Detonics

Detonics

Type	Privately held
Founded	2007
Headquarters	Millstadt, Illinois, USA
Products	Compact 1911-style pistols
Website	www.detonics.ws

Detonics is a firearm manufacturing company based in Millstadt, Illinois, USA. Detonics is most notably known for its innovative design of compact 1911-style pistols, such as the Combat Master.

Company history

Detonics is historically recognized as the innovator of the compact 1911 as a new design and not a cut down version of a full size handgun. The original architecture for the Detonics Combat Master began in the 1960’s with an Explosives Corporation of America (EXCOA) engineer named Pat Yates. Through this association, Yates met with a number of other gun enthusiasts in the early 70’s, including Sid Woodcock. These meetings led to the development of the original prototypes for the Combat Master. In the middle of the decade, Mike Maes, a manager with EXCOA and Sid Woodcock formalized their collaborative work and began what is the 30 year history of Detonics.

Pat Yates now had an opportunity to fully develop his compact 1911 design. Over the course of a few short years, the Combat Master was developed, tested and put into production in 1976. In the early 1980s, Detonics released both the Service Master and Score Master weapons as their equivalents to the mid-sized Colt Commander and full-sized Government Model, respectively.

In 1987 Detonics was purchased by Bruce McCaw of McCaw Cellular. The company was renamed New Detonics with operations managed by Robbie Barkman of ROBAR. During this period, New Detonics was moved to Phoenix, Arizona where operations continued until closing in 1992.

In 2004 New Detonics reappeared as Detonics USA under the guidance of Jerry Ahern. Ahern was the fan of the original Combat Master pistol and in response to concealed-carry laws being passed since the early 1990s, the resurrected Detonics USA saw the reintroduction of the Combat Master to the general public. Operations were moved to Pendergrass, Georgia, where the first significant additions to the product line were made with the Street Master, a full size slide on a Combat Master frame and the commemorative, full size 9-11-01.

In November 2007, ownership of Detonics USA and all of its predecessors was purchased by Bruce Siddle and Dr. Steve Stahle. Lt. Col. Dave Grossman (Ret.) bought into the company and became a board member in October 2008. Now known only as Detonics, corporate operations were relocated to Millstadt, IL.

Current products

• Combat Master
• Street Master
• Service Master
• 09-11-01

References

• "The History of Detonics". Accessed May 7, 2008

External links

• Detonics website
• Rauch, Walt. "Detonics Combat Master". Handguns Magazine, December 13, 2005.