Does anyone here like or carry modern derringers? I have a CVA .45 blackpowder derringer but was thinking of a little pocket gun. I don't know why but I just like them.

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Vaya con Dios

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Field Researcher. IGC

I actually think they're really cool... I just don't own one and would never carry one.

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- The Federalist #46 -

"Derringers do nothing well. Shun them." --Jeff Cooper

I like derringers, but I like my hand better.

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson

"..Except almost shoot yourself in the gonads with one when the safety pops off in your pocket...."


I have a friend who found this out, almost the fast, painful way.

One of the few designs that I just don't care for, however I would like to have an old colt to hang on the wall.

I have several 22 mag, 38, 45 acp 38 short. I wear a vest all the time, and a lot of the time there is one in my pocket. It usually accompanies a 45 in a shoulder holster or a 38 inside waistband holster. But they are a last resort belly gun. stick it in their belly and pull the trigger.

High Standards DAO design always fascinated me, and I've
owned a couple. Probably will again, but not for carry. TACC1

I carry a NAA 22LR all the time. In my shirt pocket. Not much of a gun but beats the Hell out of not having one.

Had some. Sold them.

Quote the Raven: "Never More"

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Corripe Cervisiam

Better than nothing. Always room for a back-back-back-up.



Don't carry it but it has a classic charm.

Like: Yes
Own: Yes
Carry: Nope

...DITTO...

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is it just me?

I modified the above broken High Standard Derringer with a main spring of my own design and an improved striker spring. The result is a trigger pull that is 3 pounds less than factory and rim (primer) strikes that are more solid than original.
I like to carry my .22 magnum derringer as a back-up to my KelTec PMR30. This gives me 32 rounds of .22 magnum without reloading.
I first became impressed with the power of the .22 magnum back in the early 70s when I responded to a double shooting where both fatalities were caused from a single shot each from a HS .22 magnum derringer.
Mark

In 1963 I traded into a "Great Western" .38spl Derringer. At 25 yards I was able to keep both shots in the "Kill Area" of a B-27 target.

In 1966 I had a "High Standard" Derringer in .22 magnum. I was still able to put both shots in the "Kill Area" of a B-27 target.

In 1968 I traded into a "Maverick" .357 Derringer-Which I couldn't hit a barn with plus it was "HEAVY" in weight.

In 1991 My shift supervisor had a "High Standard" .22 magnum Derringer that he carried in his right rear pocket as a "BUG". Him and no one else could hit a B-27 target at 7 yards. We never could find where the bullets were going.

My Wife has a small collection of "Little Pistols" which includes Derringers, NAA Revolvers, and .25acp Semi-Autos.

IMHO the rightful place for these "Little Guys" is "Deep Cover" to be used when everything else is out of ammo, been lost, or jammed.

Also has a safety device when hiking in Bear Country with a companion that might run faster than you when being chased by a hungrey/mad Bear.

I got my first one in '68. A German 22 LR. Since then I've had a HS in 22 Mag and I still have a HS knock-off from a defunct company in Arizona. I have carried them on rafting trips and once in downtown Reno. They aren't much good for anything but, as the man says, "better than nothing."

I like and own one of NAA's mini revolvers. Mine is the short barrel .22WMR version. Don't know if the ballistics are any better than the .22LR version, but the bark and flash is pretty crazy. There are a couple of .22WMR short barrel specific loads out and I keep meaning to try some to see if they feel any different. I like the NAA's hammer rest notch between the chambers.

Like, Yes.
That is untill i tried one
Had the craving for one to fill my Cowboy alias pocket.
But after i shot one of the Davies .38, the craving went away.
They look cool, but i got my self two IverJohnson .38S&W revolvers instead

Got these years ago. Just always liked them.

My Wife has one like your two. Her's is a "Butler".

These guys just came out with a 12oz to 14oz 45acp derringer which resembles the High Standard derringer. You can shoot it first...

Heizer Defense - Creators of DoubleTap™

I like the old HS, just cause. I don't carry them, I don't shoot them particularly well, but they are kinda funky, and certainly cheap enough to indulge in.

