Development

WIST-94 was designed at WITU (Wojskowy Instytut Techniczny Uzbrojenia - Military Technical Institute of Armaments) under the code name Piryt. Two prototypes were made in 1992, which differ in the barrel locking system: Model A01 used a rotary-locking system and Model B01 using conventional, Browning type tilting barrel locking. B01 was the only one to complete testing but the development was temporarily halted due to the military cutting off funding. Financed by WITU and Prexer company, the project continued and in 1994 a new prototype was developed. Called WIST-94 it is based on the B01 prototype. The new pistol was chosen by the Polish military as its new standard sidearm.

Design details

The WIST-94 is a semi-automatic pistol chambered for 9mm Parabellum round. It uses the Browning cam-lug system of operation. The polygonal-rifled

Polygonal rifling

Polygonal rifling is a type of gun barrel rifling where the traditional lands and grooves are replaced by "hills and valleys" in a rounded polygonal pattern, usually a hexagon or octagon....

 barrel is locked to the slide by three locking lugs machined into the upper part of the barrel. The frame is made from polymer plastic while the slide is constructed from steel. The trigger mechanism is similar to the one used in Glock pistol

Glock pistol

The Glock pistol, sometimes referred to by the manufacturer as Glock "Safe Action" Pistol, is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Glock Ges.m.b.H., located in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria. The company's founder, engineer Gaston Glock, had no experience with firearm design or...

s: striker-fired double-action-only (DAO). After racking the slide back and after each shot fired the striker is held semi-cocked allowing for lighter trigger pull than conventional double-action. The only safety used is an internal automatic firing pin safety that unlocks the firing pin only in the final stages of the trigger pull. The WIST-94 is fed by a 16 round magazine. The magazine release catch is reversible for use by left-handed shooter. The Slide release lever is located at the left side of the gun. The sights are fixed and are have self-luminous tritium inserts for low-light situations. The WIST-94L is also equipped with a laser sight mounted in the upper part of trigger guard.

Variants

• WIST-94 - basic version
• WIST-94L - version with integral laser sights

Users

WIST-94 pistol has started entering service with the Polish army in 1997. The number of pistols ordered and the unit cost are currently classified.