To Cops, From Dave Lauck
Lauck’s D&L muzzle standoff attachment on a rail-equipped GLOCK.
Lawmen and armed citizens alike can benefit from this man’s wisdom.
At the Pioneer Sportsman Range in Dunbarton, NH, many years ago, I put my youngest daughter behind a Dave Lauck Custom AR15 Patrol Rifle on a bipod, and she proceeded to shoot a rapid-fire group dead center into a target a hundred yards away. “Dad, I want one of these!” she exclaimed, which is how she wound up with her own custom AR15 at age 12.
Before then, I had been carrying a Dave Lauck Custom Colt .45 auto, his LFI Special built to my specifications and equally suitable for winning a match, carrying off duty and wearing to work. The gun gave honest 1″ groups from the 25-yard bench but without the sensitivity to malfunctions that normally comes with an “accurized” 1911.
Dave Lauck served for many years in law enforcement and is the founder and head of today’s D&L Sports. He is most famous for his custom 1911 pistols and AR15 rifles. If you’re not up for custom guns, you should check out his website and consider his accessories. For instance, his 1911 .45 ACP magazines — a 7-rounder with short baseplate and an 8-round mag with a slightly longer one — I’ve found to be absolutely bulletproof and reliable and right up there with Wilson Combat’s.
But just because he’s best known for ARs and 1911s doesn’t mean he hasn’t paid attention to other defensive firearms technology. Consider …
Mas’s Lauck customized Colt .45 auto with Lauck’s 7- and 8-round magazines.
Stand-Off Muzzle Attachment
Famed police gunfighters such as Jim Semone in Cleveland and Ralph Friedman, NYPD’s most highly decorated detective, were partial to revolvers because, among other reasons, each of them at some point had to neutralize a would-be cop-killer at muzzle contact distance. Press contact of the muzzle on a human body can push a semi-automatic service pistol’s barrel/slide assembly out of battery and prevent it from firing, but that won’t happen with a revolver.
There are a few autos that won’t succumb to that — the shorter barrel Springfield Armory XD, for example, or the little S&W CSX subcompact off-duty pistol, whose recoil spring guides create a “stand-off” effect. Stand-off effect can also be created by a weapon-mounted light (WML) if the light projects far enough from the muzzle … but not every cop or armed citizen has a WML on their primary self-defense weapon.
Enter Dave Lauck, with an attachment that mounts on the accessory rails of later-model GLOCKs, the most popular handguns of America’s police and lawfully armed citizens alike, and also “railed” 1911s. Because the front piece riding ahead of the barrel/slide assembly is secured to the dust cover (for new readers, the underside of the frame), the barrel and slide can’t be pushed rearward by hard muzzle contact with the target.
One advantage of Lauck’s concept over the WML is if blood and gore blast back toward the gun (as they often do at press contact), the Lauck device helps to shield the front of the gun from the “splashback” and reduces the likelihood that matter will get into the front of the pistol and prevent a return of battery. Many years ago, testing ammo in a slaughterhouse, I shot a large steer in the head from a foot or so away. While the high-velocity .45 JHP killed the animal instantly, viscous brain matter splashed back into the front of the Colt Government .45 auto and prevented the slide from fully closing on the next round. I honestly don’t think that would have happened had something like the Lauck device been in place.
Note how the Lauck-designed S&W revolver grips change the grasp angle.
Lauck Revolvers
Revolvers ain’t dead, at least not for backup, off-duty, and us geezers. D&L Sports does some bitchin’ custom revolver work. Personally, I can vouch for his improved fixed sights for S&Ws. I have a set on my AirLite Model 342 J-Frame .38 Special and they hugely improved hit potential. He offers rugged replacement sights for larger models, too.
Dave’s latest contribution to revolver performance is found in his G10 grips for K, L and N-Frame S&Ws. The 1911-ish grip angle and flange over the web of the hand prevent Magnum recoil from rolling the gun up in your grasp and Dave feels the angle lets you lock your wrist better. He also maintains it gives you a stronger hold in a struggle for the gun.
I’ve always found Dave Lauck’s stuff worth the price and with reasonable delivery time. His mission is Keeping the Good Guys and Gals Alive. I’ve trusted his products for decades, and after you’ve worked with them, I think you’ll understand why.
