Norton DP-75: Titanium Plus German Police Pistol
Germany
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8m 11s
This pistol is something of a mystery - its design comes from the experimental Mauser HsP of the mid 1970s. It uses a short recoil system with a pivoting locking block vaguely like a P38, and was an unsuccessful competitor to the H&K P7 in German police trials. The design was dropped by Mauser by 1983, and only a small number were ever made. However, this aluminum and titanium DP-75 version was produced for some reason by the Norton Armament company of Michigan. Norton is best known for being the American company affiliated with Edgar Budischowsky, designer of the high-end Korriphila pistols. I was unable to find any connection between Budischowsky and Walter Ludwig (designer of the HsP) or the Mauser company, however.
In an neat twist, this pistol was used by the ridiculously talented machinist Raymond Hutchens to create a fully functional perfect half-scale miniature, which is being sold as a package with the full size gun.
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