[1] The Model PD can be loaded with six .45 ACP pistol cartridges in the detachable internal magazine, plus one in the chamber, and was very popular with police and civilian users in the self-defense and backup gun role, especially in the United States.

These modifications, combined with its aluminum alloy construction, resulted in a slim, compact, lightweight and relatively powerful pistol, revolutionary for the time.

Very late-model PDs were built with manufacturing shortcuts, especially in the fabrication of the slide, and will not last as long as the earlier models.

Even the earlier models are more likely to wear out more quickly with the use of full-power ammunition than steel-framed pistols due to the lightweight alloy construction.

In addition, the pistol uses an internal plastic buffer to reduce the battering effects of recoil on the alloy frame.