I went to a cop shop to pick up a Type 99 Arisaka that had been up to no good and wound up in a police evidence room somewhere, then been traded for credit towards police gear. Since I had already paid for the background check I thought I'd throw something else (cheap) on the form.

And there she was......



Covered in evidence tape residue, grips held on with felonious rubber bands, and priced to sell.

I've had one before (a .32) that was so awful I gave it to a dog handler to use to train his dog to find guns.

The other side was no better.



Seemed all there and functional, though.



My long-suffering bride had come along for the ride. Is that nail polish? she asked.

I got it home and went to work. Evidence tape is designed to leave a mess to prevent easy tampering. I scraped what I could, and used Goo Gone on the rest. The grips stayed in place even though a screw was missing, so bye bye rubber bands.







It turned out to be a .22 Magnum under the stickum, which is a nice bonus. Even if I can't hit anything because of the 20 pound trigger pull I will at least deafen anyone nearby.

Oh - if you're not up on your bargain basement blasters, it is a Davis DM-22.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

I have a 100 + year old Remington derringer just like that in .41 Rimfire. Davis did a great job replicating the old Remingtons. I need to dig it out and post a picture.

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Come and take it!!

I thought you were ripped off at the $25 tag until I saw the after pictures. As usual, I am wrong and foolish.

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Possum—The other white meat!

I’d opt for the pizza myself because I’ve had plenty experience with Davis derringers. Also with pizza.

I'm more interested in the Arisaka. What model and was it complete? How was it up to no good? Drive by bayoneting as ammo is hard to come by?

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Release the Kraken

I bet with a little work you can get the trigger pull down to 18 lb...

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My sgntr is mor thn 30 chrctrs

It is a really nice Type 99 - all complete. Most of them I see are missing the upper handguards and the cleaning rod, but not this one. Good bore, very sticky action until I cleaned and oiled it.

No evidence tape on this one - just a case number neatly marked on the stock in some kind of white pen that came right off.

No way to tell how it wound up in a PD evidence room, or how long it had been there. It could have been recovered as stolen property but the original owner didn’t know the serial number to be entered in NCIC. Could be a suicide gun, or it may have been used in an assault of some kind.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

For some reason I like derringers. I've had 4 or 5 of the Davis' models and one in 22 Magnum. With 40 grain High velocity ammo it shot terrible. But with Federal's 50 gr revolver loading (Product #757) it consistently put 2 shots from each barrel into 4" at 50 feet. (2" smaller groups than a Hi-Standard 22 Mag Derringer).

I have 2 of the Davis 32 ACP derringers. They recommended Winchester STHP ammo and I do get acceptable groups from it. ( I have a set of suspenders with a built in holster for The small Davis frame (won't hold a 38 Special size) and have carried a 32 for 25 years at Cowboy shoots. (90 gr. all lead bullet hand loads, WW231, data from old Winchester loading pamphlet) and it shoots very accurately at 5 yards, for side matches where you cut a playing car in half with one shot.

In the mid 90's those guns sold new for $29 to 32. Used I got one for $10. Now I see them used for $69 (Police Evidence Room trade-ins)

Ivan

Ive found derringers better than rocks for protection. Just barely..

From the OP's descriptions, seems the derringer saw more combat than the Arisaka. When I attended shows out here, there was an FFL who sold these little D's for $179 to $199 or so. No way I'd pay that kind of $ for them, but $25? Fill up this barrel for me, please! D's are a love 'em/hate 'em proposition. There a a few of us on this forum who think they're the greatest thing since sliced bread (They are ).

These cheapies often found their way to NYC and, I'm certain, other Eastern metropolises. Carry permits being unavailable,these D's were popular with otherwise law-abiding folks who absolutely needed a firearm to do nearly impossible feats, such as ride the subway safely in the wee hours. In this capacity, they would go for $200+.

My .32 model doesn't shoot groups; indeed, I do not try to. It will,however, put 2 holes in the abdomen of a silo target. And the trigger seems better than that of the Bond D, which, of course, is not difficult to do.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

In this market, that gunncan be easily flipped for $100. You did good OP

Yes, OP did good, but I wouldn't flip it. He's not going to find another gun like that for $25 in this market. And having it in his pocket might be worth more than the additional $75...

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

Put some fake pearl stocks on it and go full pimpalicious!


Seriously, how wrong could you possibly go for only $25. I wish we had shops like that around here, but in Virginia, most jurisdictions destroy evidence firearms.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

Speaking of Pizza, we had pizza just yesterday but it cost way more than $25.00 ...... Now had we not bought all that beer, we probably would have come in for less than $25.00 ...... Cool piece and good on you for the clean up job!

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I only take a knee for God

Bet a Guy getting beaten and mugged in NYC would trade a Rolex for it my friend. Col Colt made everyone equal.

What was that Mark Twain story about the guy with the gun, the only safe place was directly in front of it?

