I have been intrigued for quite some time with the notion of an American Derringer Co. (of Waco, TX) and the idea of a Remington-pattered (two-barreled) derringer chambered for the .45 S&W Cartridge (a.k.a. .45 Schofield.) With modern propellants the cartridge can be loaded to the same bullet weight/velocities as the .45 ACP cartridge, but a bit more efficiently.

Question:
Do you like this idea? If not, why not?

Choices:
Yes. (What fun! A revolver and derringer for CAS!)
No! What's the point? we already have the ACP.
Perhaps, This could revive the .45 S&W in a "pocket revolver."
No. It's just another set of dies and bunch of brass with which to deal.

 

quote:

With modern propellants the cartridge can be loaded to the same bullet weight/velocities as the .45 ACP cartridge, but a bit more efficiently.

I don't know about others but that is one I can live without. Any real or imagined gains in performance would be more than offset by the much larger selection of ammo for other rounds.

And besides derringers are a very poor choice for a sidearm. It is hard to imagine any purpose where any derringer would be a top choice.

The market would be very limited. It is unlikely that high pressure .45 SW ammunition would ever be offered commercially, as there would be a dangerous that such might find its way into older revolvers with potentially dangerous results. (I'm aware that .45 Colt +P loads are sold commercially, but to a large extent these are limited to boutique offerings.)

The use of handloaded ammunition in a defensive firearm remains controversial, so many users would not want a PDW that required them to "roll their own". CAS shooters meanwhile don't usually have the need for more powerful loadings, and could simply drop .45 SW cowboy loads into .45 Colt derringers if they were so inclined.

The suggestion of a big bore pocket revolver - a latter day British Bulldog - does probably have merit. I think that the .45 SW is the wrong round to stack such fortunes on for the reasons mentioned above.

There is no need for a derringer chambered for the .45 S&W rd. Just pick one up in .45 Colt and load the shorter rd. in it. Perfect fit, and you can have the illusion of accomplishing whatever you were wanting to do in the first place. And if you decide to shoot .45 Colt in it you can. Unfortunately it will still be a derringer with all the faults of the breed.

Even that can be remedied, you can later trade it for something useful, at the expense of taking a whipping at trade in time.

The old 45U.S. load was a 230 gr. bullet at about 800 fps and was what the 45acp was based on and works great in all 3 case lengths