The Devel and the Detective

[Greg Derr]

If you were a fan of 1911's on the 70's and 80's you have heard of Charlie Kelsey and Devel. Kelsey was a very innovative gunsmith who created many custom guns on a number of platforms. The pinnacle of his work was the Devel Gammon which had many one off features. He also made very cool utility guns on the Smith and Wesson platform. This project came about during my research on Kelsey and Development for an upcoming Gammon project. This was one of his combat style commanders on a Colt chassis with a S&W 439 rear sight. I upgraded all the internals to E2 parts and EGW controls with minimal gaps. The barrel is a Kart with EGW bushing. For the large mag release paddle I convinced Brandon Bunker at Bunker Arms to make be a few off my drawings with his CNC equipment. The Grips are High Figure ironwood which I milled to accept the paddle. The front sight is welded into place after making is from flat stock. Kelsey I think originally Parkerized his guns but I opted for IonBond over a bead blasted matte finish. Devel had their own line of magazines- 8 rounders which are originals in blue. Who is your favorite 1911 builder from the past? Heinie, Clark, Boland? The Devel Gammon and a Boland are on my to do list.

 

[Mike 53]

Beautiful! As always...

 

[GunCat]

I'm going to be honest: I might have glossed over the article because I got completely distracted by the photos. I know words happened. Probably informative. Once I stop drooling, I might gain some literacy back.