Bond Arms Derringers

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Jabr0ney

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Im turning 21 soon and im going to get my CCW, but i live in south florida and where mostly t shirts and shorts or jeans. So concealing bigger guns will definitely be an issue and i dont want to dress around my guns. That being so ive decided on a mouse gun or derringer, but after looking into mouse gun auto loaders, ive found out they dont last if shot a lot.

So im wondering if derringers such as the Bond Arms Texas Defender or any other by them are durable enough to shoot at the range quite often? I want to be able to shoot my carry gun a good amount so im as comfortable as possible with it. And kick isnt a burden to me, i can handle it.

And im attracted to the Bond Arms texas defender because i can carry around a .45 but then buy a .22 barrel to swap out and use at the range

Also if anyone has owned a Bond Arm gun or any other kind of derringer, how did you like it?
 
I had a ........

........Bond Arms Snake Slayer in .45/.410. It was a fun gun. Used it for dog walking since small rabid critters move faster than me. Point instead of aim. I know for a fact that it will roll a rabid, feral cat. Also kept it in the door pocket of my car when going through rough areas in the city loaded with buckshot. But if you're looking for a carrier, keep in mind that it's almost as big and heavy as a J framed revolver. Might even be heavier than some. Do the search and you'll come up with a lot of results. Got rid of mine to fund a Ruger Speed Six. BTW, you can shoot the Bond derringers from dawn to dusk and you won't hurt it, they're tanks. If you do get one, expect the springs to be REAL stiff. Invest in some snap caps as well. The dry firing will get you used to it (it has an odd feel at first if you're used to normal handguns) and smooth it out a lot. Didn't take long at all.
 
I own a Snake Slayer IV and like the gun very much. They are very sturdy guns and a nice novelty to own, especially with the swappable barrels. The fit and finish is superb also.

Now the facts. While living in Florida you probably seldom have to worry about penetration through heavy clothes. I have never chronographed the buckshot coming out of one of these guns, it is likely that with as short of barrel as these guns have, the velocities are likely quite low. The pattern does seem pretty decent though. Federal handgun .410 leaves about a 10” pattern at ten feet. Also, if you are relying on a .45 Colt, be aware that the riffling is only about an inch and a half long. Seldom when I try to fire a .45 out of mine, is the bullet stabilized (In fact it says this in the manual). They are quite inaccurate, so I’d personally stick to buckshot.

Shooting this gun. I hate to say it, but shooting this gun is not a ton of fun. Recoil is down right painful, especially with 3” .410 shells. I go through a box of 20 and my hand stings quite a bit. Sustained range time with one of these just isn’t very realistic. I want you to understand also that I shoot full power S&W 460 mag rounds on a regular basis, and it doesn’t bother me a bit. The Bond Arms derringer hurts my hand worse do to the small wood grips. Certainly getting a .22 barrel (I plan to get one in .357) would make range time more fun, but if you are going to carry one in .410, you really should be practicing with full power loads frequently so you can make follow up (in this case 1) shots. So the .22 is debatable if it will really help you.

What I do. I do carry mine sometimes, especially in summer in my shorts pocket, but I am very aware of the limitations of this gun. I do think it would be effective at short range, but not really anything past 20 feet. Where do you plan to carry this gun? If in a populated area, you may want to re think it. Stray buckshot could lead to collateral damage, terrible feelings of guilt, and lawsuits.

I consider mine to be a novelty, and a back up or car gun. I do carry it as a primary, but only when I think my chances of running into trouble are absolutely next to none. If you are really serious about carrying, then I’d recommend a light weight .38 pocket sized revolver like a Ruger LCR or S&W J frame. It will be lighter, easier to shoot, more effective, have higher ammo capacity. Maybe even one in .357 if recoil really doesn’t bother you a bit would be good. Living in Florida, stainless steel would probably be a good choice for you as well, as I’m sure you’ve already decided. It will be cheaper to shoot as well. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Bond Arms Derringer, and for the right situation, it is a good gun. I think you would enjoy one as a fun gun, but I really do think there are better options for you for CCW. You may also want to consider a Ruger SP101. The extra weight is a lot more fun at the range. Better control!!!!!! Though, concealing and carrying one is a bit hard in light clothing. I carry a 3” bbl one in a IWB holster as my primary gun.

