Cobra Arms, are they any good whatsoever?

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I purchased a Cobra 32 Derringer a few years ago and it appears to be decently built plus I liked the idea of it being American made. I have never fired it and purchased it mainly for the novelty factor. I have always been fascinated with derringers and these are definately affordable. I may even purchase another one. However, I have read some very negative comments about these and other small guns on this site. Guess everybody has their own criteria. It would scare the hell out of me :uhoh: if I ever thought I would have to use one of these for self defense.
 
Cobra

I despise them as I have recovered so many at crime scenes and from thugs. All I have come in contact with have been heavy for their size as are a lot of cheap handguns. They do work and kill people though. I have not actually fired one so I don't know how well they function or of reliablity. They appear similar to the jennings, davis, bryco, and hi-point. Highpoint's you have to push a roll pin out of the rear of the slide to disassemble.

Bamasurp
 
They basically are the Jennings, Bryco, Lorcin, etc. The machinery was purchased from those companies when they went under and moved to Utah and the guns are built under the Cobra name. The only cheap gun I would trust is a Hi-Point.
 
The only inexpensive gun I would trust is a Hi-Point also. I have owned three and they were good reliable guns for what they are. I have wondered if Hi-Point can offer a lifetime no questions asked warranty, why can't higher end gun manufacturers?
 
The only Cobra I can recommend is the Patriot .45 auto. I have one and the only complaint I have is it seems to only like 230gr. Otherwise it is a great subcompact, I believe about the smallest and lightest being made. And you can't beat the price. I paid about $225 new for mine. The rest of their autos are based on older designs like from Davis. I wouldn't bother with them.

Lou
 
They basically are the Jennings, Bryco, Lorcin, etc. The machinery was purchased from those companies when they went under and moved to Utah and the guns are built under the Cobra name. The only cheap gun I would trust is a Hi-Point.
nelson133,
That's not true at all. The Cobra company makes fine guns and they are in no way like the Saturday Night Specials you mentioned. Their Derringers are well made and their pistols are on par with Kel-Tec.
 
The Cobra company makes fine guns and they are in no way like the Saturday Night Specials you mentioned. Their Derringers are well made and their pistols are on par with Kel-Tec.

With all due respect ArchAngelCD, I must vehemently disagree. I had a Cobra 380 that was a pot metal junk gun. It was poorly made: the nickel plating (paint?) on the barrel began to flake off the first time I shot it, the extractor pin backed out of its oblong hole after 100 rounds, accuracy was nil, and overall fit and finish was on par with a cap gun.

KelTec makes far superior arms. Cobra Enterprises could only dream of being on the same level as Keltec. Cobra is the current incarnation of Bryco/Davis/Jennings. While not the same companies, they produce the same type of products.

As to the original post inquiring about the derringers, I have no experience with them, only the semi-auto .380.
 
For what it's worth, American Rifleman (or maybe Handguns, I don't remember which) did an article on a Cobra in their last issue. It actally fared pretty well.
 
Cobra

Buy what you want, but do you plan to put your life in the hands of a cheap gun? Quality costs $$$. There are far better choices.
 
I would avoid the autos but I have a derringer in 22 mag that is pretty decent.
Ive put a fair amount of rounds through it and it is still pretty tight.
Nice gun to fool around with but I wouldnt trust it for self defense.
 
if you're in need of a gun, and you have to count every penny you have, then cobra guns are fine. they're not meant for accuracy or high rates of fire, but will go bang if you need them to.
 
I sure wish a lot of people on this board would remember that not all guns are going to be used to carry or self defence sheesh, Sometimes people want a gun just to take to the range or just to say they have it or for any number of other reasons besides SD. I do not know anything about the Cobra but I am interested to hear more about this Patriot model 45acp.
 
The only inexpensive gun I would trust is a Hi-Point also. I have owned three and they were good reliable guns for what they are.

And I've owned one, and it was an absolute POS jam-o-matic. I was guaranteed 2-3 jams per 10 round mag. Dumped it on my little brother. He uses it for a single shot shark dispenser in the Gulf of Mexico when he goes fishing. It works OK as long as you don't need to rely on a fast second shot.
 
