Bond Arms .45/.410

Status
Not open for further replies.
EmGeeGeorge

EmGeeGeorge

Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2005
Messages
806
Thinking about getting one of the .410-.45 LC bond arms derringers...

Any experiences with 'em that apply? I may carry it from time to time, but I don't need any "get a .357 snub", "get a Kahr" type comments...

Just "Had one liked it"... "Fun to shoot, well made and such..."
 
I had one for a couple of months. It was a beautiful, very well made gun. It had no practical use for the following reasons:

Was nearly impossible to cock the hammer quickly (or at all) with one hand.

Weighs a ton! Seriously, I’m not weight sensitive, but this thing was ridiculously heavy.

When using a 410 shot shell the shot (#4) wouldn’t even penetrate a 5 gallon plastic bucket at 10 feet.

The guns ergonomics were horrible. I cant imagine how one could possibly make it worse.

Pros:

Beautiful well made firearm.

Accurate.

Conclusion: Great for messing around, a paper weight, just to look at or for cowboy action stuff. I wish bond arms would make a modern single shot derringer modeled after the old school Colts.

Dan
 
Now a warning: You are probably going to have to have your FFL order the gun. The one I ordered was the .45LC / 410 3inch. The 3 inch is referring to the barrel length not 410 3 inch shells. If you want one chambered for .45LC / 410 3 inch mag than order the one with the 3.5 inch barrel.

Make sure your FFL specifies this on the receipt.

Dan
 
I've got the Bond in 45ACP.
Well made.
Expensive.
Takes practice to get decent at operating and shooting it.

The 410?
The 410 shell is loaded for shooting in a long barrel and like Dark Tranquility said above it is terribly underpowered when shot in a very short barrel like the Bond.

I tested 410 buckshot on 2 inch boards and plywood. The deepest a ball penetrated was 1 inch and most buckshot only about 3/4 inch.
And that was from a SEVEN inch barrel, not the three and a half inch barrel of the Bond. In other words a 22 Short from a little Beretta penetrates deeper.

If you want a Bond (and they are nice guns), IMO get a 45ACP, 45LC, 357, etc.
 
I have SEEN a buddy take a buckshot ball to the body that bounced off the backstop at 15-20 feet. Left a nice red mark.

The 45 colt may be useful, but the 410 in that stubby barrel is a VERY BAD idea from what I've seen.
 
410 is so useless that I would just go with .44 mag or whatever is the most powerfull. You only have two shots after all.

Dan
 
matthew.g.george said:
Thinking about getting one of the .410-.45 LC bond arms derringers...

Any experiences with 'em that apply? I may carry it from time to time, but I don't need any "get a .357 snub", "get a Kahr" type comments...

Just "Had one liked it"... "Fun to shoot, well made and such..."
Click to expand...

I know this is an old thread but maybe somebody will get something from this...

I own a Texas Defender .410/.45. I've had it for about 6 months now and sadly I had to fend off an attempted car jacking with it about 2 weeks after I got it. I had it (and still do) loaded with a Federal 2.5 inch 000 buck in the top barrell and the .45 colt in the bottom. I had it set to fire the .410 first. When the assailant opened the door of my truck at around 2am he got 4 lead pellets from about 3 feet right in the upper chest and throat area. I've read statements on several forums from arm chair commandos (most of whom have never actually had to shoot someone) who seem to want to carry elephant guns around in their pockets. Trust me, in most "social situations" I'd be more concerned about the quality of my attorney than the caliber of my gun if I shot someone "in self defense" from the distances most of these "experts" speak of. Most surprise self defense situations are at a distance of 6ft or less. At that distance .410 000 buck is ample to fend off the bad guy.

As far as the gun itself...The hammer and trigger action softens up after about 50 rounds or so to a very usable one handed gun. And with the .410/.45 colt configuration you DO have the option to go with either. It does take some practice to use it proficiently enough to be ready in the event you would have to defend yourself. But at the average ranges of self defense situations it is very accurate and it is one of the most cancelable guns I've ever owned. There are several holsters available from Bond Arms that make it very comfortable and hide it very well also and that's what's important. Most people buy the "popular" handguns for home defense but never carry them because they are not comfortable to carry or conceal. I hope that's the kind of info you wanted to get here matthew. I've tried to give you the facts as seen by an average Joe without all the "expert" jargon.
 
Last edited:
I had a Bond Arms Century 2000 .45/.410 for a couple of months.
It was cool to look at, but pretty much worthless as a defensive weapon.
 
I had one made by American Deringer. If you want one

for a toy or for cowboy action shooting, great, but if you want a carry gun, it is worthless. Mine would not shoot ANY of several .45LC loads even remotely accurately,and keyholed them all, too. The .410 was a joke - little to no penetration on cardboard with shot, slugs could literally be picked out of the target backstop with the fingers. (I still have a few boxes of .410 slugs if anyone is interested).

I bought mine to see if it was a usable gun in any way.
It was not.

I would never recommend the "Judge" revolver for the same reason - it is a toy that might get you killed if you took it seriously.

Save your money and get a real gun.

mark
 
I like the Texas Defender with the .45 ACP barrel set. Three-inches of barrel is long enough for the 230-grain .45 ACP JHP to get up to 700 fps. That is respective velocity from a pocket pistol. My Texas Defender has replaced my J-frames as my pocket gun as I can reload the gun from the same magazines used to feed my 1911.

