Poor customer service at American Derringer

Status
Not open for further replies.
whatnickname

whatnickname

Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2008
Messages
1,004
Location
Oklahoma
I've owned a couple of these over the years and found them to be well made. Bought one on one of the auction sites that appeared to be unfired. Once I received it I was able to confirm that it had never been fired ever...even at the factory. The derringer was chambered .38 Special. None of the standard US manufactured rounds would chamber so that the rims would seat flush with the breech. On top of that the barrels looked like they had been rifled with a horse shoe rasp. Calling in inside of the barrels rough is an understatement! No way the pistol could be locked into battery. Called the manufacturer twice and got the same story. My pistol was made in 1982 and was out of warranty. Now if the pistol had been shot to death or abused I could see their point. What I have in my possession is clearly a manufacturer's defect and, even if the rounds could be seated, would be extremely dangerous to fire. Didn't matter to American Derringer. They intend to charge $250.00 for new barrels plus $85.00 per hour for labor. I will also have to pay shipping both ways all because of their poor workmanship! AVOID AMERICAN DERRINGER AT ALL COSTS!!!!
 

Attachments

  • image.jpeg
    image.jpeg
    39.5 KB · Views: 89
So you mad they will not fix your 34 year old gun for free??

Some companies offer lifetime warranties, some don't.

Have you taken it up with the original owner who sold it to you??

Go pay a local gunsmith to fix it for you if you like it so much.



.
 
I believe original Owner passed away several years ago and the organization closed. His spouse has a small STAF that keeps it going. You can still purchase but it takes months for them to build. It also takes months in some cases to repair back to original. That is story I was told 4 to 5 years ago. Good examples are still out there to be had. Much cleaner line than the other examples out there in my opinion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
guyfromohio

They appear to be still in business, at least that's how it looks from their website. Located in Waco, Texas. Don't know how current they are with their product listings but they show several different traditional derringer models (including the old High Standard design, the old BTJ DA derringer, and the Semmerling LM4), and the LM5 semi-auto pistol.
 
Last edited:
:scrutiny::scrutiny::scrutiny:
Man, I just dont get it.... Acera has it right on the money.
Instead of flaming yourself and/or the seller for the transaction... You chose to flame American Derringer, for what you say is poor service on a decades old product that you are at least the second owner of?

My oh my I must say.... Thanks for posting! Otherwise I would not have wandered onto the American Derringer website and seen all those nice pictures of Miss Lady D herself! :D
 
They are barely in business. The web site is decades old. There was a story that a lawsuit due to a LEO ND sunk them.

Certainly, you see no new guns at shops or shows. I once met the woman at a show, nice person - but that was years ago.

As far as the OP, oh, come on. A second hand gun from 1982. Let the buyer beware - yes, indeed.
 
Bought at auction. You examined . Then why didn't you reject it right then and returned it . Now you have a mess . maybe a gunsmith can make it fire but what about the rifling.

I would have never accepted it
 
I'm usually on the buyers side but American Derringer is not at fault for you buying a defective gun. You should have returned it to the seller or if you inspected it before the purchase you should have looked closer. No company should be required to do free repair on a 34 year old gun bought second hand. I'm fairly sure even S&W doesn't do free repairs on guns bought used or older guns.
 
Normally I'd say you bought a bad gun, it's on you to fix it. But, the gun seriously left the factory unable to preform the one function it was designed for.

If it was my company, I would work something out to get you up and running for a token fee.

American Derringer is barely a gun company anymore. The website was last updated 16 years ago from what I see.

Used to see them all over the gun shows. Now, not much at all.
 
I am not sure, but I don't think that company ever made anything; they were an importer, taking a package off the shelf and slapping a label on it.

If it means that much, my advice is to buy or rent a .38 Special chambering reamer and re-cut the chamber(s), or pay a gunsmith a few bucks to do it. That won't fix the rifling, but the gun is not going to shoot MOA groups at 100 yards no matter what you do.

Jim
 
I've been to the factory near Waco. It was a real machine shop and I saw them making guns. Milling machines, Guys with grungy shop aprons etc. I had them do a barrel swap for me one time while I waited.

They had castings done somewhere and then did the machine work, at least on the original model 1.

I may wander back down there and see what's going on.
 
Are the rounds stopping in the chamber or, is the rim not fitting in the countersink for the case head?

The rifling has always been atrocious in the ones I've seen. Just a kind of rough spiral in the barrel to make them rifled for legal purposes.
 
sgt127, don't get your hopes up on getting an answer or helping this guy.

Seems like he only came to post this rant. (His first post since early March)

And with nobody jumping on his pity train, bet he is gone for a while.




.
 
No, ADC was not strictly an importer.
Manufactured their derringers in house.
Denis
 
Jim K I am not sure, but I don't think that company ever made anything; they were an importer, taking a package off the shelf and slapping a label on it.
Click to expand...
There have been virtually zero derringer type pistols imported into the US since 1968.

They come up waaaay short on the ATF point system.
 
Also, if you do end up buying the barrels, you just tap out the top pin and reinstall the new ones.
Its out of warranty anyway so no worries about voiding the warranty.
C-
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

D
  • Locked
Derringers - For Serious Personal Defense
2 3 4
Replies
93
Views
13K
techcowboy
T
U
  • Locked
AMERICAN DERRINGER QUESTION
2
Replies
31
Views
5K
ecmp
E
B
  • Locked
Best second barrel for a Bond derringer ?
Replies
4
Views
792
45/70
4
W
  • Locked
9mm American Derringer Range Report!
Replies
6
Views
2K
WonderNine
W
L
  • Locked
410/45 Derringer test results
Replies
9
Views
3K
lbmii
L
Back
Top