Has anyone carried an American Derringer?

Handshaker said:

"They are both objectively measurable". And so is the BS factor.... Everyone is an "Expert" on the internet, just ask them.
I could kick myself for not buying a COP 357 Derringer a couple years ago when I saw it in a gun store. It was for sale for 700, they are quite rare and are a 4 shot revolving firing pin Derringer.

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They were also terrible, terrible guns. I remember them when they were new, and nobody had a good word to say about them unless they were trying to sell you one. Yes, now they are valuable collectors items, but they are still nothing you actually want to use. Kind of like that double-barrelled 22 Magnum revolver that was around recently. The Thunderbird or something? In 30-40 years, they might be worth big money too.

Speaking of 4-shot pistols with revolving firing pins, the revival of the Mossberg Brownie by an outfit called "Advantage Arms" in Minneapolis in the 1990's also brings a nice price these days. Does anyone know if they were any good or not? Back then, I never heard and did not want to spend the money on something that was just a novelty.

Never did and never will as long as J frame, micro semis, and Officers models exist.

JackTheRipper23 said:

I'm referring to American Derringer Corp from Waco, TX. I've read rumblings that the only safe Derringer to carry on you is a Bond Arms because of the rebounding hammer and additional safety and that apparently any other derringer, like the American Derringer, would be unsafe to carry on you as an everyday pocket/boot gun back up.

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In point of fact, waaaay back in the day before before the state I lived in was "shall issue" on their carry petmits, I had an American Derringer in .357 mag. I carried it - loaded - for years as my backwoods camper's campanion.

Mind you, it was a handful when you touched off the 158 gr jacketed soft points I loaded it with, but it made me feel safer as I slept in my truck bed or tent while hunting and hiking.

JackTheRipper23 said:

Their aluminum models are very cool but I'd imagine 410 would be a bastard to shoot out of an aluminum frame

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I think the biggest all aluminum caliber they ever made was .44 Special and, I think I owned one once. It was not at all fun. But, I (and my hands) were 30 years younger.

Even with 158 GR Semiwadcutters, the .38 Special is unpleasant. I bought some plain vanilla 148 wadcutters to shoot in it. If I could have found one in .32 S&W Long, I’d be happy with that.

I figure it’s at least as effective as the original Remington .41 Rimfire.

I picked up one of these Bearman 22LR Derringers 6 months ago at my LGS. The trigger pull is so horrible it almost takes 2 fingers.
Always wanted one nostalgic purposes. Definitely would not carry it for self defense.

Most folks don’t know this, but Bond arms came about because of American Derringer’s arrogance/bull headedness.

Greg Bond used to work for AD. He went to them with his ideas to improve on the gun as well as make them safer.

They weren’t interested so Greg and his brother Gordon started making their own design and the rest is history. And now AD is singing the blues for passing on such an opportunity.

JackTheRipper23 said:

They are terrible for sure, they're not even that fun to shoot. I'd still love to have one, one day just as a collector piece for how funky they are and I like anything that goes pew pew

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A big 10-4 on that!

I have one that I bought new in the early eighties. First of all, it is FAR from concealable. I only shot 4 rounds of factory 357 and put it up in safe after that. It hasn’t moved in 40 years. Someday I may bust it out and shoot some 38’s, but no way on the 357’s.



Not mine

I did. When I started carrying in the '70s it was the best solution I could find. Due to circumstances I had to pocket carry and a J frame wouldn't fit, too long & fat in my 501 jeans. No way was I going with anything smaller than .38 special. Remember, no hollow points existed.

I took about twenty or thirty pounds off of the trigger and that helped some. It was a fifteen foot or closer gun. Good get-off-me gun, can't push it out of battery and no cylinder gap. Mine was .45 ACP/.45 Auto Rim. Very strong weapon, been chambered in .45 Winchester mag. So I figured that a 260 grain Keith at right at 900 feet would do the job. Kicked some. Never used it in self defense but it did comfort me for many years.

Had a friend who carried the .45 Colt/410 for years in his boot top. Epoxied two snaps to the gun and sewed two inside his cowboy boot. He used to wear it dancing and it never came loose.

Too bad Bob Saunders (founder for you whipper snappers) died so early. He might have made something of the company.

I carry an AD M-1 in 45/410 on the regular. Loaded with a pair of 225gr factory winchester silvertips. 4 more and a pair of 410s on a quick strip in my pocket. I work in a moderately rough area of a not so wonderful town that had the highest murder rate per capita in the nation one year.