I also want to second what was said about practice as the gun definitely gets easier to shoot with some range time.
 
For you Bond Arms owners

Have your gunsmith drill and tap your frame for a Clipdraw. It holds it pretty securely as long as you're not doing gymnastics.
 
dogngun said:
I had one made by American Deringer. If you want one

for a toy or for cowboy action shooting, great, but if you want a carry gun, it is worthless. Mine would not shoot ANY of several .45LC loads even remotely accurately,and keyholed them all, too. The .410 was a joke - little to no penetration on cardboard with shot, slugs could literally be picked out of the target backstop with the fingers. (I still have a few boxes of .410 slugs if anyone is interested).

I bought mine to see if it was a usable gun in any way.
It was not.

I would never recommend the "Judge" revolver for the same reason - it is a toy that might get you killed if you took it seriously.

Save your money and get a real gun.

mark
Click to expand...
There's a huge difference between the American Derringer and ANY Bond Arms Derringer. It's like apples and oranges. By the way, I'm still alive and unharmed, BECAUSE of my Texas Defender.
 
Last edited:
Chaplain Tom,
Without being too graphic, how did your Texas Defender perform when you needed it? I realize you are still alive, but how did your assailant fare? As you stated many "arm chair commando's" say that the .410 isn't worth a darn, but you have first hand experience. I believe this information would prove very helpful to people considering purchasing either a Bond Arms or Taurus Judge.

Respectfully,

Chicken-Farmer
 
Chicken-Farmer said:
Chaplain Tom,
Without being too graphic, how did your Texas Defender perform when you needed it? I realize you are still alive, but how did your assailant fare? As you stated many "arm chair commando's" say that the .410 isn't worth a darn, but you have first hand experience. I believe this information would prove very helpful to people considering purchasing either a Bond Arms or Taurus Judge.

Respectfully,

Chicken-Farmer
Click to expand...
Needless to say, he was VERY surprised...at first. He either fell backward quickly or was pushed backward by the impact of a .410 at such close range, hard to tell in the moment of the skirmish. Remember this was at a distance of around 3 feet or so. All 4 pellets penetrated. One was in the extreme upper edge of his chest (almost in the throat) and wouldn't have done much by itself, but the other 3 penetrated very deep into his throat. He bled out before anyone could help the poor bastard. At 3 feet the shot pattern was no more than about 2 inches and really made in effect one large hole and the wad actually stuck in the hole. I'm not very comfortable writing about his on a public forum because I can't be sure who might read this. I was very lucky and not charged with anything, but it took a lot of legal wrangling to accomplish this.

But I get tired of people who blast a weapon they know very little about even if they really did own one, (and I don't doubt claims of ownership or previous ownership). The "armchair commandos" I refer to seem to forget the "location" factor of ANY weapon they don't like. Even if he hadn't died so soon, the blast of 000 buck from a .410 at this range "shocked" him enough that I could have easily gotten away from the attack. Ain't that what it's all about anyway?
 
Last edited:
Very much appreciated

Chaplain Tom,
Thank you for sharing your story. I think people will find your story inspirational and full of information that may very well save their life also. I'm very glad you were able to stop the attack and hope you are never put into that situation again.

Respectfully,

Chicken-Farmer
 
Glad you came out unharmed, chaplain tom. I very much appreciate your honesty and direct answers.

I think that your case is one more example of the shooter's alertness, skill and readiness being far more important than the hardware chosen. The derringer worked because you were able to use it effectively. What troubles me is that I think a lot of non-shooters buy these guns based on size and looks and then don't practice with them.

I suspect that these derringers have something else going for them at short ranges: muzzle blast. All of that burning gas going off in the BG's face probably would convince him that he'd made a wrong choice.

I still prefer a double-action only revolvers and autos, but I respect the choice of experienced shooters who will practice with the guns they choose.

Once again, chaplain tom, thank you for sharing, and God bless and keep you in the future.

All my best,
Dirty Bob
 
Chaplain Tom,

That's some scary thing that happened to you. Glad that derringer worked out.

I know this is intrusive, but can you please elaborate on the incident? I believe the story can be beneficial to others that might end up (g-d forbid) in a similar situation. You can PM if you don't want to use a public forum.

Thank you in advance.
 
Chaplain Tom,

I appreciate you sharing the account of your ordeal. But to put my armchair coroner hat on for a second: You said that the pellets penetrated very deeply into his throat. I'm guessing they didn't exit the assailant's throat's? If so, you're only getting at most 4-5" of penetration out of that loading, which means either through skill, luck or God's hand you put that shot in about the only place where it would cause such an immediate blood loss as to render your assailant incapacitated.

I think your situation speaks far greater praise for your quick reaction, diligence in practice and correct shot placement than it does for the weapon used.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

V
  • Locked
Bond Arms .45LC/.410 ?'s
Replies
4
Views
806
Old John
O
aaaaa
Bond Arms--Do they need more calibers?
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Replies
253
Views
10K
aaaaa
aaaaa
C
  • Locked
Bond Arms .45 LC vs. .44 Spc Questions ...
Replies
3
Views
515
Classified00
C
B
  • Locked
Best second barrel for a Bond derringer ?
Replies
4
Views
796
45/70
4
S
  • Locked
Bond Arms Texas Defender .357 Magnum
Replies
5
Views
1K
PTK
P
Back
Top