Derringers

Derringers are great. Improve the triggers, centerfire, and usually as a back up or just for the fun of it. Buffalo Arms 357/38 have an excellent trigger, much better than many "striker fired guns". I have 22 mag,38,357,9mm,380, 45 Col, 45/410 and wish I never got rid of my 44 mag, even though it was truly a handful. Trying to decide on a 44 spl or 44 mag? Just got the itch for another. I have never had them break or misfire. Definitely works as a GOM gun. Be Safe,

Note: 2018 I have acquired a 41 mag and 44 mag American Derringers, only thing I need would be the 45-70, but it's only a single shot.
The full house 44 mags are a bit " stiff", so 200 gr 44 special Speer gold gets the nod.

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I BACK OUR BLUE

This is a high quality firearm!

The Bond Arms Ranger ll

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Nationality: Confederate

Had one in .38 Special from American Derringer a few years back. 158gr factory loads were definitely not comfortable to touch off. Went to a bunny fart 90gr handload for playtime. Never carried.

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A closed mouth gathers no foot

I have always felt "under-gunned" with a J-frame..

Not so with the Ranger ll .. I like the first number to be a "4"!

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Nationality: Confederate

Have a Cobra CB38 stuffed with snake shot. Fits perfectly in the pocket (even basketball shorts) when in the yard. Disadvantage is the capacity as well as the trigger. Recoil is not too bad though.

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Jorge

DId not realize there where that many snakes in your area? You can contact Cobra and they will lighten the trigger. Just FYI Be Safe,

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I BACK OUR BLUE

I have a 38Cal.Cobra Derringer I picked up somewhere.
The only thing I would use it for is to throw it at a bad Guy.
The Barrels are made of some kind of Pot Metal with Steel Sleeves inside. The Trigger has to be pulled in and down but at least the safety is so hard to work it wont go off by itself.

I really love the single-shot derringers, never had one though. I would pick one up for the right price but it might only get carried on special occasions. I'd feel like a TRUE gentleman wearing a suit with a derringer in the vest pocket.

There are many spring/fall jackets whose pockets are too short for even the approximately 6.5" length of a J-frame. This is where a derringer, particularly in .45, shines. Very handy at night in the parking garage of a casino where you can have your hand on a .45 in your pocket. Ask me.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

I have a Bond Arms Ranger ll...
It was totally disassembled.. all wear points polished.. sear engagement checked.. hammer spring shorten 10%.. and lubricated with a special oil I use. This gun is the later version that has the wider hammer spur and improved trigger. The pistol now has a hammer that is about 40% easier to cock and the trigger pull is set at 3 3/4 pounds.. which is light for a pistol of this type!
The lubricant is a blend of synthetic oil and TS-70 moly grease. It's hard to lube a stainless firearm because stainless is prone to metal galling, the moly grease is a paste and contains 70% molybdenum disulfide.
The ammo I use after many rounds of testing is a hot .45 Colt and lighter bullet than normal. This gives better speed from the 4 1/4" barrel and better bullet expansion from the short barrel. Hornady Critical Defense has proven to be a good factory load and a few of my hand loads has performed well in my test too.

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Nationality: Confederate

I've had good results with .410 slug loads in my Bond 3.5" .410 bbl, but another poster claimed they were only the equivalent of a .380 ACP load. Not having a chronograph, I could not verify this. There is a 2.5" Brenneke .410 round that kicks like the 3" W-W slug load. You may like it as much as I.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

Like the look of them, but don't own one.

Kind of like a SA revolver, there is just something cool about them.

I just have the High Standard D100 in .22lr, plus a 'Philidephia' percussion Derringer. I had a Bond in ..357mag, but it has been replaced with a Taurus 'no' View which occupies the same amount of space, weighs less and holds five.

I love those well-worn IWB suede pouches; something very cool about them. Please tell me what is a Taurus 'no' View? Is it a View without a plastic sideplate?

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

Exactly, they went to aluminum side plates like their other 85 series guns. They still polished up the innards....but you can't see them.
For golf, I might still use the derringer.

Bond Arms Back-Up.
Amazingly it's fairly accurate.

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

I carried a High Standard .22 Magnum Derringer every day that I was with Dallas PD. It was clipped to my vest under the left arm in a Bianchi #6 IWB holster. It was really a third stringer as I also carried a 50s vintage Centennial on my left leg.

Accuracy wise I can put two bullets in the kill zone of a B21 target at 25 yards. One barrel shoots right to the sights but the other is a little low.

With CCI TNT or +V the velocity is 1200 fps.

I'm not a real big fan of single action Derringers. For me cocking the hammer is awkward enough just target shooting...I would not have to do it while fighting someone....that is why I like the HS...point and pull... One of the State Police agencies down south used to issue HS Derringers as official backup guns many years ago...

