CIA Deer Gun
- Category
- Pistol
- Barrel
- 51 mm
- Weight, empty
- 340 g
- Introduced
- 1964
About
What it is, and why it matters
The CIA Deer Gun is a clandestine single-shot pistol developed in the early 1960s as a Vietnam-era successor to the WWII FP-45 Liberator. Chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum, it consists of a die-cast aluminum receiver with a screw-out steel barrel; three spare cartridges are stored in the hollow plastic grip. Roughly 1,000 were produced cheaply for distribution to South Vietnamese irregulars to assassinate enemy soldiers and capture their weapons, but the gun was never officially fielded.
The Deer Gun was so cheap and disposable that the printed instruction sheet used only wordless cartoon pictures, so that an illiterate guerrilla anywhere in the world could load and fire it without reading a single word.
To reload, the user unscrews the barrel, ejects the spent case with the provided rod, inserts a fresh cartridge, and screws the barrel back on. Both rifled and smoothbore barrels were made. The plastic muzzle collar doubled as a crude front sight. Most surviving examples were destroyed; intact specimens are extremely rare collector items.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- American Machine & Foundry
- Category
- Pistol
- Country
- United States
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1964 to 1964
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 51 mm
- Overall length
- 127 mm
- Height
- 105 mm
- Width
- 38 mm
- Weight, empty
- 340 g
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Break action
- Firing mechanism
- Single action
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 1
- Magazine
- Internal
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Aluminum
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Polymer
- Finish
- Bright
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 320 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 481 J
- Effective range
- 5 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Screw out barrel- Hollow grip ammo storage
Die cast aluminum receiver
No sights
Single shot breech loader
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 560 9x19mm Parabellum pistols | 340 g | 765 g | Among the lightest tenth |
| Overall lengthAmong 559 9x19mm Parabellum pistols | 127 mm | 191 mm | Among the shortest tenth |
| Barrel lengthAmong 569 9x19mm Parabellum pistols | 51 mm | 105 mm | Among the shortest tenth |
| Magazine capacityAmong 571 9x19mm Parabellum pistols | 1 | 15 | Among the smallest capacities |
Its place in the rankings
Answers
Questions about the CIA Deer Gun
How much does the CIA Deer Gun weigh?
The CIA Deer Gun weighs 340 g (12.0 oz) empty. It is the 1st lightest of 560 9x19mm Parabellum pistols in the catalogue.
What caliber is the CIA Deer Gun?
The CIA Deer Gun is chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum.
How many rounds does the CIA Deer Gun hold?
The CIA Deer Gun holds 1 rounds, fed from an internal magazine.
How long is the CIA Deer Gun?
The CIA Deer Gun is 127 mm (5.00 in) long overall, with a 51 mm (2.01 in) barrel.
Who makes the CIA Deer Gun?
The CIA Deer Gun is made by American Machine & Foundry (United States). It was designed by Russell J. Moure.
When was the CIA Deer Gun introduced?
The CIA Deer Gun was introduced in 1964 and discontinued in 1964.
How does the CIA Deer Gun operate?
The CIA Deer Gun uses a break action, and its firing mechanism is single action.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Central Intelligence Agency
- 1964
Provenance
Confidence in this record
75%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/deer-gun' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "deer-gun", "name": "CIA Deer Gun", "manufacturer": { "id": "american-machine-foundry", "name": "American Machine & Foundry", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1900, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "updatedAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "version": "1d5a66545b5f191a3417e6fdddf31b7c453e53b83f347bcb8a1ac617b6ee32f6" }, "category": { "id": "pistol", "name": "Pistol", "description": "Handguns designed to be fired with one or two hands" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 1964, "barrel_length_mm": 51, "weight_empty_g": 340, "action_type": "break_action"}