D.E. Watters

Watters Custom .38 Super

I am not a professional gunsmith, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn once. I built this .38 Super pistol in late 2000 for use in IDPA’s Enhanced Service Pistol division. The frame and slide were from Caspian; each made from 416 stainless barstock. This was during the brief period that they offered barstockContinue reading “Watters Custom .38 Super”

A Brief History of Custom Competition and Carry Handguns (1976-2000)

Part Three of a Four-Part Series

Colt & the .400 Winchester Magnum

Some of the development update articles from that era (1962-1963) written by both Elmer Keith in Guns & Ammo and Duke Roberts in Gun World give the distinct impression that the early development of the .41 Magnum originally centered on a .40 caliber cartridge, and not .41 caliber. Why did they change from .40 toContinue reading “Colt & the .400 Winchester Magnum”

Notes on the History of Custom Competition and Carry Pistols (Pre-WW2)

Part One of a Four-Part Series

Blast(er) From the Past – The Göncz High-Tech

Ah, the 1980s! Remember that innocent age when some designers thought that a three pound semi-auto pistol could be useful? Hungarian-émigré designer Lajos John Göncz developed his “High-Tech” pistol in 1984. Göncz originally envisioned a select-fire submachinegun that would be suitable for carry like a standard pistol. Göncz wanted to submit his design to theContinue reading “Blast(er) From the Past – The Göncz High-Tech”

Ron Power PPC Revolvers – Early and Late Pattern

Since I showed a Jim Clark “Grand Master” yesterday, I thought that I’d show the evolution of Ron Power’s PPC revolvers … pre- and post- Grand Master. The blued revolver is a typical 1970s-era PPC conversion in .38 Special. It wears a plain Bo-Mar rib. The stainless revolver is a late-1980s (or later) “Grand MasterContinue reading “Ron Power PPC Revolvers – Early and Late Pattern”

Cirillo SafeStop Data Dump

The late Jim Cirillo was one of the better known gunfighters of the late 20th Century. While assigned to the New York Police Department’s infamous Stake Out Unit (SOU) from 1968 to 1973, Cirillo was involved in 17 shootouts. After retiring from the NYPD in 1976, Cirillo became a firearms instructor for the US CustomsContinue reading “Cirillo SafeStop Data Dump”

The Sad Saga of the .356 TSW

By all rights, the .356 TSW should have killed the .357 SIG in childbirth. Since it could use 9x19mm magazines, the .356 TSW would have offered a much higher ammunition capacity in many models over the fatter .357 SIG, which required .40 S&W type magazines. Alas, it was not to be. Just as the .356Continue reading “The Sad Saga of the .356 TSW”

Connecting the Dots: From the .338-378 KT to the .338 Lapua

Not long after the .338 Lapua was introduced, Ross Seyfried quickly wrote of the uncanny similarity of the new cartridge with his mentor’s .338-378 Keith-Thomson, albeit without the latter cartridge’s belt. It appears that Seyfried was closer to the truth than most imagine. The .338-378 KT was based upon a shortened .378 Weatherby case neckedContinue reading “Connecting the Dots: From the .338-378 KT to the .338 Lapua”

FBI Solicitation No. RFP 4756 – 10mm Pistols (1989)

This excerpt of the FBI’s 1989-vintage Request for Proposal (RFP) is being reposted as a historical footnote to my main article on FBI pistols. Note how the RFP was written to exclude every existing pistol on the market, including those with slide-mounted decockers, non-steel frames, and striker-fired designs. The new pistol was really doomed toContinue reading “FBI Solicitation No. RFP 4756 – 10mm Pistols (1989)”