| Image | Product | Price |
|---|---|---|
 | Check Price |
If you’re a gun guy and a Star Wars buff, then it’s just about impossible that you haven’t wanted Han Solo’s DL-44 blaster at some point or another. Since most of us don’t want to chop up an original C-96 Mauser to build one the prop gun was based on, like Jerry Miculek did, it’s good to have other options. Luckily, Canto Arms has a better solution with their new BlasTech Industries DL-44 Hero.
The DL-44 Hero
Canto Arms has been building blasters and blaster kits for a while now. No, we aren’t talked about actual laser pistols, but rather some nifty .22 LR builds based upon an AR upper and lower. At their core, they’re just a solid .22 AR pistol, but it’s the details that make them unique. Canto makes parts kits and complete pistols that transform your basic AR into a pretty good semblance of the famous DL-44. They’ve sold a complete version for a while now with their Nocturne pistol. They also have kits so you can build your own, and that’s what I did with my build that I covered here on TTAG a while back. While the Nocturne is a nice pistol, and building your own is satisfying, Canto is kicking things up a notch with the new DL-44 Hero.
The DL-44 Hero uses the same MG81 style muzzle device and Broomhandle-style grip as the Nocturne, but it’s mated up with a custom upper and lower. You can get the MG81 muzzle device in either a black hardcoat finish or shiny machined aluminum. The new upper and lower have a some pretty sleek, angular lines that look like they came off a Blastech production line in the Outer Rim. In addition to the custom styling, the lower is engraved with BlasTech Industries markings in both English and Aurebesh (Galactic Basic Standard) and the Blastech logo.
In addition to the markings and custom receivers, the DL-44 Hero model has some other upgrades as well. The lower is fitted with billet enhanced mag release controls and a custom ambidextrous selector. The selector has a round knob on the right hand side of the receiver, which mimics the look of the movie prop. The Hero has a BoreBuddy quiet bolt group with a black nitride finish and uses Strike Industries Enhanced lower parts and Enhanced Longitudinal Grind trigger components. The gun comes with a Black Dog machine 10-round magazine as well as a Canto Blaster scope and rings.
MSRP on the DL-44 Hero is $1,500. That’s over $500 more than the basic Nocturne. I’m not going to say that’s cheap, but you are getting a really slick custom upper and lower that you can’t get elsewhere, along with a number of other premium upgrades. Plus you get the optic with the gun. I do like my personal build with custom the Bad Attitude Department lower that I had engraved a lot, but I gotta say the new Canto DL-44 is a class act. Had that set-up been around when I did my build, I may well have saved my Galactic Credits up for it, rather than doing the build on my own. If you always wanted a DL-44 and don’t want to chop up a C-96 to get one, then take a look at the DL-44 Hero or one of Canto’s other offerings. Being .22 LR, they’re a ton of fun to shoot and ammo is a lot more affordable than 7.63 Mauser would be in the C-96, too.
Blastech DL-44 Hero Specs:
- Caliber: .22 LR
- Barrel length: 4.5 in.
- 1:16 twist
- 1/2″x28 threaded barrel with threaded MG81 muzzle device
- Authentic, trademarked BlasTech Industries engravings in English and Aurebesh
- Custom DL-44 style safety selector switches
- Strike Industries Enhanced lower parts
- Standard AR-15 platform for ultimate customizability
- Made in the USA with 7075 hardcoat anodized aluminum components for decreased weight and enhanced durability
- Stainless steel blowback bolt system
- Optional BoreBuddy quiet bolt group in black nitride finish
- Billet enhanced mag release controls, ambidextrous selector (short/long throw configurable)
- Iconic Broomhandle Grip
- Enhanced Longitudinal Grind trigger components
- Includes one nylon 10-round X-Form short format magazine.
- Blaster scope, rings and 45-degree mounts included – mounting required.
- MSRP: $1,500
Where To Buy
Check out Ammo To Go, the ammunition retail sponsor of TTAG, for all of your ammunition needs.
Product and gun reviews are performed independently and product mentions made based on the quality of the product and value of interest to gun owners. However, when you buy through links on our site, we may earn a commission to help support the costs of operating the site and keeping it free for our visitors.
If I wanted this look I would find a Charter Arms Explorer II and build my own version for 300 bucks. I don’t have 1500 to throw away if you couldn’t tell.
$$$$
I would paint the muzzle brake orange so when I pointed that gun at a cop he would think it was a toy and wouldn’t shoot me.
Now the BATFE might not, I think if you pointed a pop tart at them they’d smoke you up pretty good.
I was 11yo when this film came out; saw it on an outing at summer camp. I have no idea why near to 50 years later people have such an affinity for it. It was ok; Han Solo is totally cool but so, there’s so much better before and after to get your cos-play yayas out in.
“If you have to ask why Star Wars is cool, you’ll never know.”
– Max Rebo
The special effects were impressive at the time. The acting (except for Harrison Ford and James Earl Jones voice acting) was mediocre at best. The fight choreography was awful. The next generation of Star Wars films did most things better. I was into the original when it came out like many people, but then lots of things I loved when I was a kid seem pretty cheesy now.
For all its flaws, Star Wars did one thing that no other movie in the entire franchise has done: it hit the sweet spot for pure unadulterated FUN. The one good idea George Lucas ever had was to make what was essentially an updated “Flash Gordon” using modern special effects and moviemaking techniques. Sadly, he never understood why SW was such a hit, and spent the next 25 years trying to repeat that success with all the wrong tools and in all the wrong ways.