This is all just my opinion and it comes from the experience of owning one. I hope it helps, and I wish you luck in your decision. If you have any other questions about this gun for me, feel free to ask.
 
after looking into mouse gun auto loaders, ive found out they dont last if shot a lot.
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I carry my kel tec PF9 while wearing shorts and a t-shirt all the time. If you are able to wear it out, kel tec will make it good as new and I feel a lot better with it on me than I would with a derringer. That being said, no really small gun is going to be fun at the range; simple physics.
 
Ive thought about when i would ever have to use a firearm for SD and in almost any situation the person will be within feet from me. I dont plan on shooting someone at more than say 10-20ft because its hard to say i felt threatened unless someone already had a gun pointed at me, in which that case id be hit before i could pull out my weapon.

So that being said im not worried too much about the accuracy, but i think ill consider the 410 bore too. As for range time goes, each time i could just fire a few bore to familiarize the feel of it then the rest with 22lr to get comfortable with the trigger pull and all that.

Also i cant open carry so that makes it more difficult. The weight of the gun isnt as much as an issue to me because id most likely use a pocket holster and the jeans i wear fit pretty snug and the gun would hug my leg.
 
I have 2 Derringers in .38 Special and while they are fun at the range I wouldn't want to depend on one for SD. The trigger is VERY heavy and the hammer is just as heavy to cock before you can fire. IMO it just takes too long to get the gun into a firing condition but that's just my opinion, you may feel differently. A Kel-Tec P-32 would be a much better choice and it's a lot lighter too. (6.6oz empty)
 
Would something like the Kel-tec p3at last a while? as far as sooting it at the range frequently? Ive seen guns such a seecamps last no longer than 200 rounds for they arent made for frequent shooting
 
I've had my P-32 for several years and shoot it once a month and it's perfectly fine. Kel-Tec states on their site their small pistols have a 5000 round cycle life and then you need to do some service. (like springs) After that it's good to go again. Every semi-auto needs service at one point or another including 1911's.
 
A .410 buckshot shell would be a very poor choice for defensive use in the Bond.
Velocities will be low & the pattern will spread rapidly. Penetration on any strikes will be minimal.

I have a Bond with .45 Colt & .357 Mag barrels & don't consider it a pocket gun, not in any pants I wear, anyway.
The gun has its place, but self defense & pants pocket carry ain't it. :)
You mention snug jeans. I live in jeans & there's no way I'd even try to tote a Bond in my pants pocket. Too big, too hard to get out.

I have on occasion for specific reasons in specific places stuck a smaller American Derringer .45 ACP in jeans pockets, but the Bond, never.

Trigger will be heavy, two shots is severely limiting yourself, and reloading in a hurry won't happen.

Despite my dislike of those threads that suggest 18 other guns when the original poster asks about one specific choice, I'll say you'd really be better off with an alloy .38 snub for practical defensive pocket carry.
Denis
 
Also if anyone has owned a Bond Arm gun or any other kind of derringer, how did you like it?
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I have the Bond Snakeslayer IV that shoots .410 or .45 long colt. I got it as a bedroom gun.
First, Let me say it's very well made. It's also very heavy. I'd never suggest using it as a carry gun, except in a car or truck.
I've only shot it with .410, and although it's fun, it's a real handful! The trigger guard comes back and whacks your second finger below the knuckle. Blam, ouch!
As a bedroom gun, it's great, but I like to practice, and that one makes practice, um, undesirable.
I don't doubt if you fired it at an intruder, it would get his attention. Big time. A shotgun with a 4 1/4" barrel!!!

With the .22 barrel, it would be very tame. But for it's size and cost, you could have a lot of choices.

