The phase pistol was the hand weapon issued to the crew of Enterprise NX-01, a precursor of the phaser with stun and kill settings.
Phase pistols were among the newest equipment aboard Enterprise when it launched in 2151. They fired bolts of directed energy rather than the continuous beam of later phasers, and offered a stun setting along with a lethal one. Armory officer Malcolm Reed was responsible for their maintenance and took particular pride in the weapons.
The pistols were used throughout Enterprise's missions, from first contacts that turned hostile to the Xindi campaign. They were steadily improved during the period and represent an intermediate step between the projectile and laser weapons of earlier Earth history and the true phasers of the following century.