Mystery gun

American Handgunner, July-August, 2009 by David W. Moore

I retired from the Lorain Police Department in 1991 and came back to do some IT work for them. I was given your article ("1908 .380 Mystery Pistol," May/June, 2009) by a friend of the author's. Although I can't prove or disprove the claim the gun came from the Lorain Police Department, I believe it probably did not. The main reason is the number itself "LPD 77" on the gun. At the time this weapon would have been purchased, around 1912, the department had probably no more than l0 to 20 officers. This leaves me to wonder why a city would purchase 100 and number them accordingly. I would think these guns were purchased for a much larger department. I have attached a photo of the department from 1923 and you can see even then, it was a small agency.

David W. Moore

Lorain Police Department

David_Moore@CityofLorain.org

Via e-mail