Derringers - For Serious Personal Defense

[peacemaker45]

Derringers as CCW? Has someone lost their mind? Yeah, the average gunfight goes for two or three rounds. But if it goes for two, you're empty. Three, you lost. Besides, people talk about how small derringers are. They aren't! The Bond Arms versions in particular. Egads, the kel-tec of your choice is smaller, and carries at least triple the ammunition.

~~~Mat

 

[KevininPa]

Derringers have their place.

I have a Bond Arms Snakeslayer. Since I live rural, I'm not concerned about thugs or urban zombies. But small rabid critters and copperheads are around and move faster than I can aim. That's where a cloud of #4 or #9 come in real handy. As of lately down in the valley I've been toting it in the compartment of my drivers door since car-jackings have gone up. My CCW is at 4 'o'clock where I can't get at it quick and unnoticed ( especially with the seatbelt ). But 2 rounds of 3" 00 buck will buy me the time. If I even need it anymore! Who wants to bet this thread rises from the dead yet another year from now!

 

[mljdeckard]

Why is your CCW where you can't get it?

I bought a friend of mine an American Derringer in 45-70 as a wedding present. (He's a gunsmith and collector, it's not what he has to carry for SD at all.) I don't know if he ever fired it, but we did decide, at 'under the poker table' range, it could probably permanently ruin someone's day. It's probably still in the box it came in.

 

[tblt]

would not have one

 

[Dogbite]

I would rather have a J-frame, a little Ruger LCP, or maybe a P32.

I did read a story about a guy using a two shot derringer in a barber shop hold up. There were two men, and he used one shot each and took care of business. I believe he hit one in the neck and one directly in the side of the head.

 

[tribbles]

I acquired a Davis derringer in .22WMR from my mother some years back, after she bought a 'real' gun (a five-shot Taurus .38 revolver) for her CHL. Only fired it twice, once out of each barrel, found it to have abysmal accuracy at 10 yards. I would have probably done more damage to a perp from throwing it at him.

Not exactly my cup of tea, so I sold it on consignment at the local fun shop, used the proceeds to buy a DSA scope mount for the FAL (which is still backordered, apparently... :banghead: ).

 

[texaspunk]

I think they're great snake guns and small enough to take with you on the mower...sure an LCP or a P32 have more rounds, but try hitting a rattler with them without stopping the mower. lol...but as a CCW I pass. wow, this thread has been going for a while, huh?

 

[KevininPa]

Why is your CCW where you can't get it?

Why is your CCW where you can't get it?



I can get it. But at 4 'o'clock carry, I just can't get it fast enough. Thus the mini-howitzer full of 00 buck in the door compartment.

 

[7.62X25mm]

I really like the Bond Derringer, and American Derringer too, except for the trollop photo on the website. Mostly they remind me of the cowboy shows on TV Friday night and Paladin carrying the little Remington as a backup.

I was intrigued with the 45 Colt/410 bore, long barrel.

But the Bond I priced was $550 -- which will get me a Springfield XD. And they're only slightly smaller than a Sub Compact 1911. Kel-Tec in 380 is much smaller, lighter, more capacity, less $$$.

Then Taurus came out with the Judge, which is five shot and less $$$.

The Bond is built like a brick privy, well finished, swapping barrels is a neat feature. But there's just too much out there that eclipses these guns on price, features, capacity, size, weight.

 

[PTK]

7.62X25mm

My Bond in 44/40 (44 WCF) was $359, I believe. Good purchase, really.

 

[gitnsige]

If I have to carry something small, its my keltec p32. 7+1 and another mag in my front pocket seems a bit more assuring to me. Derringers are novel and nostalgic, but for weight and compact factors you can do much better.

 

[Kleanbore]

Tied in last place for me, with the NAA revolvers, and slightly below a .25 auto.

Try drawing from safe concealment and getting two very quick shots onto a notebook page at several feet in a couple of seconds.

And then what do you do?

 

[mgregg85]

I'd rather carry two loaded P3ATs and they would still be lighter than one loaded derringer. You could probably even throw in a crimson trace laser on each and still be lighter. Then you would have 14 rounds of .380 ACP available to you as fast as you can pull the triggers, instead of just two shots.

I'd like to get a derringer, but as a fun little range gun. They are really outdated for self defense, why choose a clumsy 2 shot weapon when you have better choices easily available to you.

 

[Prepster]

A double shot pistol is probably fine for the right situation. Now if I could just learn about that situation beforehand...

 

[DVMSteve]

What fun!

I did a search on "ankle", as in I wanted to see what the group had to say about ankle holsters. (pretty sure I knew beforehand) That's where I carry my G26 due to my working wardrobe (surgical scrubs). Anyway, I had just read about Bond Arms as a feature in the NRA magazine that I read cover-to-cover each month.

So I enjoyed the heck out of reading this whole thread. I love this forum; it is so informative.

 

[Shadan7]

If you look . . .

. . . you can find 5 pellets of 000 in .410, and that's what I keep in the Bond derringer as a bedside backup for my wife. She's not enough of a gunnie to be serious about practicing with a handgun, but that she can use the Bond to land 5 hits with a single shot at bad breath distance.

Carry one? Maybe for snake country. Not as a CCW. Thing's too big. But it is kinda fun to shoot.

7

 

[moi_self26]

My mom is very fond of derringers. I think for her though it's more of a nostalgia/ "oh it's so cute" thing. I wanted to get her one for Christmas, but my living in NH and her living in Taxachusetts made that too hard. So for her b'day or mother's day, I'm just going to drive down for a day, take her to get her FID, then take her to a gun shop, let her do all the paper work, and I'll pay for it. Then take her out to dinner. (I'd like to go form the store to the range, but I believe MA has a waiting period )

 

[scotjute]

When you view the title of this thread, "Serious Personal Defense", it occurred to me that when I'm "serious", I'm expecting to have to use the gun. I'd never just bring a Derringer, not even sure I'd just bring a S&W J-frame if I expected to have to use it for protection. I'd have a regular 4" revolver (maybe 2) with shotgun or rifle close by.
The Derringer would be something I'd bring only if I was not expecting trouble, but wanted to bring a firearm anyway. I believe that's about how it was used in the old West years ago also. Nobody brought just a Derringer if they were expecting trouble, its only for back-up or where you weren't supposed to have a gun.

 

[techcowboy]

I like the .22 magnum North American Arms mini-Revolver. Small, powerful,5 shots.