Brief History of the Derringer Pistol :

Since 1852 the Derringer Pistol has been a favorite conceal carry choice of gun men and law men alike. It was created by famed gunsmith Henry Deringer and instantly became a hit from the years he produced it 1852 - 1868. The Derringer Pistol was such a hit that it produced a host copy cat designs who dubbed theirs the "Derringer" adding another "r" to the name of the pistol (so named off it's creator Henry Deringer) but basically using the same exact design. So many companies copied the design that the the "double r " name for this poplar pistol stuck over time. Today the Derringer line of pistols is still being made by a host of companies and the basic design has remained the same with some minor changes in barrel length, chambering ranging from .22 cal all the way up to the big bore Derringers in .38 Special, 9mm and even the .357 Magnum.

Controversy: The Hitman Special

The Derringer received world wide recognition on April 14, 1865 when it was used to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth who's Derringer pistol is pictured above. Booth had snuck behind President Lincoln at a play and shot him in the back of the head. Ever since then the Derringer pistol has had a bad reputation as a "Hitman Special " gun.

Derringers have evolved with time from being Black powder pistols to Single and Double action pistols and most have a capacity range between 1 - 4 Rounds. The most common design today is the Double barrel two max capacity design which is made by all three major Derringer Manufacturers it is pictured below here. Theses new Derringer designs

share the same common shape, and size with features like open barrel loading, no drop hammer safety, two stage hammer cocking and a shell ejection latch. However they seem to differ in weight as some manufactures make their Derringers with more heavier solid metal. Unloaded the different makes range any where from 9oz - 23oz. Some of the top makers Now are Cobra Enterprises, Bond Arms and American Derringer. Bond Arms has the largest selection on different calibers you can get a Derringer in. The top 3 Derringer maker all seem to have different pricing too.

Bond Arms Derringers usually run between $400 - $500 but they seem to be the most well made ones or so they tout. They look very high quality though, here is a picture of a Bond Arms Derringer:

As you can see the gun appears to be made from stainless steele and has a cherry wood handle. Those kinds of amenities will cost you and the stainless steel makes them very heavy. Bond Arms Derringers are available in several calibers. Their most popular Derringer is called the "Texas Defender"it is available in these calibers:

45 Colt/.410 Shot Shell(rifled)
.357 MAG/.38 Spl
.357 MAX
.45 ACP
.45 Colt, Only
.45 Glock Auto
.44 Special
44-40 Winchester
.40 S&W
10 mm
9 mm Lugar
32 H & R Mag
.22 Long Rifle

In the middle of the pricing is American Derringer. Their Derringers usually cost between $300 - $400. They have the most variations of the Derringer available today and they have a decent array of calibers to choose from too but not as much as Bond Arms. They also make a Double Action Derringer called the DA 38 which is chambered for the .38 Special round. It is extremely popular because the Double Action feature means you don't have to cock the hammer to fire it. It's picture below. The best value for money in Derringers today has got to be from Cobra Enter prizes of UTAH. Most of their Derringers are made of aircraft grade metal with a Satin Nickel finish which makes them really light, unloaded they generally weight between 9 Oz. - 16 Oz. depending on the caliber of the pistol. Which is much lighter than the ones made by Bond Arms whose Derringers generally weigh above 23 Oz. This reduced weight gives a significant advantage to those who conceal carry Derringers. Cobra recently introduced their "Big Bore " Derringers chambered for the .38 Special or 9mm (9x19 Para bellum) rounds which are both very commonly used bullets. Even more appealing to buyers is their price range of about $140 - $165 for the Derringer and you can easily see why Cobra Derringers are the number one selling Derringer brand. Below is a picture of the Cobra Enterprises Derringer. The Model here is a .38 Special Version with the Satin Nickel finish. In the picture it is placed next to some regular items like a flip cell phone, box of cigarettes and a lighter to brag on another one of it's key selling points. It's also the smallest double barrel style Derringers available today:

The .38 Special rounds in the center of the bullets clearly depicts why this Derringer is considered a "Big Bore " as the size of the .38 Special bullet is significantly larger than the .22 LR to the bottom and the .22 Magnum round to the top. Both the .22 LR and the .22 Magnum were the only available choices from Cobra before they released the "Big Bore " series. The down side is after about 50 Rounds at the range testing it the gun got really hot and seem to take on a bluish color.

Overall Derringers make an excellent back up weapon and can easily slip in your pocket and disappear. Some people like to say why not get a pocket semi-auto pistol like the Kel-Tec PF9 because it has more rounds. Well each weapon has it's purpose. The Semi-Auto pocket guns are no where near as small as a Derringer so they are alot easier to conceal and with the advent of the "Big Bore" models recently there is no semi auto pocket pistol available that can pack more power than a Derringer who has calibers as large as the .357 Magnum available. Add to the fact that Derringers never jam in a gun fight and requires little or no maintenance is also a major plus.

The only advantage it seems goes to the Semi auto pocket pistols is the number of rounds as most usually hold between 6 - 7 rounds and typically have calibers available from .22 LR to .45 cal. they are no more powerful Magnum rounds available in semi - auto pocket pistol configurations.

You can check out the top 3 Derringer Makers sites here:

• Cobra Enterprises of Utah
• Bond Arms, Inc
• American Derringer
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