Derringer: Primary Carry?

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Great thread with some good info - Thanks OP! Just had two guys in the house working on shutters. They're from a good company, and they had no idea I was carrying my little NAA.

I regularly accomplish the same feat with a Glock 26. But hey, if you wanna conceal in a Speedo...

Concealed carry isn't that hard.
 
I think Derringers are neat. I am thinking of getting a few. I used to have a couple long ago, .22 calbre. I would not consider it a viable / practical or reasonably defendable defense choice but I can see one for trail hiking in .45 with .410 shot for snakes etc. On the other hand if it's all one has & can be shot well, U got 2 for sure & as many extra rounds as U can carry.

The likely scenario of have to present a weapon quickly is generally a pretty low likelihood event for most folks. So cocking a SA I don't see as a make or break factor. Also, once presented at close range U have a compelling reason for someone to change their mind regarding taking an offensive action against U. That's both sides of the coin in my opinion.
 
I regularly accomplish the same feat with a Glock 26. But hey, if you wanna conceal in a Speedo...

Me in a Speedo ... :) ... an absolutely shocking concept. On a serious note, I have heard about folks being assaulted, robbed or worse after allowing seemingly legitimate workers into their home. I guess I have the good fortune of not having anything visible in the house that anyone else would want! Sure enough, I have a G26 Gen4 that I haven't even fired ... :(
 
I have the good sense to live in a great and safe neighborhood, in a good state - so I have options. Your "devil" is in the details; what makes you so sure that I would be stupid enough to let folks into the house who look like they might try to jump me? Good Lord - I understand the concept of Armchair Quarterback, but give me a break!! Actually, and this point continually flies over the head of so many commenters here - the best weapon we all have is that chunk of neurons between our ears. So, let me say this another way: I have the good sense to not put my self into any dangerous situation without having some recourse. I carry the little NAA often because it is small and inconspicuous - but I wouldn't take it to an assault on the Manson family compound ...
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Doh!!

Edited to add: Dock - where you be gettin' that holster? That's pretty slick!
You didnt answer my question but that is ok. If i have someone coming to my house that makes me think i should be armed, i carry a suitable fighting pistol & pay extra attention.
Like many, you carry an unsuitable pocket gun because it makes you feel good. You even admitted they could have over powered you so were you really properly prepared? I would submit no. Like having a squirt gun when you need a fire extinguisher. Yes, devil is always in the details. For most that ccw though, its about feeling good, not really about ready to protect yourself, imho.
 
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You didnt answer my question but that is ok. If i have someone coming to my house that makes me think i should be armed, i carry a suitable fighting pistol & pay extra attention.
Like many, you carry an unsuitable pocket gun because it makes you feel good. You even admitted they could have over powered you so were you really properly prepared? I would submit no. Like having a squirt gun when you need a fire extinguisher. Yes, devil is always in the details. For most that ccw though, its about feeling good, not really about ready to protect yourself, imho.

sorry. if i think i need to be armed in my own home they aint getten through the door and best be high tailing it down the road.
 
I'm old enough to remember the TV western "Yancey Derringer" where every confrontation was engineered for him to win w/his little gun and look good doing it. To each their own but it's not something I'd carry.
 
A few years back a retired state trooper (of all people) was carrying one of those tiny 22 revolvers. He went into a changing room and some how the little gun dropped and discharged.

This was a large shopping center in the Albany NY area and boy- o- boy did it give a lot of help to the ban the gun people and media that infests this area!:mad:
 
Interesting subject, as the prevailing wisdom these days seems to gravitate to 18+1 bottom feeders with two or three spare mags and a BUG. The same crowd raise both eyebrows when someone says their EDC is a five or six shot revolver, ("Do you have a death wish?"). Seriously, with as much info as is on line regarding the ineffectiveness of pistol rounds, especially out of a short barrel, two shots and a cumbersome reload tend to raise my eyebrows too.
 
I have the good sense to live in a great and safe neighborhood, in a good state - so I have options. Your "devil" is in the details; what makes you so sure that I would be stupid enough to let folks into the house who look like they might try to jump me? Good Lord - I understand the concept of Armchair Quarterback, but give me a break!! Actually, and this point continually flies over the head of so many commenters here - the best weapon we all have is that chunk of neurons between our ears. So, let me say this another way: I have the good sense to not put my self into any dangerous situation without having some recourse. I carry the little NAA often because it is small and inconspicuous - but I wouldn't take it to an assault on the Manson family compound ...

These folks lived in a great, safe, neighborhood too.

