Derringer Carry

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

B_Scott

Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2003
Messages
137
Location
New Orleans
I just got a hold of a Derringer in .38 spl. and am thinking about getting a pocket holster for it.
Does anyone currently or has anyone ever carried a Derringer for self defense?

Looking for some pros and cons, please.

Also - does anyone actually make a holster for these?
 
I DO carry a .38 derringer, a double-action BJT DA38, as a "third gun"/"back-up to the back-up" - I've found that the Uncle Mike's soft nylon pocket holster normally sized for .22/.25 pocket autos works pretty well for it. However, if you've got one of the Bond Arms derringers, which I think are too big for their intended role, you may need to go with a slightly larger size in your pocket holster.

I'm pretty sure that Jerry Ahern made pocket holsters to custom order for derringers and other oddball pocket pistols, but I can't recall his contact info right now...
 
I still want a p-32 or p3at. But, I got this for $50. If it doesn't work out, it will a conversation piece at least.
 
B-Scott,
I carry my Bond 9mm Texas Defender in the IWB holster made by Ron Graham. He makes the derringer holsters to fit either Bond or American with or without the trigger guard. Try his site at
www.grahamholsters.com
I find my derringer a little too heavy for pocket carry, it is a big chunk of stainless steel and makes my pants sag. But IWB carry on my left side, for cross draw with my right hand, works great in the car on a long trip. In the pocket in the car might be hard to get to with the seat belt on, etc.
The derringer is what might be called 'locked breech' so when fired all the energy goes forward, no slide, spring to absorb it and no revolver gap to loose velocity. Sure, the recoil is 'invigorating' but controllable in 9mm or .38. I keep Federal personal defense 135gr Hydra Shok in mine. My tests with a wet pack of newspaper shows it will mushroom and penetrate from the derringer almost the same as .40 or .45 cal hollow points from my semi-autos. I attempted to post my wet pack tests at KTOG under the P32 forum. Check there and see if you can find it, I think under Fiochii. Goldenloki's site shows similar results with gelatin.
I carry a little .32 in my pocket for backup. But with the power from the derringer I think the only 2 shot capacity should work, there may be only time for 2 shots anyway. Your .38 should work equally well.
og
 
Hey, hoppinglark, isn't that the poster from American Derringer, CO's

"Buy this gun, and get this girl!!" promotion??

...are they running that one again??


if so, sign me up! I'll take two!
 
I carry mine all the time. It is my little power house since it is a 44mag/44spl. I got lucky and got a customer holster for it from the guy who sold it to me.

Check out the website (http://www.amderringer.com/catalog1.html), last time i was there you could buy holsters and new barrles. I have not been in a while so they might have change a few things.

I want to get the 45acp. barrel for mine.

John
 
Im in my 10th year of teaching CCW clases. My last 6 years as an LEO I was my department's chief firearms instructor.

Back in my LEO days I had a couple deputies try to qualify with derringers on our off-duty course. None ever did.

In my CCW classes I have had 4 individuals try an even simpler qualification (maximum range is 10 yards and there is no time limit) and none has ever qualified.

These things seem like a good idea but in practical application they just stink!
 
DA .38

When I carried a badge I carried a BJT DA .38 derringer in a custom Alessi ankle holster to back up the .45. It is actually easier to draw the ankle gun than the .45 in a Safariland SS3 when seated in the cruiser, and talking to someone. The limit of 2 shots never bothered me, I carried Glaser safety slugs as I considered this to be a close-range last-ditch weapon. YMMV. English John
 
Checkout Graham's Custom GunLeather. He makes several small pocket holsters and they are all of top quality
 
Had one once, an FIE .38, a freebie that got left behind in a place we moved into. It was hideously unreliable. Also dangerous to carry with both chambers loaded.

This one came with a Bianchi leather IWB holster.

This is Illinois, so of _course_ it never got used as intended.
 
I was just going to start a new thread about a derringer, but I figured I might as well ask a question here.

What do you guys think of the durability of the all aluminum ultra lights.

I would like to get this in a .38 Special.
 
Squisher - from that link - a 7.5 ounce derringer firing a .44 Special???

OUCH!!!

That's gotta be as bad as handgun recoil gets!!! To heck with the durability of the gun - what about the durability of my hand??? At least in a .38 Special, it should be manageable... I hope!

:what: :uhoh: :eek:
 
That's nothing the Model 1(all steel) comes in a .45-70.

I figure you'd have to carry around a prybar to remove the gun from ceiling plaster after firing.
 