I wear moderately tight jeans and a t-shirt at a retail business. Most folks wont care if they saw a G20 on my hip but some would and i cant have that. The derringer fits right into the watch pocket in my jeans. If you have never carried one in this way, you cant understand how small it really is. Even the NAA 32 NAA Guardian i also carry makes this derringer feel tiny.

The safety is a hammer block, and is not foolproof. It is spring loaded towards the Fire position. One small 1/16" pull of the hammer will release the safety. I have dropped it about 10" and the safety did its job.

One small issue can arise. The firing pin retaining nuts can loosen and cause an issue where the barrels wont lock when loaded. They use a dual peg "screwdriver" to tighten. A pick works well in an emergency.

I do not consider myself under gunned when carrying just the derringer. If im not close enough to reliably hit the target with it, i probably shouldn't be pulling it out. Or i should get closer if need be. With increased distance comes a huge decrease in hit probability and an increase in potential collateral damage. This is a personal mantra and not something i am trying to propagate.

They are much smaller that the numbers would lead one to believe. Mine weigh 16 ounces loaded. I flattened the sides of the grips by a good 1/4 inch which helps.

Update, I finally got some time away from chores/work to go to the range. I fired the 45-70 derringer with 14grains of trailboss and hardcast bullets. It took a bit of nerve to pull the trigger for the first time and I HATE indoor ranges. As soon as I find a range out in the open, Ill shoot it much more. It definitely has a bite. Its not so bad with trailboss and I doubt I will ever shoot full powered Hornady ammo, not because I wouldn't shoot it, but because I am not sure it will handle the pressure since I couldn't find a way to calculate from PSI to be safe from what the factory told me it could handle. I am now looking for some good shooting gloves with a padded palm, lol.

No.
No point in my mind.

Handshaker,

They are interesting little pistols aren't they. They are quite strong, he designed them to hold the .45 Winchester mag and that's a lot of push.

I have a friend who used to carry his every day (.45 Colt/.45-70). He asked me to work up a multi-ball load. Using Mech-Tec all brass 2.5 inch shells I found that a .437 diameter ball would slide down nicely. Four balls over a good charge of 2400 was too much for me, so I backed it down a bit. I had to estimate the velocity, seemed about 900 or so FPS. Each ball weighs 115 grains, so four was 460.

He was happy.

I’ve owned ADC M-1’s in .38 Special and .44 Mag. I’m a sucker for character in a pistol (hence the succession of derringers, Webleys, Broomhandles, etc.) but, sooner or later, practicality asserts itself and most of those “character” guns find new owners.
That was the case with my ADC’s. Cool, well-made, little guns, but too awkward to manipulate and aim drawing from the pocket and, in a world of lightweight pocket .380’s and 9’s, too heavy and slow for the two shots available.
Never got around to touching off magnums in the.44. It was quite tolerable with .44 Specials.

Yes they are strong, Kentucky ballistics did do a video shooting full power Hornady in this same derringer, minus the long grip. Scott is an animal, it's quite obvious he's not afraid of recoil when he had a 50bmg nearly take his life when it exploded. The one he has is 45-70 and 410/45C, Mine is 45-70 on both barrels. Its already hard to hold from recoil with the long grip, I cant imagine shooting it with that short grip.

Jack,

I think any derringer is a poor choice for EDC. Yes, yes, they are so concealable until they fall out of a cheap holster and go off. If you get a quality holster, why not carry a better gun? I have not seen or heard of a derringer that is really more concealable than a KEL TEC 32 or BERETTA Tomcat and both have 3 or 4 times as many rounds before reloading with a much quicker reload. They will also be much easier to shoot.
Please note that the NRA found derringers so dangerous, they would allow them to be advertised in the AMERICAN RIFLEMAN magazine. Some of the newer designs are safer, but they are still single action, so they are slower to fire and require a more complicated operating drill than say a J-frame S&W or double action auto.

Jim

I've got one in 45 Colt no good reason to carry it other than nostalgia. It weighs as much as a steel J frame.

[QUOTE="mavracer, post: 12444899, member: 41371 It weighs as much as a steel J frame.[/QUOTE]

No it doesn't. Weigh them, you'll see.

Catshooter said:

[QUOTE="mavracer, post: 12444899, member: 41371 It weighs as much as a steel J frame.

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No it doesn't. Weigh them, you'll see.[/QUOTE]
Oh darn the exacto police got me, guess I shoulda said dang near.


It's also really close to a LCR loaded with 5 158gr LSWCHPs and the holster and weighs a little more than a LCP Max with 11 rounds with the holster.
Heck the Smith really doesn't make much sense for that matter as empty weight is close to my Hellkitty.
This is with 12 rounds of 147gr Ranger Rd

Now I can go and polish my Exacto Police Badge. Thanks.