When Charles W. Kelsey quit Formula One racing for Chevrolet in England, he never dreamed that he would reinvent aspects of the Colt 1911 the world had ever seen. In the late 1970s, Kelsey named his company “DEVEL” (an old Scottish fighting word). Beginning with custom S&W 39 9mm pistols, Kelsey moved to custom Colt 1911s in 1980, bringing with him master designer, Wilhelm Haupthoff, where the two would “DEVELope” some of the most advanced improvements ever seen in the 1911.
Devel’s First Offering
By 1981, Charley Kelsey had produced his first custom Colt 1911. While Charley was partial to the 9x19mm and .38 Super cartridges, his first was in .45 ACP with a Bomar rear sight, a Develramped front sight, a modified Hogue grip safety, 30-inch hand checkering front and back, a bobbed hammer, National Match barrel and trigger, slide-to-frame fitting and the mark of a Devel pistol—Kelsey’s triggerguard extension!
Having owned, carried and shot Colt 1911s for more than 20 years, I wasn’t sure the extension was for me until I tested it. I had scheduled my first trip to Jeff Cooper’s API (American Pistol Institute), now Gunsite, and Kelsey asked me to use this pistol. After practicing for a week with it, I was “hooked” on the help the extension was in reducing muzzle flip. In the week-long, double class of 50, only my friend, Gil Angelotti, and I made Expert.
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Improvements For 1911s
Devel began to develop dozens of improvements to the Colt 1911, including the Devel grip safety, speed release, firing pin safety, competition trigger, feed roller and triggerguard extension.
The Devel grip safety ensures the hand gets on the pistol quickly with no bite. The speed release didn’t require moving the hand. The competition trigger added leverage against the sear,and the feed roller assisted rounds into the chamber.
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Another truly brilliant device was the Devel firing pin safety. When pistols began using such devices, most went through the trigger, and like everyone, Charley hated them. Instead, he designed a device that prevented the firing pin from moving until the trigger was pulled and the hammer went forward. The safety entered the path of the hammer, which cammed the safety aside as it passed to strike the firing pin, and it worked perfectly. Another simple safety device allowed the slide to move to the rear while leaving the thumb safety on.
Swan Song
During the early 1980s, Devel was quickly moving into the custom competition Colt 1911 game with guns in both .45 ACP and .38 Super calibers. While the above improvements and others were offered on all custom Colt 1911s, one other improvement was available on only one gun.That device was the Devel Abator, a highly specialized combination muzzle brake and barrel weight attached to the barrel, giving the impression of a 6-inch-long slide. The super customized Colt it was made for was the Devel Gammon, which is the subject here.
These Gammons were used by such shooting competitors as Mickey Fowler, Mark Duncan, Ichiro Nagata, Chip McCormick, Ross Seyfried and others. They were like fine watches—the best of the best. However, while Devel created more than 100 custom Colt 1911 pistols with many of the above features, only 21 Gammons were made with no two being exactly alike. Mickey Fowler’s Gammon, with which he won the Bianchi Cup in 1980, was stolen and never recovered. Now, only 10 Gammons are accounted for, leaving the rest tucked away coveted in a few collections of those lucky enough to be the custodians of some of the finest custom Colt pistols ever made!
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