I'll weigh in in favor of the Keltec P32. I've had mine a month, practiced with it twice, and am now thinking of it as "the little back-up gun that COULD." One caveat, though: after reading up on it, before I ever fired it, I field-stripped it and hand-sandpapered downt the feedramp (with 120 grit, then 400 grit), cleaned it thoroughy and oiled it. It was kind of dirty inside for a new gun, but at $199 I couldn't complain.

It's my back-up gun to my Glock 30, and if I'm running, or hiking, or riding my bike, it's my primary gun.

I was impressed by it's accuracy--the sights do work, and it is fairly accurate. However, I spent most of my practice treating it as "point and shoot" gun, since if I have to pull out a back-up gun, it's likely to be a VERY close range thing, I think! I put a box of Winchester Silvertips through it, and two boxes of MagTech. I only experienced two jams, and they were not during firing, they were when I attempted to rack the slide. Since I carry it loaded and cocked in a leather Don Hume pocket holster, I don't see that as a big problem (i.e., slide is racked before it's carried.) I do practice drawing it out a LOT.

I've read some comments about people wanting to carry a lighter, lower-caliber gun in the summer, since it's hot. I would strongly discourage that, given everything I've read about most crime occuring in the summer!
 
Hey, Squisher!

I've never fired one of the all-aluminum jobs, but I have an aluminum-framed (11 oz.) ADC in .45 ACP. IT HURTS!! I fire a .44 mag revolver with CorBon 320 gr. loads; no problem (stout, but not painful). I fire a lightweight Officer's sized .45 auto; no problem (it's quite pleasant, in fact).

The ADC derringer in .45 ACP is too painful (in my hand) for more than about a dozen rounds in succession. I actually loaded some 185 gr. LSWCs at mid-range target load level, just to make it bearable.

Then, I discovered that, even with the reduced loads, the poor sights, miniscule handle and abysmal trigger, combined with the two barrels being poorly regulated, restricted me to 10 yards or less for consistent hits in the vital zone of a silhouette. That's slow-fire, under non-stressed conditions.

I'm considering trying some snake shot loads, to see about patterns and recoil. If they work out, it couldmake a useful close-range vermin eliminator when I visit Mom at her rural home. That's the only possible way that derringer will ever get a chance to leave the house, again!
 
I have two Davis derringers. One is chambered for .32acp and the other is .38 special.

The little .32 is my favorite because it is very small and I can hit alot better with it than the .38.

The trigger on the .38 is extremely heavy. Actually, it is hard to pull! A buddy of mine bought one at the same time I got mine and the trigger on his is just as bad. The local smith said that there is not much that can be done to the trigger on these type guns, so I don't carry it that much. I guess that in a stressful situation, you wouldn't notice the trigger that much.
 
Sorry B_Scott for hijacking your thread, but I think I might pick up the derringer in a .38 Special and give it a go.

I've looked at the KelTec before and I'm not scared at all at reworking any of its shortcomings because I'm a die-maker(actually a die repairman now) and hand working metal is something I do for a living, but a .32 sounds awfully anemic. Maybe I'll look at the P11 later on.

Thanks all.
 
Squisher,
Yes, I wouldn't want a .32 as my primary carry gun, but the Kel-Tec isn't that anemic--with Winchester Silvertips, I read *somewhere* (sorry, don't remember source, was one of those online ballistics reports) that the one-stop shot percentage is about 65%. The reason I like it for carrying while running, riding bikes, and hiking (we're talking about LONG distances here) is that it only weighs 9.5 ounces fully loaded, and holds 7 shots, with a 65% one-stop shot percentage. I have TRIED carrying my Glock 30 on a 5-mile hike in the August heat here in Austin and with my bad knee, that got old real fast. I love my Glock 30, but it weighs 2 lbs. 2 oz. fully loaded. Run 5 miles in the heat with that on a bad knee (and be female!)

Like I said, I wouldn't have the .32 as my primary gun, or main gun, but for a back-up and an athletic carry gun, it's great!
 
KT P.32

I keep a S&W .38, and a Springfield PDP .45 handy in the gun safe, but unless I am sleeping I am carrying the KT P .32. YMMV John
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

T
  • Locked
derringer
Replies
1
Views
2K
tbeb
T
J
  • Locked
Has anyone carried an American Derringer?
2 3
Replies
51
Views
2K
Catshooter
C
Unkei
  • Locked
Derringers
2 3
Replies
62
Views
6K
scaatylobo
S
Y
  • Locked
Someone help me understand derringers :)
2
Replies
33
Views
4K
herohog
herohog
M
  • Locked
Derringers
Replies
8
Views
1K
Mordoc
M
Back
Top