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I always found derringers interesting.


Ace_of_Hearts

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I like those little poppers, too (own about a baker's dozen of them), but most are so underpowered that if someone shot me with one and I found out about it, I'd be totally ticked off.  Last two I got are a replica of a Sharps 1A four shot "pepperbox" in .22 short and a Hopkins and Allen Ranger #2 five shot .32 rimfire.

 

They look good hanging on the wall in frames of four or five guns each.

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I've always liked them too for some reason. I'm on my second, a Cobra .38 Spl. Main problem is they have an effective range of about 4 feet. They usually have about a 20 lb trigger pull that almost takes both hands. I've never had a Bond or an American, but from what I hear they're pretty much the same, just a H*lluva lot more expensive. They're kinda fun to play with on side matches, but if I had to fight with one I think I'd rather have a Bowie or my Cold Steel Recon Tanto.

JHC

 

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Having traced the history and examined the innards  of the Remington Over/Under Double Deringer for about 20 years, and co-authored a book on the subject, there is one thing I never quite understood...how in blazes did/do you pack one with both barrel loaded and the hammer on the delicate half-cock notch?  A deputy sheriff in Arizona once dropped one and it went off and hit him in the leg.  The leg had to be amputated!  True, the .41 Short Rim Fire cartridge is about as puny as can be, but before the advent of antibiotics, they were almost to be feared more than a .45 Colt's or .44-40! 

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Got one in .45 Colt ,,,, Will ring Match steel Shot for Shot .....

Will often place both shots with-in an inch at 12 yards ... Dead center on the plate ...

 

Jabez Cowboy

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With my Bond you shoot low with the first shot, high with the second. But it will hit a 20" gong at 40 yards. The bores are about as aligned as Marty Feldman's eyes.

 

th.jpg

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On 4/11/2019 at 9:08 AM, Michigan Slim said:

With my Bond you shoot low with the first shot, high with the second. But it will hit a 20" gong at 40 yards. The bores are about as aligned as Marty Feldman's eyes.

 

th.jpg

 

"It could be worse, it could be raining,"  Igor, Young Frankenstein

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On 4/10/2019 at 5:02 PM, Trailrider #896 said:

Having traced the history and examined the innards  of the Remington Over/Under Double Deringer for about 20 years, and co-authored a book on the subject, there is one thing I never quite understood...how in blazes did/do you pack one with both barrel loaded and the hammer on the delicate half-cock notch?  A deputy sheriff in Arizona once dropped one and it went off and hit him in the leg.  The leg had to be amputated!  True, the .41 Short Rim Fire cartridge is about as puny as can be, but before the advent of antibiotics, they were almost to be feared more than a .45 Colt's or .44-40! 

The .45 Colt and .44WCF would kill you right there and then.  The .41RF would kill you this week- or maybe next week- in long drawn out agony. 

 

No wonder they were so feared.

 

With the heel based bullet in the .41RF, all the lube was a great place for all the dirt, grime germs and bacteria to congregate.  Add in a couple or 3 layers of clothing getting pushed into the wound, no antibiotics, no germ theory, nasty surgical instruments, etc ...., that's pretty much an infection waiting for a place to happen.

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3 hours ago, Smuteye John SASS#24774 said:

The .45 Colt and .44WCF would kill you right there and then.  The .41RF would kill you this week- or maybe next week- in long drawn out agony. 

 

No wonder they were so feared.

 

With the heel based bullet in the .41RF, all the lube was a great place for all the dirt, grime germs and bacteria to congregate.  Add in a couple or 3 layers of clothing getting pushed into the wound, no antibiotics, no germ theory, nasty surgical instruments, etc ...., that's pretty much an infection waiting for a place to happen.

 

Yep after you watch your buddy die of gangrene or sepsis you start to develop a deep respectful fear of being shot with pocket pistols and belly guns.

 

That's why they were so popular with soiled doves and gamblers and other town folk. Light, and easy to conceal, and very deadly.

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20 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

 

Yep after you watch your buddy die of gangrene or sepsis you start to develop a deep respectful fear of being shot with pocket pistols and belly guns.

 

That's why they were so popular with soiled doves and gamblers and other town folk. Light, and easy to conceal, and very deadly.

I've got a H&R New American Double Action chambered in .44Bulldog.  The .44Bulldog round ain't much more that the .41RF (150gr bullet@ around 500fps) but at least it's center fire.

 

  That's the same gun that was used in the gunfight between madames in El Paso over a tinhorn gambler.  The newspaper said the loserof the gunfight had been shot in the "public" arch in one of the most hilarious-and accurate- proofreading blunders in the Old West.

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3 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

I have a Davis .38 Spl derringer. It’s a great paperweight. 

Got a Jennings .380 you can have if you have too many papers to hold down. Brother gave it to me cause it wont go bang twice in a row.

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3 hours ago, Michigan Slim said:

Got a Jennings .380 you can have if you have too many papers to hold down. Brother gave it to me cause it wont go bang twice in a row.

Thanks, but no thanks. I would send mine to you but I live in CA now. The cost to process is way more than its worth. I actually shoots. It just has a 30 pound trigger pull. :blink:

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On ‎4‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 9:40 PM, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Thanks, but no thanks. I would send mine to you but I live in CA now. The cost to process is way more than its worth. I actually shoots. It just has a 30 pound trigger pull. :blink:

 

I've got a Jennings J-22. Believe it or not it actually runs pretty good. However just like you I only hang onto it because its simply not worth selling.

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