Derringers - Who Buys Them?

Gnash.Hyena

Hyena with a Gun! Oh no!
Benefactor
Life Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2017
Messages
2,988
Location
Orange County, NC
Rating - 100%
188   0   0
Hey folks! A non-forum member friend of mine raised an interesting point to me... Bond Arms is one of the only remaining makers of Derringers, and that's pretty much all they make. How are they still in business? Who buys derringers nowadays? He and I are curious because neither of us could think of a single friend of ours that wants one unironically, and neither of us want one. But *someone* has to be buying them, otherwise Bond Arms would be out of business.

His suggestion is it's the cowboy action shooting guys that like them. They're cowboy concealed carry. He asked me to ask here to see if he was right.

Do you like Derringers?
Why do you like Derringers?
Have you actually bought one?
Are you into cowboy action shooting, if you do have at least one?
Why did you get a Derringer and not something more advanced?

Inquiring minds want to know. Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Everyone i know that has one has one of the cheap cobras or similar and they bought it bc it was 90$ new. After shooting them they all say they wished they hadn't gotten one. A guy in my old gunsmithing class got one and shot one round and the rotating firing pin broke and would not work on either barrel. He wasnt too bothered though bc he said at least he got a repair credit out of it.;)
 
My mother carried one for a couple decades in her purse or bra. I'm glad she never had to shoot the thing. Dad would slip it in his boot once in awhile.

I've always heard they are good back up guns... I've never owned one. My sister has the one mentioned after our parents passed.
 
Last edited:
Do you like Derringers? Yes
Why do you like Derringers? My great uncle Paul ALWAYS carried a 410 derringer in his pocket, he would unload it and hand it to me and let me check it out whenever I seen him. It was the first gun I ever handled. Seen uncle Paul at an old juke joint my dad was playing music at when I was about 10. He was standing there talking to another fellow when my ignorant self walked up and said "hey uncle Paul you got that derringer in your pocket?" He said no son that would be concealing a weapon and that would be highly illegal, here let me introduce you to the high sheriff of Randolph county. I never forgot that lol.
Have you actually bought one? At Least
Are you into cowboy action shooting, if you do have at least one? No
Why did you get a Derringer and not something more advanced? Nostalgia, several different caliber options and with OOOB 410, 5 38 caliber rounds per shot are fairly effective. I have other things more advanced a derringer is just something I like.

IMG_20141025_195247_384.jpg IMG_20140915_172835_411.jpg IMG_1445342560973.jpg
 
Assassination 1987 Charles Bronson Secret Service Agent assignment to protect the First Lady.

American Derringer Model 1
Killian's backup weapon is a American Derringer Model 1, which he keeps it in an ankle holster and then he offers to the First Lady as a defense weapon. Killian says it fires a .410 Shotgun Shell that will "take a man's face off". He used it to take out one of the hitmen.

300px-American_Derringer_Stainless_Steel_M-1.jpg
 
Buds has the Bond Arms 9mm Roughneck for $283.
 
Assassination 1987 Charles Bronson Secret Service Agent assignment to protect the First Lady.

American Derringer Model 1
Killian's backup weapon is a American Derringer Model 1, which he keeps it in an ankle holster and then he offers to the First Lady as a defense weapon. Killian says it fires a .410 Shotgun Shell that will "take a man's face off". He used it to take out one of the hitmen.

View attachment 227355

Cannon films always had the craziest gun choices. Death Wish 3 was insane.
 
  • I saw a guy at the NAPA counter last week with a derringer holstered on his belt. He was a big strapping 30-something that you would expect to see here in farm country. It made me wonder how a shot-load would pattern from it for tlhe occasional copperhead.
 
I have a couple Remingtons chambered for 41 short. Shot them on several different occasions, they are fun to shoot. Now they just in the back of a safe because I'm down to my last box of ammo.
 
I've always thought they just had a cool factor. Probably not the most practical defensive tool and really more of a novelty but I like them. Had a chance to pick one up recently in .357mag. Haven't shot it yet and not sure I'm looking forward to it but I'll get around to it eventually. It's not like it's the only gun I own that hasn't been shot.
20200327_080524.jpg
 
I bought a Bond 45 Colt/410 and shot it some. It did not live up to my expectations. I got it to use with 410 for snakes out on the farm, but the trigger was so heavy that I almost never used it. I took off the trigger guard so I could put my finger on the very end of the trigger so I could get it to fire. The thing also did not shoot to the same point of impact with both barrels when shooting 45 Colt.

I like the idea of a Derringer but would want one a bit smaller than a Bond. I can carry a 10-shot autoloader that is about the same size as the Bond.

I do shoot Cowboy when I can. We do not use Derringers in our matches.

I gave the Bond to a friend of mine. I think she keeps it loaded in a drawer in her home. She and her husband have handguns in about every drawer in their home since they live out away from much civilization.
 
