CIA Deer Pistol

The Deer gun, designed by Russell J. Moure, can be considered a successor to the FP-45 Liberator pistols of World War Two - a simple, single shot pistol which could be air dropped or distributed to poorly equipped resistance fighters en masse to help them capture enemy weapons. Chambered in 9x19mm and made by American Machine & Foundry for the CIA. 

The Deer pistol was developed in 1962 when the US’ involvement in Vietnam was still limited and somewhat clandestine, it is speculated that the guns were intended for friendly elements within Vietnam such as the Montagnard. 

Widely known as the Deer Pistol, David Truby notes however, that Jonathan Liu a CIA spokesperson stated that the weapon’s correct name was in fact the DEAR or DEnied ARea Pistol.

The guns were reportedly made with both smoothbore and rifled barrels, they had no trigger guard and like the earlier Liberator had no extractor. In an improvement over the WWII gun, the Dear/Deer gun, came with a rod to punch the spent case out of the breech. This could be stored in the grip along with 3 more rounds of 9x19mm. 

.45 ACP Liberator made by Guide Lamp (source)

To load the striker-fired guns the user unscrewed the 2-inch long barrel from the receiver and loaded a round. Then screwed the barrel back in place and pulled the striker to the rear to cock the weapon. The pistols’ receivers were made from cast aluminium and weighed around 12 ounces and had no fixed sight, unlike the earlier Liberator which had rudimentary sights. A rudimentary plastic ‘safety tab’ could be placed between the striker knob and receiver to prevent accidental discharges, how effective this would have been is unknown.

The CIA projected the project to cost around $300,000 which covered the development and tooling costs as well as production. It’s estimated that each weapon cost just $3.50 to produce. Following testing of the initial prototypes the CIA ordered 1,000 pistols.

A section from the 14-panel pictograph instruction sheet shipped with the pistol, note the plastic safety tab that could be placed on the striker (source)

The guns were completely without markings, no proof or serial marks were added and they were shipped in unmarked polystyrene boxes with just a sheet of pictographs (just like the Liberator) showing how to operate the weapon. By 1964, when production had been established, it had become clear that the conflict in Vietnam had escalated into a full-blown conflict with greater US involvement increasingly likely, precluding the need for a clandestine pistol.

The Deer/Dear Gun was never deployed and only approximately 1,000 of the pistols were made in 1964, before the project was shelved. Its thought that today between 10 and 25 survive. 

Sources:

Images: 1 2 

The CIA’s Dear Little Pistol In Vietnam, SAR, J.D. Truby (source)

The CIA’s Deer Gun, SAR, J.D. Truby (source)

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