DL - 44 heavy blaster pistol / Legends The BlasTech Industries DL - 44 heavy blaster pistol was a powerful sidearm from the time of the Galactic Republic through the Galactic Civil War . Description . The DL - 44 was a powerful , highly modifiable and accurate blaster pistol . It packed a heavy punch compared to other pistols without losing accuracy , which made it a prime choice among many groups and individuals , ranging from smugglers and bounty hunters to military and the Rebellion . Aside from being a powerful and reliable sidearm , the weapon had other attractive features such as a vibration system built into the handgrip that pulsed gently to alert the user that the weapon had only five shots left , and the ability to charge a bolt twice as powerful into a capacitor without damaging the sidearm . Like most handguns , its gear typically included a motion - sensitive scope and galven circuitry that allowed the pistol to deal more damage with a normal energy drain and fire rate . History . Originally designed by BlasTech and seen as early as 33 BBY , the weapon found increased use at the hands of outlaws and fringers on the edge of legality , groups like smugglers and the Rebel Alliance due to its capability to penetrate stormtrooper armor . This caused the Empire to put a restriction order upon this model , restricting and technically outlawing the purchase and ownership of the gun . This caused other companies to take advantage of the model and capabilities , releasing similar but tuned - down versions of the 44 ' s , such as Merr - Sonn Munitions , Inc . ' s Flash 4 and model 57 blaster pistol . Their Power 5 was already being manufactured at the time , as it saw use during the Clone Wars . The DL - 44 was the weapon of choice of the General and Alliance hero , once - smuggler Han Solo , who removed the barrel - sight to facilitate his fast - draw , something that the Empire deemed to be an illegal modification of a blaster . In a later era , Jaden Korr , Rosh Penin and other New Jedi Order students carried DL - 44 pistols when on missions where a blaster might be necessary . Some Imperial officers , workers , and saboteurs affiliated with the Disciples of Ragnos were issued DL - 44 handguns . Mara Jade was also known to carry one of those on occasion . They were also the anti - infantry sidearm of choice for Rebel Marksman and vanguards , in addition to the vanguards anti - vehicle weaponry . Behind the scenes . Kenner produced a full - size toy version of this pistol as part of its first " Star Wars " toy line in 1977 . The toy was called simply a " laser pistol . " Design . The DL - 44 design comes from the German C96 " Broomhandle " Mauser pistol , an early semi - automatic handgun with a 10 round internal magazine and it was available in 9mm Parabellum or . 30 Mauser . Well known variants include the " Red - 9 " which was chambered in 9mm Parabellum and had a red number 9 branded into the grip so that users would not load the incorrect caliber , or the M712 Schnellfeuer variant , which was capable of select - fire and had a 20 round detachable magazine , it was chambered in . 30 Mauser . The air conditioning vent on the front of the magazine came from a model airplane and the large flash hider came from the german MG81 machine gun from a fighter plane . The scope is the Hensoldt Wetzlar Ziel Dialyt 3x scope which was often seen on german sniper rifles such as the famous K98 . Due to the size of the flash hider , the iron sights were not useable . Only 4 live C96 Mauser pistols have been remade to imitate the DL - 44 . Youtube firearm aficionado Jerry Miculek released a video using one of these real DL - 44s on the 14th December 2015 with a guest appearance from a live E - 11 towards the end of the video .