[bumthum]

I've begun a dive into Davis auto pistols and, while gathering the usual collectables, I stumbled across these boxes on eBay. The listing says it's a Davis Industries box with CA-32 / CA-380 instructions. So I thought it was odd enough to buy one. It arrived yesterday and, while the description was accurate, I found a Cobra Enterprises sticker permanently affixed inside the bottom of the box under all the paperwork.

So my question is, did Cobra Enterprises use up left over Davis Industries parts and packaging materials in their early years and simply slap a sticker in the box to avoid confusion? That makes sense to me, I see some evidence that Phoenix Arms used left over Raven Arms parts when they first started producing the Raven, but I'm completely unfamiliar with Cobra Enterprises and what route they took to putting the former Davis pistols back into production.

 

[adam01364]

My question is, did Cobra Enterprises use up left over Davis Industries parts and packaging materials in their early years and simply slap a sticker in the box to avoid confusion? That makes sense to me, I see some evidence that Phoenix Arms used left over Raven Arms parts when they first started producing the Raven, but I'm completely unfamiliar with Cobra Enterprises and what route they took to putting the former Davis pistols back into production.

From everything I gleaned off the two previous versions of the BJJA forum, the answer is Yes.

FWIW, it appears you've got a transition box. Very cool. Note the instructions are for a CA-32 or CA-380; those are Cobra Model numbers. Furthermore, the grips in the picture on the instructions are featureless, without a logo (or serrations). As you probably already know, Davis grips featured "DI" in a circle (for Davis Industries), much as Cobra grips featured a "CE" in a circle (for Cobra Enterprises)

 

[bumthum]

From everything I gleaned off the two previous versions of the BJJA forum, the answer is Yes.

FWIW, it appears you've got a transition box. Very cool. Note the instructions are for a CA-32 or CA-380; those are Cobra Model numbers. Furthermore, the grips in the picture on the instructions are featureless, without a logo (or serrations). As you probably already know, Davis grips featured "DI" in a circle (for Davis Industries), much as Cobra grips featured a "CE" in a circle (for Cobra Enterprises)

I guess I assumed the grips on the pistol on the manual were left over Davis laminate wood grips. My Davis P-380 has the black plastic grip panels you described, while my Davis P-32 has laminate wood grips. Both of my Davis autos are later, or at least not early, as they lack the Davis logo on the slide, they have just a simple roll stamp with the company info.

It's interesting the Cobra would be willing to step into the market by selling their guns in the boxes of a dead company, but presumably the people buying CA-32/CA-380s new weren't doing so for collecting purposes. The fact that their Cobra pistol came in a Davis box might have even escaped their notice.