History

 The ASP is a custom made handgun intended for covert operations. It was designed and built for the U.S. Government by Paris Theodore, owner of Seventrees, Ltd. a custom gun leather shop in New York. The gun is based on the Smith & Wesson Model 39 pistol. Some features that set this gun apart are clear Lexan grips allowing the owner to see how much ammunition is left, rounded hammer and other parts to reduce possibility of snagging clothing when drawing, and no front sight. The gun is coated in Teflon to ease cleaning, resist corrosion, and eliminate the need for lubrication.

The gun was an advanced reworked Smith & Wesson Model 39 or 39-2, employing:

a shortened slide:
a fixed bushing (in lieu of the Smith and Wesson designed collet bushing which could fail, jamming the Model 39 with broken fragments of the bushing — an issue which did not exist in the ASP);
a radically different sighting system; The Guttersnipe required no front sight blade. The relatively large rear sight block had an open notch, through which the shooter aimed the gun. The shooter could quickly acquire short range targets and fire reflexively.
clear lexan grip-panels;
custom-tuned springs;
a fully ramped and throated, shortened barrel; and
the overall shape, smoothed and radiused to ensure no risk of snagging on draw.
The fixed bushing was tightly fitted to the shortened barrel and dry-lubricated by Teflon-S, which was applied to all components of the pistol, with the exception of the clear Lexan grip panels. Teflon-S is a slightly different formulation from the garden variety of Teflon coatings. It is regarded as safe for handling, but not for use in cooking appliances and utensils. It is also somewhat more durable than more typical Teflon formulations. Teflon-S is occasionally found on the blades of gardening implements. The unique sighting system, referred to as the "Guttersnipe", was a narrowing U-channel with fluorescent yellow panels that would form three triangles, all pointed at the target when the sight was properly aligned.

Checkering was kept to a minimum, and reserved for the frontstrap and backstrap, as opposed to the grip panels, which were smooth to prevent the drawing hand from catching prematurely on draw, thereby minimizing the risk of any misalignment of the pistol during presentation, aiming, and firing.

The ASP 9 mm handgun was made in either right-handed, or left-handed models, as the extended trigger guard(which included a recurved hook for the index finger of the supporting hand — one of the earliest known instances of such a feature) was cut away on the side of the strong-sided hand (which would depend on the handedness of the individual purchasing the weapon).

Production of holsters and magazine carriers for the ASP 9 mm were contracted out to Ken Null, who still produces those designs today.

The ASP is now back in production as the 'ASP 2000'. The ASP 2000 draws upon the old ASP's specifications and takes them several steps further, making it the reliable custom combat weapon that it was first supposed to be. The base gun is now the Smith and Wesson 3913, which is a fine pistol in its own right. The ASP 2000 also draws upon innovations from Charles Kelsey's Devel range of pistols. The outward appearance of the new ASP is only 40% of the story. The internals have been worked upon the most to create a design flawless in operation with virtually any 9mm ammunition.

Singleplayer/Co-Op

The ASP is one of the starting weapons in the mission Operation 40, along with the M16. This is the only mission that the ASP is available in.

Multiplayer

Damage 40-20 (MP)
 
Magazine Size 7 rounds
 
Maximum Ammunition 56 rounds
 
Rate of Fire 937.5 RPM Fire Cap
 
Recoil Low
 
Fire Mode Semi-Automatic
 
Used by Op 40, Tropas 

The ASP has high damage, 40, at close range and low damage, 20, beyond medium range. It has low recoil and a small amount of idle sway. Its firecap is 937.5 RPM, compared to the other handguns 625 RPM, making it the fastest firing Handgun in Black Ops. It has a low magazine capacity of 7 rounds and a quick reload. With Sleight of Hand, the reload is nearly instantaneous. Like all pistols, it cannot be used when in Second Chance with the Dual Wield attachment. The ASP is overall a very effective weapon, with drawbacks of such as having low ammo capacity and no option for the Extended Mags attachment. It is also the only pistol in the game to only feature one attachment, this being Dual Wield.

Challenges