targeted at law enforcement agencies, the M&P is also widely available on the commercial market.

A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun which needs to be held by both hands and braced against the shoulder. Handguns have shorter effective ranges compared to long guns, and are much harder to shoot accurately. While most early handguns are single-shot pistols, the two most common types of handguns used in modern times are revolvers and semi-automatic pistols, although other handguns such as derringers and machine pistols also see infrequent usage.

The SIG Sauer P230 is a small, semi-automatic handgun chambered in .32 ACP or .380 Auto. It was designed by SIG Sauer of Eckernförde, Germany. It was imported into the United States by SIGARMS in 1985. In 1996 it was replaced by the model P232.

The Smith & Wesson Sigma was Smith & Wesson's first venture into using synthetic materials in pistol construction, with high-strength polymer material for the frame. The pistol is similar to a Glock safe-action pistol in both its design and operation, leading to controversy and speculation regarding patents infringement.

The Smith & Wesson 645 and Smith & Wesson 745 are second-generation semi-automatic pistols which predate Smith & Wesson's 4500 series of handguns. The S&W 645/745 is chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The S&W 645 is constructed almost entirely from stainless steel and is thus extremely resistant to harsh weather conditions, whereas the S&W 745 has a stainless steel frame and a blued carbon steel slide. The S&W 645 was introduced in 1985 and discontinued in 1988. The S&W 745 was produced from 1986 to 1990, primarily as a single-action competition gun for IPSC shooting.

The Colt Official Police is a medium frame, double-action revolver with a six-round cylinder, primarily chambered for the .38 Special cartridge, and manufactured by the Colt's Manufacturing Company. Released in 1908 as the Colt Army Special, the revolver was renamed the "Colt's Official Police" in 1927 in order to better market to law enforcement agencies. It became one of the bestselling police firearms of all time, eventually coming to exemplify typical law enforcement officer weaponry in the 1950s. The Official Police was also used by various U.S. and allied military forces during World War II.

The New Nambu M60 (ニューナンブM60) is a double-action revolver chambered in .38 Special based upon Smith & Wesson-style designs.

The Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 is a compact semi-automatic pistol produced by Smith & Wesson chambered for the .380 ACP cartridge.

References

↑ http://asp2000.webeden.co.uk/links-contact
1 2 3 4 Clough, Jeremy D (2004). "Ahead of their time: the sad saga of Devel". American Handgunner . 24 (6).
1 2 Petty, Charles E. (2000). "ASP & Devel". Guns . 25 (2).
↑ Jim Supica; Richard Nahas (2007). Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-89689-293-4.
↑ Miller, Stephen (2006). "Paris Theodore, 63, Inventor of Spy Weaponry". New York Sun.
↑ "Call of Duty: Black Ops - Weapons List - ASP". www.cod7blackops.com. Retrieved 2020-04-09.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] ttp://asp2000.webeden.co.uk/links-contact

[devel-2] 1 2 3 4 Clough, Jeremy D (2004). "Ahead of their time: the sad saga of Devel". American Handgunner . 24 (6).

[Petty-3] 1 2 Petty, Charles E. (2000). "ASP & Devel". Guns . 25 (2).

[4] Jim Supica; Richard Nahas (2007). Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-89689-293-4.

[5] Miller, Stephen (2006). "Paris Theodore, 63, Inventor of Spy Weaponry". New York Sun.

[6] "Call of Duty: Black Ops - Weapons List - ASP". www.cod7blackops.com. Retrieved 2020-04-09.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]