Star Wars is for losers.
johnnyboy…You could double for Jabba the Hutt.
and you Debbie W were jabba’s main squeeze
Some of us liked it long before it became the hip, “nerdy” thing to like, and before Disney wrote the book on How to Destroy a Franchise, Part Deux. It will be interesting to see if their new Snow White movie tanks.
For the guy that only thought he had the most useless firearm in the galaxy.
Something a person either really wants or doesn’t want at all.
Maybe if it was 9mm and half the price.
After what Disney has done to the once great franchise, I just don’t feel the need to spend any money on anything Star Wars related.
After what Disney has done to Disney, I don’t spend any money on anything Disney related.
The Trace Gives Trump a Roadmap to Undo Biden’s Gun Controls.
h ttps://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2024/11/16/the-trace-gives-trump-a-roadmap-to-undo-bidens-gun-controls-n1226916
Gun Control ‘Expert’ Seriously Beclowns Herself Before Congress.
h ttps://bearingarms.com/tomknighton/2024/11/16/gun-control-expert-beclowns-herself-n1226920
Anti-2A Activists Fret About the Quiet Boom in Silencer Ownership. (my note: alternative title…Anti-2A Activists Reveal, Again For The Thousand’ith Time, How Completely Ignorant They Are).
h ttps://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2024/11/16/anti-2a-activists-fret-about-the-quiet-boom-in-silencer-ownership-n1226915
MORE Guns LESS Crime: International Edition! FLOODED with AK47s Crime DROPPED?!
h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PphQQqFM3bE
Criminals Are Evil! So YOU Should Give Up YOUR Rights!
h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLQ2DMAt31M
Texas Woman Defends Herself, Shoots Armed Intruder Who Followed Her Home.
“A woman in DeSoto, Texas, is safe after defending herself against an armed intruder who followed her home and attempted to break in through her garage. The dramatic incident unfolded Friday night when neighbors on Raintree Circle reported hearing gunshots around 8 p.m.
According to the DeSoto Police Department, the woman noticed a dark truck trailing her after she left a nearby Taco Bell.
The truck followed her into her driveway, and a man armed with a pistol exited the vehicle. She immediately called 911, ran inside, and grabbed her handgun.
The man, later identified as 35-year-old Octavio Flores Mondragon, attempted to force his way into the home through the rear garage door while the woman screamed for help. Police dispatchers could hear the chaos on the call as the woman defended herself by firing multiple shots. …”
h ttps://www.ammoland.com/2024/11/texas-woman-defends-herself-shoots-armed-intruder-who-followed-her-home/
Is the USA on the Cusp of Passing National Constitutional Carry?
” … One piece of legislation at the forefront of this movement is Rep. Thomas Massie’s National Constitutional Carry Act (H.R. 9534), which aims to ensure that Americans can exercise their Second Amendment rights without interference from state or local restrictions.
…
What the Bill Does
H.R. 9534 guarantees the right to carry firearms nationwide by:
Eliminating penalties: Prohibits states and localities from imposing criminal or civil penalties on law-abiding individuals carrying firearms in public.
Overturning restrictive laws: Invalidates existing regulations that penalize lawful carry.
Covering all U.S. territories: Ensures uniform rights across states, D.C., Puerto Rico, and other territories.
As Rep. Massie explains, ‘No one should have to beg the government to exercise a constitutionally protected right anywhere in the country.’
Key Data Points
29 states already allow constitutional carry. Despite fears from gun control advocates, these states have not devolved into chaos. In fact:
A study in Ohio showed reduced gun-related crime in six cities after adopting constitutional carry.
Gun control strongholds like California and Illinois continue to face staggering violence, contradicting claims that stricter gun laws ensure safety.
Hunter King of the National Association for Gun Rights emphasizes: Twenty-nine states have proven [gun control advocates] wrong. Crime rates remain stable or even decline under constitutional carry laws. …”
h ttps://www.ammoland.com/2024/11/usa-on-the-cusp-of-national-constitutional-carry/
.40 call booger.
Yep and I’d just bet car hackings would go down if you could hunt down the perpetrators and hang them from a tree.
These vehicles have taken the places of horses in our lives so git a rope seems appropriate.
I feel like I’ve seen this before. Yep. I have.
h ttps://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/sci-fi-and-space-gat-1-the-ar-15-based-dl-44/
h ttps://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/battle-arms-solo-blaster/
Yes, of course you’ve read about this before. It’s the same author. He even said that in his article.
I was enthusiastic until I saw the absurd price tag – or I could buy a decent 1911
If you are going to do something, dont half a$$ it. At least make an attempt to make it look like the prop Ford used in Star Wars. Side mount the scope, put the ridges in the front part of the magazine well. Otherwise it is just a dressed up AR wanting to be something it is not. And not nearly as cool.
Unfortunately, the one reviewed in this article is still banned in Imperial-occupied New Jersey as an “assault weapon” due to its scary looks. Seriously, it’s banned here! We’re not allowed to have a magazine outside of the pistol grip because it looks too scary, so the C96 Mauser is banned too, as well as the Ruger 10/22 Charger. I’m waiting for the Rebel Alliance to liberate New Jersey from the evil Galactic Empire under Emperor Phil Murphy, but I won’t hold my breath. Meanwhile, I made my own DL-44 blaster from a Ruger Mark III with the exact same Canto Arms muzzle device shown above, walnut grips, a scope, and a few other modifications.