I'll probably replace the barrel with a caliber a bit more tame in your hand. 9mm? Cool.

IMO, too heavy for Florida carry.
 
I have owned one and fired it to kill rattle snakes that wanna bite my dog. It works for that but got shed of it and used a SW wheel gun with shot shells.

For ccw, I would op for almost anything other that it for some of the reasons meantioned above. Might consider one of these below:

SDC12398.gif
 
First off it almost seems based on your original post that you're trying to justify the bond arms to yourself, I'll be honest, I had one, Great gun plain an simple, I had the cowboy defender, it has no trigger guard and is the shortest of them all, BUT I'd never carry it ad as a primary, I rarely carried it at all, It was just as heavy I nit heavier than my model 66 3" 357 mag, I carry a S&W bodyguard 380 everyday as a bug and I haven't been able to put enough rounds through it to get it worn out so I sincerely wouldn't rule out mouse guns, I also own a lcp that's in the same boat but my wifey took it over,

I enjoyed my bond arms quite a bit but like I said I use a 3" (I think it's technically 2.75") .357 with full power loads and it's slightly less recoil tjan my bond arms with a 2.75" self defense shell in it, and It weighed more, I'm SURE you'll enjoy it as you almost can't destroy that thing, and theres about 30 different caliber combinations available, also you can get slightly imperfect barrels for about 50$ less than a new perfect one, make an informed decision and happy shooting :)
 
For the same size/weight you could have a J frame, I'm up in NW FL works well in pocket holster/iwb t-shirts and shorts.

Also would recommend a keltec 9, the PF9 seems very promising, was 1st runner up to my 438, that double stack one seems good too.

But if you're dead set on derringers, I had a Bond Arms 45/410 for kicks, sold it a few weeks after, not the most pleasant range gun, but good quality. Since you're not against mouse guns, have you checked out the NAA mini revolvers? Still not the ideal primary carry but they add a little more accuracy/shots.

Now if you just want to try out a .410 hand gun, I'd recommend a Super Comanche, for the money, $180, it's plain fun, and with the 10in barrel..
 
I can assure you that any quality "mousegun" will last FAR more than 200 rounds. My Sig P238 passed 200 rounds a loooooong time ago. KelTec P3ATs are very affordable, and I trust KelTecs customer service.

I'd stay away from derringers, I want more than 2 shots with my CCW gun, and I don't want to have to c0ck them before firing. You can also look into snub nosed .38 revolvers for pocket carry.
 
Would something like the Kel-tec p3at last a while?
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The Kel Tecs last a lifetime. Wear it out and KT will rebuild it better than new.

A while back they replaced everything on my P3AT except the barrel and plastic grip. Polished the feed ramp and paid to send the gun back to me. My total cost was the shipping to KT.


I have the Bond Arms Derringer in 45ACP and .357. Interesting gun, I like it, but it's too heavy to carry and only two shots. There are much better carry guns.
 
Like said above, the Bond Derringers are VERY heavy but there are lighter one out there like those made by Cobra. (not that I changed my mind about them being a poor SD weapon)

This is a Cobra in .38 Special:
DSCN2404s.jpg
 
After doing more research i think im going to go with a p11. Seems pretty easy to conceal, lifetime warranty, whats better than that
 
eventually id love to get a derringer, they seem aswesome to shoot, but right now i need a good reliable easy to conceal firearm that doesnt break the bank
 
Please reconsider the P-11... The PF-9 is a much better choice. Everything that was wrong with the P-11 including a terrible trigger was fixed in the PF-9. The PF-9 is a combination of the best features from the P-11 and the P-3AT.

I know several shooters who have one or the other. All agree the PF-9 is a better pistol...
 
For a light weight and concealable handgun, why not consider the Ruger LCP in 380. You can get some hard hitting ammo for it these days and it will hold 7rounds with one in the chamber. I carry mine loose in my shorts front pocket and never notice it's there and it doesn't print either.
 
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