The CIA's New Liberator: the 9mm Deer Gun

Published on October 6, 2019
Duration: 8:17

The CIA's Deer Gun, a successor to the WWII Liberator, was designed as a cheap, disposable covert weapon. Made from cast aluminum and chambered in 9mm, it featured a manual loading process and a hollow grip for ammunition. Despite high initial tooling costs making it expensive per unit, its primary value was deniability, with only 1,000 units produced and most likely destroyed.

Quick Summary

The CIA's Deer Gun, a successor to the WWII Liberator, was a 9mm pistol made from cast aluminum for covert operations. It featured manual loading via a removable barrel and a hollow grip for ammo storage, lacking any markings for deniability. Despite its simple design, high tooling costs made it expensive per unit.

Chapters

  1. 00:00Introduction to the CIA Deer Gun
  2. 01:30Design and Manufacturing: Cast Aluminum & 9mm
  3. 02:45Operational Features: Manual Load & Deniability
  4. 05:15Practicality, Cost, and Differentiators
  5. 06:12Production Numbers and Rarity

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the purpose of the CIA's Deer Gun?

The Deer Gun was designed as a cheap, simple, and disposable weapon for covertly arming resistance groups. Its primary goal was to allow users to eliminate an enemy, take their superior weapon, and leave minimal trace back to the CIA.

How was the Deer Gun different from the WWII Liberator pistol?

Unlike the stamped steel Liberator, the Deer Gun was constructed from cast aluminum to reduce costs. It was also chambered in the more common 9mm caliber instead of .45 ACP and featured a striker-fired mechanism.

What were the key operational features of the Deer Gun?

The Deer Gun required manual loading by unscrewing its threaded barrel. It had a striker-fired mechanism, a hollow grip for storing spare ammunition, and crucially, lacked any serial numbers or markings for deniability.

Why was the Deer Gun considered expensive despite its simple design?

The initial tooling costs for producing the cast aluminum Deer Gun were very high. In 1962, this resulted in a cost of approximately $300 per unit, making it significantly more expensive than its intended disposable nature might suggest.

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