I bought a Cobra arms patriot 45 and i
am surprised at how well it's made.I
can't comment on their other products
but the 45 is a decent pistol.

The other pistols are rehashed Davis
arms and lorcins and may or may not
be worth the money but 45 is the best
product they make

The biggest problem with the patriot 45
is the Pro mag that comes standard,my
doesn't fit very well and isn't drop
free.My 45 will take standard 1911 mags
and i use kimber officer mags in mine.
 
Friend has a .38 derringer. I have never seen a gun with trigger pull like it.
It is so hard you actually start to shake. It took a couple of tries to actually fire it. We thought it was broke at first.

Just guestimating the pull in the 30 to 40 lbs range. It broke like 5 popsicle sticks glued together.
 
I also own a Kel tec P-11 and think the
Patriot 45 is well above the P-11.The
trigger is better breaking at about 11
lbs with a little stacking plus it does
not seem to go on forever.

Sights are about the same maybe a little
larger on the 45 but the P-11 has the 3
dot setup and the 45 doesn't but they're
still easy to pick up.

The fit/finish is better on the Patriot
45 compared to the P-11,far less tool
marks on the inner slide and barrel plus
the slide fit to the frame is very tight
on the 45 compared to the P-11

When it comes down to shooting the 2 i
seem to prefer the Patriot 45 over the
P-11 as recoil seems to be more of a
push and not as snappy as the P-11.

Neither one is match grade but seem to
be accurate enough for me,both will put
up 3-5" groups at 15 yards which is bad
for a small pistol in this price range.

If you looking for a small 45 auto that
won't kill your wallet take a look at
the Patriot 45,it's the better pistol
made by Cobra arms.
 
I have a cobra model c22bp. Its a little derringer, black powder coating. I bought it because my wife said it was cute. She likes the .22 caliber. Its not going to be used for self defense at all, except possibly as a back up. I have a Kel-Tec PF9 for carry. NO, THE COBRA AND THE KEL-TEC DO NOT COMPARE!!! I trust my Kelty, I trust it to fire each and every time I pull the trigger. And I know it will put the round where I want it to. That said, if you want a cheap gun to go shooting with, cobra's are fine. If you want it for your shelf, great. If you want it for self defense, go ahead. Just understand that we are not talking about the greatest guns out there. I would rather have this than nothing, but I'd rather have my kel-tec. Or my XD, Glock, Kimber, S&W...but I'll take this over nothing. Oh, yeah. I've had a Hi-Point before, I think I trust this cobra over that peice of %#$@. I couldn't fire two consecutive rounds, ever. I even sent it to hp to have it fixed, twice, and each time I got it back, same crap gun. I will NEVER let any friend of mine trust a Hi-Point.
 
Speaking of derringers ONLY, I have yet to have even the cheapest of them fail to fire GIVEN THE PROPER AMMO (.22 specifically). Yes, it may have a 695.7lb trigger pull but that is the only "safety" most of them have! In .22 caliber models, most, if not all, manufactures specify an ammo brand. This is due to the hardness of the primers. A Davis .22 I had was giving me issues and I contacted Davis and they sent me a selection of firing pins I used to tune the pistol to the ammo I perferred... at no cost. I plan to buy a Davis or Cobra (whatever I find at the next gun show) to carry in my Lee jeans watch pocket. Sure it's not much and it's cheap but it will work and is better than nothing and EASY to conceal.
 
Friend has a .38 derringer. I have never seen a gun with trigger pull like it.
It is so hard you actually start to shake. It took a couple of tries to actually fire it. We thought it was broke at first.

Just guestimating the pull in the 30 to 40 lbs range. It broke like 5 popsicle sticks glued together.

You have to pull the trigger down more than you pull back. That's probably the problem. All SA derringers are like that, not just Cobras.
 
Ok, so on the topic of the trigger pull. I am quite happy with the trigger on my little .22. It's heavy enough I don't accidentally shoot myself, but when I want it to fire, it does. I don't have to pull "down" at all. I just squeeze the trigger like on any of my other guns, and it goes "bang". So how is it that you guys are having to perfect the pull of the trigger on these little things? I just don't understand. Not to be mean or rude, i just don't understand.
 
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