ASP & Devel

Guns Magazine, Feb, 2000 by Charles E. Petty

Although they are no longer available, these custom pistols blazed the way for today's concealed carry handguns.

Today, compact handguns are hardly out of the ordinary. Shooters are buying up guns like the Kahr, the mini Glock and the S&W 3913. When I think of compact guns, I think of names like "ASP" or "Devel" -- no longer available, but valuable collector's pieces.

Long before any manufacturer produced a compact pistol, custom gunsmiths were chopping inches off of slides and grip frames and making little guns out of big ones. We're talking serious surgery here. Both the Devel and ASP modifications began with the S&W Model 39 -- and then they cut. The slide was shortened by about 0.75" and the frame by about 0.6".

The first thing we need to do is a little historical research. The ASP was designed by Paris Theodore in New York City in the early 1970s. Hints were dropped that the gun was made for all manner of clandestine organizations. When the ASP pistol went public, it sure got lots of attention.

First Of Its Kind

The most unusual feature of the ASP is the patented Guttersnipe sight. It's a strange looking thing designed to be very fast by eliminating the conventional aspects of sight alignment.

The principle is based upon the theory of disappearing parallel lines, for example, if you've ever looked down a long stretch of railroad track you'll know that at some distance the two rails appear to come together. That was the premise behind the Guttersnipe sight.

Theodore chose to use the S&W Model 39 because of the double-action trigger mechanism. Good choice, but the gun did not have a sterling reputation for reliability. In addition to shortening the frame and slide, a lot of time was spent making sure everything worked properly.

The trigger guard was reshaped into a hook and Theodore advocated putting a finger there for better control. One side of the trigger guard was cut away to provide easier access for the trigger finger. This means that you can find both right- and left-handed variations of this gun.

All sharp corners were rounded, the safety thinned, and very thin plastic grips installed. The original S&W magazines were shortened and lost one round (from eight to seven), and the sides were cut away so the rounds in the magazine were visible.

The ASP also has a very clever magazine base that provides a resting place for the little finger and also an extension to allow the magazine to be seated quickly in a speed reload. The magazine well is neatly beveled. Included with the gun was a patented double magazine pouch that used a magnet to hold the spare mags. Each gun came with a total of three magazines.

The ASP may well be the first gun to have a polymer finish. They coated the pistol with black "Teflon-S" as a final touch.

Rebirth Of The ASP

The actual history of the ASP is a little cloudy. Published references say that one day the doors closed in New York and nobody knew anything. A short time later, ASP -- minus Paris Theodore -- reappeared in Appleton, Wis. An article in S.W.A.T,, (March 1983) indicated that approximately 250 ASP pistols were built in New York. No information is known about the production in Wisconsin.

Production ended later that year. Some published reports criticized the later guns, but mine came with papers indicating Wisconsin manufacture; it looks just fine and functions perfectly. The cost for the complete ASP modification package on a customer-supplied gun was $475.

Improving On Excellence

In 1976 a gunsmith from Cleveland, Ohio, by the name of Charles Kelsey decided to improve on the ASP. He consulted with tactical expert Ken Hackathorn on what could be done to improve the compact custom pistol, and from that conversation the Devel was born.

Pistolsmith Wayne Novak said, "Charlie Kelsey was my biggest inspiration and the most innovative man in the custom pistol business. His designs and modifications were years ahead of their time."

Kelsey began by shortening a Model 39 to within a tiny fraction of the ASP, but that is pretty much the end of the similarities. The S&W rear sight was retained and a new front sight fashioned and installed. The front sight had a contrasting insert of either yellow or red plastic.

Kelsey offered three different models: Full House, Basic, and Function & Reliability. The F&R package was lightly modified compared to the other two. It was a full length M39 and is most easily identified by the characteristic Devel electroless nickel finish and the red Devel label inlaid into the original grips. Both the Basic and Full House pistols were shortened.

There's no mistaking a Full House Devel. The most striking characteristics are the scalloped lightening cuts on the slide. There are two on each side. We can argue whether they do anything or not, and I won't care one way or the other, but they certainly make the pistol stand out.

Groundbreakers

Since the slides of both ASP and Devel pistols are shortened, the companies had to find a way to support the front end of the barrel. The original Model 39 used a removable bushing. The ASP has a simple circular bushing that is permanently installed and looks very much like the style that is currently used by S&W.