Bob

Whatever you like is okay with me, but I don't see the point. A gun roughly the size and weight of a J-frame, firing two rounds and harder to control with a reasonably powerful cartridge?

Maybe as a backup to a J-frame backup, the way SuperMan used one. I just prefer five rounds in a small package.

To each, of course, his own.

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Oh well, what the hell.

I found this one on Gun's International. 9mm. I can hit a silhouette target more or less in the middle at 5 yards. The kick is not as bad as some said, but is significant. Gun is 5/8 inch thick, and disappears in pocket holster. Not sure yet what I think about it. Those who are fans of the .22 mag should look at BBTI - Ballistics by the Inch :: Results and compare it to a .25 acp. Not encouraging.

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I have a nice little Cobra of Utah with barrel sets in 32 H&R Magnum, 380 Auto and 38 Special. Gun works great and serves it's original intended purposes to stop card thieves across the table and or protect working girls in old saloons. Note: All calibers are very accurate out to 10 feet, but they key hole paper targets at that distance; probably best to just put a hefty revolver on the table to avoid any conflict.

Question: Is this post cool or what?

Answer: It is VERY cool!

Smith & Wesson Governor Revolver w/ 2.5 in. barrel*
88-gr. Winchester slug 1217 fps 289 ft/lbs

Speer gold dot 90 gr 961 fps 185 ft/lbs Bersa Firestorm 3.5" barrel
From BBTI

I will stick with the 44 special!!

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I BACK OUR BLUE

22 Magnum works for me.
Making a brass grip frame for the Derringer.
Circa 1980

Talk about a thread with legs--this one is over six years old. I guess the fascination with derringers just goes on and on. I was surprised to see it still running.

But then I don't see the appeal of a two-shot handgun almost as big and heavy as a five-shot J-frame, even as backup. If I carried a backup it would be a second J.

Guess I just have too little sense of coolness and too much desire for effectiveness.

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Oh well, what the hell.

The only one worth carrying is the Bond derringer, had one and sold it because you might as well carry a J frame 38 spl. because they're close the same size.

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Dave Ramsey Cultist

Derringers are inherently dangerous and a waste of time. As a rule they are hard to shoot, heck, they are HARD TO COCK, and they are certainly useless except up close and personal. Notwithstanding Bob Munden's skills - he was a different kind of human being.

That said, derringers have a place if you have the right ones. The ONLY right ones as far as I am concerned are High Standard double action derringers. No hammer to cock, just point and shoot. I have two. One is NIB/Safe Queen. The other lives in the pocket of my robe so when I am bouncing around the house or putting out the trash there is always a gun handy, no matter how diminutive.

I do have an old Remington .41 rimfire. Very cool piece but I refuse to shoot it, much less carry it!

NIB - HS .22.




Still have the box, I think, but it lives in the Class III Galco holster:





Silly little gun - mini-revolver, not a derringer:



BTW, there is a Forum member who has a detailed story of how a HS .WMR as shown in my first pictures saved his life in Vietnam.

I read so much about guns this and guns that that after awhile it all blurs and I don't even realize I covered the same grounds as I did two years ago. It was only when I noticed my own thread cited by me above that it dawned on me that this is an old road!

Have owned a couple of the classic 2 barrel derringers. Have now switched to a NAA 22 mag. At about 80 ft.lb of energy these are for stick in their nose and pull the trigger.

How about the COP with 4 barrels of 357. Shown here with a Rohrbaugh for size.

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On the lighter side, original poster’s name David LaPell and derringers bring to mind visions of riverboat gamblers down in New Orleans.
Just saying.

I have had this Model CB Cal. .38 Spcl.for years.

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Life is short,live it fully.

I don’t live down south or in snake country, but I do occasionally hunt there. If I did, I think it would be nice to have one in 410/45 loaded with snake shot, so my real sidearm wouldn’t be buggered up with snake shot in the first two chambers. I’m pretty sure I could find a use or two outside of this as well, to justify the ‘neat factor’ of owning one. A nice one like a Bond Arms.

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Oui Chef!

Having to cock a Derringer for a second shot is one reason why the HS D101 22Mag is on the kids list of family keepers.
First gun my boy carried in public and then switched to the M59 the following day.
Too impatient to wait for two of three villains to line up.

I've never carried this, but I had to have it just because. I'm sure everyone understands! IF I carried it, it would be as a back-up to something else. I still haven't felt the need to do that, though. It's just a fun little novelty:

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I too have a Cobra .38 Spl Derringer. I mostly use it for a paper weight. It's not much fun to touch off.

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Paul
Salome, AZ

I always thought they were to expensive. They weigh about same a snub revolver and about the same size. I figure the recoil would be hand punishing to say the least. I never liked the open trigger. I just never could see anything pro about them to buy one.

If I want something small and light weight to fit my front pocket I will put my LCR 357 in it.