The Cheshire, Connecticut, home invasion murders occurred on July 23, 2007. Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her 11 year old daughter were raped and both were murdered along with her 17 year old daughter, while her husband, Dr. William Petit, was severely injured, during a home invasion in Cheshire, Connecticut.[1] The Hartford Courant referred to the case as "possibly the most widely publicized crime in the state's history".[2] In 2010, Steven Hayes was convicted of the murders and sentenced to death. His accomplice, Joshua Komisarjevsky, was found guilty on October 13, 2011, and sentenced to death on January 27, 2012.[3] In August 2015, the Connecticut Supreme Court, in defiance of the State Legislature which had abolished the death penalty only for future cases, ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional, and commuted all death sentences to life-in-prison, even if that sentencing took place prior to the date that the death penalty was abolished.

Cheshire, Connecticut, home invasion murders - Wikipedia

Violence like that is random, your number may never come up or it might come up the next time you walk into Walmart. All it took for this to happen was for an eleven year old girl to catch the eye of an ex-con who just happened to be in the same grocery store her mom was shopping in and for him to decide she was hot and he wanted to rape her. An eleven year old girl.

I've told this story before but I'm convinced that I was the intended victim of a home invasion one night several years ago. Some guy showed up on my front porch around 9PM and told me he was selling subscriptions to The Denver Post. He said he wanted to give me a free paper and if I'd just open the door he'd be happy to hand it to me. The only problem was he didn't have a paper with him. To make a long story short, I didn't open the door and he went away.

I made two decisions because of that incident. First, I don't open my door for people I don't know. Second, if I'm not in bed I'm carrying a gun. If I can't carry a gun with the clothes I'm wearing then I keep the gun within arm's reach.

IMO there are too many pocket carry options available and too many good reasons to carry at home not to. There are also too many good options available for me bet my life on a 2 shot pistol or a .22 revolver
 
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sorry. if i think i need to be armed in my own home they aint getten through the door and best be high tailing it down the road.
Never said you shouldn't be if you want. It is just that the vast majority of people carrying a gun in their home or on the street are doing it with comfort in mind not truly with self protection. I always carry a folding fighter. I am trained in its use & feel just as well armed as a 2 shot derringer buried someplace in my pocket. If I lived in a bad area I would never take off my ccw, but I do not, so I don't carry at home. Point, if you really feel the need to be armed then arm yourself with something you can fight with. A pocket 2 shot or the tiny FAA is just not that IMHO.
 
And you never answered mine

Hmmm, went thru the thread 3x I see no question from you????
Carry at home sure if you feel the need but I agree, a 2shot or crappy tiny little 5shot SA is NOT really a suitable fighting weapon. MY knife never runs out of ammo & in close, probably more effective than any 22lr. Lots of small pocket carry options in 380 & 9mm, far more effective, easier to shoot & more ammo. If I felt the need to be carrying 24/7, as much as I hate pocket carry, it makes sense with a small 380 or even alloy J-frame.
 
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Carry what you want. With a proper defensive mindset a derringer can certainly save your life. Me? For the same size and weight I can get 6 or 7, even 8 shots in something else. I see no reason to settle for 2.
 
I'm old enough to remember the TV western "Yancey Derringer" where every confrontation was engineered for him to win w/his little gun and look good doing it. To each their own but it's not something I'd carry.

I don't remember that show, but I've seen a lot of testing of the iconic Remington double derringer in .41 rimfire. It's the most underpowered thing you've ever seen. I saw someone shoot a telephone pole with it and most of the bullet was still sticking out of the wood! It would probably break the skin on the target, but never reach a vital organ.
 
Primary? No.
Buckup? Sure.

I know that I have been against the grain and highly supportive of alternative self-defense firearms, including many with limited capacity which are slow to reload such as Single Action Army replicas, but 2-shots is too little in my opinion. Even if you somehow have become ultra proficient with a Derringer to the point that you can pull off all sorts of crazy trick-shots just by drawing/shooting, can reload them extremely fast, and are essentially a Guinness World Record holder in the making with one, there still comes a point in which you're just plain gimping yourself by choosing a weapon with such extremely limited capacity and slow reload speed. Even if it's your only firearm, you're better off just selling it or trading it for a Ruger LCP or something.

Honestly, I would sooner carry a North American Arms Mini Revolver in .22WMR as a primary weapon over a Derringer. Heck, I would even carry a Knife as a primary weapon over a Derringer. Derringers are a backup weapon at best as far as I'm concerned, and even in that role there are better choices.
 
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