Sphinx Systems - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Sphinx Systems Limited is a small Swiss-based manufacturer of high quality pistol

Pistol

When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...

s used mainly by special forces

Special forces

Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...

, elite police units and sports shooters. The company has been in business since 1876. Sphinx is best known for its ongoing development of the original Czech designed CZ 75

CZ 75

The CZ 75 is a semi-automatic pistol made by Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod in the Czech Republic. First introduced in 1975, it is one of the original "wonder nines" featuring a staggered-column magazine, all-steel construction, and a hammer forged barrel...

pistol, which has been evolved into the Sphinx 2000 and Sphinx 3000 designs.

Sphinx started its work with pistols based on the CZ 75 design when they redesigned the ITM AT-84

CZ 75

licensed copy of the Czech CZ 75 and ITM AT-88, a first evolution of the CZ 75 that had been developed in Switzerland by ITM who later went out of business.

Sphinx manufactures all pistols in Switzerland, slides are made from solid billet steel, frames from casts, forgings or also from billet, and fits each pistol with high quality barrels. Each pistol part is machined to very close tolerances and assembled by Sphinx master gunsmiths.

All Sphinx pistols except the AT380 are shipped with an actual test target, which confirms the accuracy of each pistol.

Sphinx pistols are not mass produced and are fitted to tight tolerances, so Sphinx pistols are more expensive than mass produced products.

Although Sphinx products were historically imported to the United States by SILE corporation, and until 2008 by SABRE Defense Industries, Sphinx products are not presently being imported into the US.

Sphinx pistols

AT380 Series: A sub-compact pistol. This pistol is highly accurate. It is Double Action Only, which can slightly detract from the shooter's ability to produce tighter groupings; however, this pistol was not designed for competitive target shooting—DAO designs such as this have been shown to be easier to operate under stressful situations and therefore preferable to traditional Double Action designs when self-defense is concerned. Tolerances on this pistol are very tight and quality very high, as with all SPHINX pistols. Slightly smaller in general overall dimension than the Walther PPK/S, it also has a larger magazine capacity (10/11/15). The sights are adjustable. Safeties include: 1. an automatic firing-pin block type which precludes the striker from being hit unless the trigger is pulled, eliminating slam-fires etc. 2. Manual firing-pin block safeties on "M" models (similar in function to the Beretta 92F). This pistol is reported to prefer "hotter" ammunition in order to cycle properly until broken in. This is due to its European origin, where hotter ammunition (in comparison to the U.S.) is commonly produced & used. Due to tighter firearms trade restrictions, the AT .380 is no longer imported into the United States.
Sphinx 2000 Series: A full and medium sized defense and sports pistol that shows its CZ 75

CZ 75

/AT-88 heritage.
Sphinx 3000 Series: A full and medium sized defense and sports CNC machined pistol made out of various metals such as stainless steel

Stainless steel

In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....

, aluminium

Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....

and titanium

Titanium

Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....

. The Sphinx 3000 was designed as a modern combat pistol with features like a Picatinny accessory rail

Picatinny rail

The Picatinny rail or MIL-STD-1913 rail or STANAG 2324 rail or a "Tactical Rail" is a bracket used on some firearms in order to provide a standardized mounting platform. A similar system is the Weaver rail mount.-Description:...

, a low bore line, extended magazine release, various safety system options, various finishes, sights, pistol sizes and materials to choose from.

Users (Sphinx 3000)

: Danish Special Forces

Special forces

Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...

: Royal Malaysian Air Force PASKAU

Paskau

Paskau may refer to:* PASKAU, a special forces unit of the Royal Malaysian Air Force* the town of Paskov in the Czech Republic...

: Norwegian Special Forces: Special Operations Command

Special Operations Command (Singapore)

The Special Operations Command is a frontline unit of the Singapore Police Force grouping together various specialist units into a single strategic reserve of the regular forces to be called upon in any contingency and serious case of public disorder.Today, the unit is composed of:The SOC also...

: Swiss Police

External links

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