The Draco Pistol, or more commonly known as simply a Draco, named after the
Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...
n dragon-like battle banner, is a series of
Romanian-designed gas-operated
Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate locked breech, Semi-automatic firearm, autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high-pressure gas from the Cartridge (firearms), cartridge being fired is used t ...
semi-automatic pistol
A semi-automatic pistol (also called a self-loading pistol, autopistol, or autoloading pistol) is a repeating firearm, repeating handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridge (firearms), cartridges in its chamber (firearms), chamber afte ...
s sold by
Century International Arms
Century International Arms is an importer and manufacturer of firearms based in the United States. The company was founded in 1961 in St. Albans (city), Vermont, St. Albans, Vermont,
with offices in Montreal. In 1995, the company headquarters and ...
.
Origin
Three of the four Draco models available are built in
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
by
Cugir Arms Factory
Cugir Arms Factory is a Romanian state owned defence company that is one of the oldest defence companies of Romania. Cugir Arms Factory has a history that can be traced back to 1799 during the Austrian Empire. The steel manufacturing workshops wer ...
and imported to the United States. Century Arms produces its own US-built variant using fully American components.
Design
The Draco is chambered for the
7.62×39mm cartridge with its design taken heavily after the
AK-47
The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...
. Its
stockless outfit has led to its classification as a pistol, while holding a magazine of 30 rounds.
The weapon has been noted by some for inaccuracy and an apparent lack of practical application, though to some extent this could be explained by the large potential for operator error due to high recoil of a 6-inch barrel firing a rifle round without a stock.
Presence in the United States
The Draco is referenced or shown in several American
rap songs and music videos. The online firearm retailer Gunsamerica discovered a direct correlation between Draco sales and its appearance in American rap songs in 2016 and 2017.
The Draco has been criticized by Detroit law enforcement officials. Detroit police chief James White has stated that he considers the Draco pistol an "
assault rifle
An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge, intermediate-rifle cartridge and a Magazine (firearms), detachable magazine.C. Taylor, ''The Fighting Rifle: A Complete Study of the Rifle in Combat'', F.A. Moyer '' ...
" and that it should not be sold in the city. The
Detroit Police seized around 50 Draco Pistols in 2021-2022.
See also
*
Arms trafficking
Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the illicit trade of contraband small arms, explosives, and ammunition, which constitutes part of a broad range of illegal activities often associated with transnational criminal organizations. The illegal tra ...
*
Machine pistol
A machine pistol is a handgun that is capable of automatic firearm, fully automatic fire, including shoulder stock, stockless handgun-style submachine guns.
The Austrians introduced the world's first machine pistol, the Steyr M1912 pistol#Masch ...
*
WASR-series rifles
References
7.62×39mm firearms
Front-magazine pistols
Gas-operated firearms
Semi-automatic pistols of Romania
{{Kalashnikov rifle