Have had a few; a West German .22LR pot metal one back in the early 60s that always went bang. Then a Hy Hunter Remington style one in .357 Magnum (!) that hurt like hell to shoot and was probably unsafe at any speed. When it quit working 30 years ago I mounted in a shadow box and it sat above the TV till last year. Numrich had the parts and I put it back into firing condition. Put two rounds of .38 Specials through it and declared victory. Don't expect to push my luck any further with it.

Always sort of liked the High Standards and recently got one in .22 LR. It's not real practical but neither do I expect it to blow up in my hand. I was going to disassemble it and give a thorough cleaning until I read the instructions and popped the side plate as in the one shown above. I put a few drops of oil where it seemed it might do the most good, and buttoned it up again. (I don't do clocks, either).

Mr. LaPell,

As you are seeing, many dislike them. I feel a large part of this is there have been soooooo many derringers that were junk.

I bought an American Derringer in 45 ACP years ago (like 30 now) as a pocket piece to match my 1911s. Wonderful reliability. Absolutley never failed to go bang.

Absolutley bad sights. A huge design flaw that they have never, ever corrected is that the sights are merely for looks. Their height and placement have to correlation to what the little guy needs to place the bullet where you want it.

Prior to me altering mine it would put both rounds about four inches left and thirteen inches high at fifteen feet. The rounds would be about two inches apart.

I removed the front sight and installed a higher one in a dovetail. Now it shoots within an inch or so of point of aim.

One place that the derringer excells is as a "get off me" gun. No out of battery problems and no cylinder gap. The bullet and all of the gas go into the bad guy.

They are heavy, at least compared to toadys plastic fantastics. Loaded, mine weighs exactly one pound.

With two 260 grain soft lead bullets at over 900 fps it doesn't lack power.


Cat

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Think for yourself.

Don't much care for them myself. But if you want one "Bond" is the Rolls Royce of derringers.

Only when I play poker.

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

They make those in a 45.70, right? Well, I guess as an absolute last ditch resort, I'd pull the trigger, but I sure can't imagine doing it for fun!

Isn't Taurus rumored to be making one soon?
.45/.410 -- *The Justice of the Piece?*

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In dog years I'm dead.

I like the "a cheap gun to get another gun with" concept behind the Liberator or Cobray/Daniel/Leinad derringers... But I never saw one that was the right blend of dependability and low price, for my tastes.

Were they cheap enough, yet fired every time, I wouldn't mind having a few of them stashed around some of my workplaces, retreat, or home. Their size would make them easy to hide, and I wouldn't feel terrible if I had lost one to the elements or theft. I'd almost always have the one or two shots necessary to get to a more suitable firearm. However, most of the dependable ones are no less expensive than entry level revolvers and semi-autos. Actually most of the dependable ones cost more than my favorite sidearm, and aren't considerably smaller than more-popular semi-auto deep-conceal pistols.

The nicer ones like Bond Arms or NAA are certainly interesting, but not inexpensive or practical enough for me to consider adding to my battery in place of other arms on my "to get" list.

At $729 for a titanium frame derringer, I can carry a titanium J frame with 5 rounds of .357 magnum available. Even the aluminum frame model is $499, and you still get only 2 shots before a reload. There may be a niche for these guns, but I don't think they'll stay in business at these prices.

I've owned several over past years. Most were junk, plain and simple. They are truly impractical because those few, of good quality construction, are usually heavy and nearly as large as most 5 shot small frame revolver's in .38 or a small auto in .380 The only exception I make is the North American Mini Revolver in .22LR, which I still carry as a BUG to my BUG. It is a weapon of absolute last resort.

Old and collectable antique models are interesting, like many of those previously mentioned. In my opinion, that may be where they best belong, in a collection to admire.

Cheers;
Lefty

I shot a Leinad/cobray/whatever they were calling themselves then double derringer in 410. (they can say it's .45/410 all they want, I'm pretty sure there was no rifling in that thing) the barrels were exactly three inches long, so if you wanted a shell that could do something, you could see the tip of it in the end of the barrels. You had to manually switch the firing pin from one barrel to the next, and I wouldn't exactly call the thing "Accurate" from more than five feet away. And that is exactly what they are meant for: Cheap, reliable close range self defense for a shopkeeper to have under the counter or to throw under your seat when you're worried about carjackers.

There's something attractive about derringers. They're cheap enough that they'd make nice little collector's pieces or hideout guns, and I'd consider using one of the double action ones, like the High Standard or American Derringer DA38, as a pocket gun.

