#seecamp

LW Seecamp Pocket Pistols

L.W. Seecamp Co. was established in 1973 by Ludwig Wilhelm Seecamp and his son Lueder. Ludwig emigrated to the US in 1959 and worked for Mossberg as a designer until 1971. L.W. Seecamp initially built custom double action 1911s, but as more double action pistols came to market Seecamp moved into production of their designs beginning in 1981. 

Before the introduction of the 1968 Gun Control Act the small pocket pistol market had traditionally been filled by imported pistols and subsequently domestic offerings from major manufacturers. As profit margins shrank manufacturers like Colt and Smith & Wesson abandoned the market. Seecamp moved to fill the niche gap with an ultra small pistol designed for back up carry and close defence point shooting. 

Seecamp’s pistols use an interesting hammer-fired system where the hammer follows the slide home after each shot, to sit flush. The pistols are double action only with each trigger pull cocking the hammer. The design has a very smooth exterior with no sights in order to minimse snagging on clothes when being drawn. The exterior profile is reminiscent of a Makarov PM. The pistols were initially offered in .25 ACP and later .32 ACP from 1985 and .380 ACP from 2000. 

Both the .32 ACP and .380 ACP calibre guns use a chamber-ring delayed blowback action. This means that a fired cartridge case expands to seal the chamber preventing gases from leaving the weapon’s action. The Seecamp is one of very few modern pistols which use this system, it is essential to ensure the small side of the pistol.

The LWS-32 and 380 pistols both weigh 11.5oz unloaded and have a 6+1 magazine capacity with a heel-release catch. The pistols’ overall size is very small with a length of just 4.25 inches. They lack manual safety and instead rely on a heavy 11.5lb trigger pull, although a trigger block safety was developed for California compliant pistols. Ludwig Seecamp died aged 88, in 1989. The company continued under his son but in 2013, the company was sold to Whalley Precision with production moved from Millford, Connecticut to Southwick, Massachusetts. Pistols continue to be sold under the L.W. Seecamp tradename. 

Sources:

Images: 1 2 3 

Pistols of the World, I.V. Hogg & J. Weeks, (2004)

Whalley Precision buys L.W. Seecamp pistol company, shifts production to Southwick, www.masslive.com, (source)

‘Double-action trigger mechanism with trigger-blocking magazine safety for firearms’, L.W. Seecamp, US Patent #4428138, 19/04/1982, (source)