BUT!, Did it come with the ventilated cardboard evidence box??

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Still Running Against the Wind

You could have gotten a pizza and a really nice rock for less than $25 bucks and the rock would be more accurate, plus it would never blow up in your hand.

Seriously for $25 I would have probably bought it to.

You did good. Better you than me; not a derringer fan and I would have passed at a lowly $25. But it's worth a lot more than that if you want to flip it. Cleaned up very nicely!

I had one of these in 38spl a Davis as I remember the trigger pull was in the "is it broke range". The trigger pull is easy to correct, as I did mine. I sold mine a few years later when I could afford a better carry gun.

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Randy

Imagine my surprise to walk into a gun show in Rutland VT last year, and there sat a guy at a table full of junk, and among-st the junk was a stack of 7.7mm ammo. Needless to say I made his day by buying every box at $5 a pop. Anyway, I have a beauty of a 99. Cleaning rod, wire monopod, anti aircraft site, bayonet and unblemished chrysanthemum...all in excellent condition. It came to me fully encased in cosmoline, I was surprised at the condition when I cleaned it. Fun to shoot to.

I once shot a squirrel with a OU 22 derringer at about 20yds. First shot out of it. I had bought like 10 or 12 of them at 4/ $99.95. I wasn’t trying to hit the squirrel, I wanted it to move so boy could see it and shoot with shotgun. This really freaked me out, thought I had worlds only match grade derringer. At home I shoot 22s in basement. I shoot across basement and through a door into garage where there is bullet trap. I’m only shooting 36’ when using old ironing board for rest. The door into garage is 36” . I sandbagged the derringer and touched one off. Nothing, WTH. No hit on target and if I missed trap bullet would have hit block wall. After looking around for several minutes, we found bullet hole in the edge of the door going into garage. Come to find out derringer never hit same place twice.

Good Job OP. I have derringers from 22 LR to 44 Mag, some shoot better than others, but they all are fun. Be Safe,

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I BACK OUR BLUE

Nice one! A true classic from the California 'Ring of Fire'!

..and with that Vent Rib you won't be getting any heat distortion effect when sighting down the barrel at your target.
A very important factor to consider if it ever becomes necessary to fire multiple rounds at an aggressor.

Now the search is on for a speed scabbard....

I had a distributor out of Youngstown, Ohio that specialized in cheap and imported low end stuff. I would usually buy a “unit” of guns if they were 22s. Most were junk like Ring of Fire stuff. There were a few that were good guns at a good price. There was a American made derringer, OU flip barrel made of stainless and brass. Not good for anything but nicely made and I think about $12 if you bought 6. When shipment from their arrived it was like Christmas. A lot of guys would buy one of each like penny candy. I might get 5 or 6 different guns.

I bought a single-shot .22 derringer from a buddy in High School for $5. Unlike you, I think that I overpaid.

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Only a cold warrior

I had a Davis .25 but i upgraded to a percussion pepperbox

In 1963 I traded for a "Great Western" .38 special Derringer. Using standard 158 grain LRN I could keep both shots in the kill zone of a B-27 target at 25 yards.
The next Derringer was a High Standard Derringer in .22 Magnum. This was the Derringer that Mark Twain spoke about. Both barrels shot in two different directions.

I went in a gun store one day in the early 1990s and there was a stack of boxed, brand new Davis .32 and .22 magnum derringers in blue and chrome for $38.95 each. I wasn't looking for one but I had that much money on me so I left with a chrome .32, and I'm not sure I could reliably hit a pie plate at 25 feet but I still kinda liked the little gun. It was perfectly reliable and it would hide in a lot of tiny places and the only other guns that were close to being that small were .25acps and I never had confidence in that round.

The rubber bands added character.

Kind of a slip on grip adapter!

Ivan

It's also a "street" method used by BGs for securing a gun inside the waistband.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

You should'a bought another pizza!

Yeah, kinda like a zip gun.

I had one of the .32 ACP Davis derringers. It would keep both shots in the chest area of a B 27 target at 7 yards. Good enough for me.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Take the pizza, leave the gun.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Say what you will about derringers.

I learned from more than one LEO older and more experienced than I, that a derringer carried on duty is not a bad idea.

I may or may not carry one in my pocket when working.

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Un-Reconstructed Southerner

I've got one of those in 22 LR. My brother gave it to me. I'm afraid of it. The trigger pull is a million pounds.
You can't hit nothing.
It could go off if dropped.
Don't tell me you couldn't drop it.

A now deceased friend had one of those in 38 in his back pocket. He was washing his feet in a sink. He slipped, the gun went off and shot him through the lower buttock.
But that ain't what killed him. He died from drinking.

Tell it like it is, partner! There may be many more derringers in LEO pockets than we know, simply because we do not tell. I never shoot them for grouping. Both rounds in a paper pie plate at 3-5 feet is what I'm looking for. Be safe, partner. Check 6.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103