My dad gave me an old cheap german .22lr derringer. Thing is cute, but about as accurate as throwing a bullet off handed while fighting off a rabid gerbil in your pocket. Its a cute novelty, and maybe would fit the bill with some rat shot in a tackle box.
 
I have a buddy, Fred, over in Fulshear that has a Bond Arms frame, maybe he has two of them. He has found and bought just about every barrel configuration that there is. He has over a dozen extra barrels now. When my other buddy was at SHOT show he was talking to Gordon Bond and he told him about Fred. He had a picture of Fred's collection and he showed it to Gordon. Gordon showed it to his crew and Gordon sent Fred a display case for his collection.

My buddy said that Gordon and his crew were the nicest people at SHOT show.

Gordon Bond.jpg
 
My dad gave me an old cheap german .22lr derringer. Thing is cute, but about as accurate as throwing a bullet off handed while fighting off a rabid gerbil in your pocket. Its a cute novelty, and maybe would fit the bill with some rat shot in a tackle box.


Ok. So exactly why is this rabid gerbil in your pocket? Inquiring minds want to know. :eek:;)
 
I bought a Bond 45 Colt/410 and shot it some. It did not live up to my expectations. I got it to use with 410 for snakes out on the farm, but the trigger was so heavy that I almost never used it. I took off the trigger guard so I could put my finger on the very end of the trigger so I could get it to fire.

Yeah the trigger is a little odd. I've only dry fired mine but I've found that if you sort of pull downward as you're pulling the trigger back it's actually not bad. Also if my grip is too high and making contact with the hammer it makes the trigger pull heavier.
 
Ok. So exactly why is this rabid gerbil in your pocket? Inquiring minds want to know. :eek:;)
OIP.MLwo4lYm1aqh8s9r5ciNfQAAAA
 
....but I've found that if you sort of pull downward as you're pulling the trigger back it's actually not bad.

That's the way to pull the trigger on a Bond.
 
I think every long haul trucker I know owns at least one. That and one of the Louisville slugger "tire checkers" is prob sitting next to the drivers seat in 9 out of every 10 rigs out on the road.
I bought one of the bond arms 45lc/410 combos years ago, it's a great gun, built well out of quality materials. My thinking at the time was "this will be a perfect little gun to keep in the glove compartment and just slip into my pocket whenever I'm not carrying a full sized gun". Reality is it's heavier than an LCP, bigger than an LCP, and had like 6 fewer shots. Bigger, heavier, fewer shots than a S&W 442, and the list went on.
Don't know so much about the cowboy shooters, I've only seen a couple courses on tv where they were actually using vest pistols for a couple shots, but it's not something I've really looked into so maybe they're more prevalent than I realize.

Really I think it's more "those are just neat looking" more than anything else, someone with 3 guns isn't prob going to buy a derringer, someone with 30.. they've prob got one. I know one of the old 4barrel 357 cop derringers is on my list of "pick up if I run across one at a decent price" guns.
 
He'll yeah, I have a a Bond Arms Papa Bear. I'm a big guy and it kinda disappears in my pocket so when travelling it's 2 more .45 Colt or .410 shells as a last resort. I don't find the recoil outrageous but I am not little and the BP would be up anyway. Just $0.02 from this old fat man.
 
American Derringers are great. I have had 3. On two of them I "shortened" the barrels. .38 was All aluminum weighed 6 ounces.
Few people know that American Derringer is making the old High Standard .22Mag DA derringer. The trigger is activated by the middle finger. Your index finger indexes along the barrel.
DS22.jpg


Even fewer people know that American Derringer makes a .38 or .40 version of the same thing. And back in the day it was available in .357. It's still heavy, but that also makes it shootable. Because, the middle finger activates the trigger, the bore axis low in the hand.

da38.jpg


:D
 
Last edited:
The real question is which one of you has one in 45-70?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I would like to have one! Gordon said it was too much so he would not produce one. But they do have a 50BMG!!!
cl8YWTm.jpg
 
I've always thought of them as neat novelties.


But deadly novelties, none the less. I can think of many occasions where a derringer would be a whole lot better than nothin' !
 
Assassination 1987 Charles Bronson Secret Service Agent assignment to protect the First Lady.

American Derringer Model 1
Killian's backup weapon is a American Derringer Model 1, which he keeps it in an ankle holster and then he offers to the First Lady as a defense weapon. Killian says it fires a .410 Shotgun Shell that will "take a man's face off". He used it to take out one of the hitmen.

View attachment 227355
Now imagine that same gun with the barrel shortened to where the Tip of the bullet is right at the muzzle.
Yep, did a .38 and a .45 acp like that.
 
I had one of the cheapies in 9mm, used it with snake shot only. Eventually I wanted MOAR snake killin' power so I upgraded and sold the derringer off.

At the range, everyone wanted to try it. Once. Most didn't want to touch off the 2nd barrel.
 
Back
Top Bottom