You carry a J frame when you don't have room for a real gun, and you carry a derringer when you don't have room for a J frame.

I have an American Derringer in .44 Special, carried only rarely now.

Early in our marriage (about 1980), my now ex-wife heard that 1 in 5 officers shot were shot with their own gun. She thought I should have a "last ditch" gun so she bought it for me on the recommendation of a gun shop.

At 7 yards the bottom barrel shoots "close" to aim, but the top barrel bumps it's shot up about 10 inches at the same 7 yards. I learned to set the little gun up so the bottom barrel is the first to fire. Oh, and sometimes the .44 caliber bullets "tumble", so that at 7 yards I sometimes get a hole in the target about .44 x .70 caliber (the profile of the tumbling bullet); not all of the time, just sometimes.

The little thing has a hefty recoil. After about 6 shots out of it my hand begins to ache a bit - and I'm not particularly recoil sensitive. Sometimes I let others shoot it. You should see the expression on their faces after two shots!

I still occasionally carry it (not as a primary though) for grins and giggles.

I like the Rick Derringer and the McCoys song Hang on Sloopy. I have it in 45. That's 45 RPM's.

Never owned one, never fired one, but for some inexplicable reason I have this irrational desire to acquire a Bond Arms derringer in .44 Special. I guess it's the draw of a novel gun in a semi-novel caliber.

Good day,
I bought a new Hi-Standard 22 mag derringer in 1980. I would like to know more about your mod. My concern has always been a smoother trigger
pull. Any suggestions? I have good tool skills.

I never owned one, but I've always loved the look of the original Remington. I've never seen a modern copy that really has that "just right" look and feel.

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Rick, W0FG
CTR2 68-72

I've always loved derringers. Had a High-Standard in .22 mag.
Would love a Bond in .44 if they made a 4 1/4" barrel for it.
Oh... at arms reach... you don't use sights!

Why is it... people compare one type of hand gun to another?
A derringer is not in the same category as a J frame... it's not even a revolver.

Never owned or shot one. Now I'm interested.

Bob Munden using the Bond derringer. Worth watching!

Bob Munden Hits the target from 65 yards - YouTube

Bob Munden Balloons - YouTube

Bob Munden Shooting a Poker Chip - YouTube

Funny thing; yesterday was our once a month cc pratice night at church. All day I wanted to shoot my 22Mag. and 38spec. DA derringers, 4 shots from each, never found where either one was hitting at 10 yards, at the end of the night 4 more shots from the 22Mag. at 5 yards and still have no idea where POI is. I have a Davis in 32acp that at 7 yards each barrel groups about 3" and those groups are 14" apart, this I find to be very acceptable. I also have American Derringer that appears to be a pre-Bond Arms, it is in 357mag. I got it to put the 2 barrels around 3 inches apart at 21 feet by shooting a 357-110gr Silvertip in one barrel and a 38special 158gr lead SWC NON+P in the other. If you have any type of modern made derringer take several varities of ammo, and several targets to a range where yo get to shoot close. Start at 2 or 3 yards, use seperate targets for seperate ammos, work your way back, make notes, and you'll find what the gun can do and what each barrel likes, then you can decide if the gun will do what you need it to do. I didn't do this with the 2 DA derringers, so at a time when I have a short range to myself I will. Ivan

Yes, Like them very much. Not alloud to carry them.

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Holy old thread Batman! This was first posted in March.

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Luke 22:36

bond arms , versatile little piece comes in 11 calibers. quick change .
good little woods gun w/ 410/45 barrel . chck out thier web site

I have one an Excam, imported in the 80's? It's a 38 spl., it shoots close to point of aim and I do carry it sometimes off side as a back up to my 638. I do have lighter loads for it.

I don't mind them if the BG has one, against my revolver...

I have a High Standard 22 magnum in blue steel and carry it certain places. Loaded with hollow points.

The closest thing I have to a derringer is a Walther TPH, but I'm not allowed to carry it anymore because it is a .22. A TPH in .25 Auto is okay, but no rimfires.

I finally ran across one of these that wasn't overpriced when I was undermoneyed. I like it, mostly for the fireworks when I touch it off at dusk.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”