20 Ahern Under the Gun: Is that a derringer in your pocket?Ahern Under the Gun: Is that a derringer in your pocket?By Jerry Ahern, photos by Sharon Ahern

The derringer is a firearm type rich in associa-tions with America’s past, yet well suited to today’sdefensive shooting needs. The derringer of whichwe think most often, what we picture in our mindsat the mention of the word, is the Remingtonover/under derringer in .41 Rimfire. Produced from1866 until 1935, the original guns enjoyed a greatdeal of popularity, even among the ranks of lawenforcement. Although the Remington derringersare often portrayed as the primary weapon of theriverboat gambler or “soiled dove,” the little gunswere also used as backup guns. Various stories aretold about the leg-endary ineffective-ness of the .41 Rim-fire cartridge. Myfavorite involvessomeone firing at awooden telephonepole, only to havethe bullet bounceoff. In somerespects, these littleguns may well havebeen more poten-tially dangerous tothe shooter than the“shootee,” since theoriginal Remingtonderringer incorpo-rated no manualsafety system.

Over the years,I’ve fired more thanmy share of der-ringers of the mod-ern variety. Whenmy old friend JanLibourel helmed(then-Petersen’s)HANDGUNS Mag-azine, I served asthe publication’s defacto derringer tester. This was a dubious distinc-tion since I tested derringers ranging in caliber upto .44 Magnum – and that hurt. The reason I was so“lucky” was because some derringers are cham-bered in .45 Colt and .410. The wise legislators inCalifornia determined that a gun so chambered is asawed-off shotgun. This is, of course, crazy; but, itis California, after all.

I’ve owned and used derringers. For a number ofyears, I carried a .45 Colt/.410 derringer on a veryregular basis. Indeed, among larger calibers, thecombination of .45 Colt and .410 is the idealchoice, I think. The reason for that is what isreferred to as “the freebore effect.” The .45 Colt car-tridge is shorter than the .410 shotshell. The actuallength difference is significant. A .45 Colt Silvertipis exactly one and one-half inches long, while .410buckshot loads – those most commonly made espe-

cially for use in such pistols – are two and one-halfinches. What that means is that the bullet fired fromthe Colt case has to travel the distance of one inchbefore engaging the rifling, rather than jumpingright into the rifling. This freebore effect seriouslyreduces perceived recoil. Hence, it is much morepleasant to fire a .45 Colt round from such a der-ringer than to fire an identical derringer made in.45 ACP – no freebore effect with the .45 ACPround because the gun isn’t chambered for .410.

If I roamed the woods a lot, I’d have use for .410shotshells in a handgun. Some will argue that .410shotshells – either the special ones or the standard

variety – are suitedto anti-personneluse. Winchesterhas, for years,offered a .410 thatis loaded with three000 Buck pellets.Winchester alsoproduces a slugload. Two andthree-quarter-inch00 Buck loads arealso available andcertain derringersare chambered totake these. Thestandard .410 cer-tainly wouldn’t bepleasant to be shotwith, but it mightalso have very littleserious effect whenit comes to endingan attack.

The modern der-ringers of BondArms (bondarms.com), althoughreminiscent of theRemington patternderringers of yore,

are considerably more effective and safer to handleand carry than the .41s. I’ve known Greg Bond for anumber of years. His Bond Arms Derringers –“Made in Texas by Texans,” as he likes to say – areserious defensive handguns, whether used againstthe kind of snake that slithers or the kind of snakethat walks on two legs and pretends to be human.The guns come in a variety of calibers, 14 in all, buthave a vastly wider potential when one considerscombinations with shot cartridges and the like.

The guns can be had with gold-filled engravingor plain, with exotic grips or extended grips, withinterchangeable barrel units or with just a singlecaliber. Because of the precision manufacture, ifyou buy one of the Bond Arms derringers now anddecide months or years later that you want anadditional barrel set, the gun does not have to bereturned for fitting. Additionally, a wide range hol-

Above: Jerry draws the Bond Arms Texas Defender from one of theirshoulder holsters. Inset: The Bond Arms Texas Defender with triggerguard and oversize grips shown with .38 Special case at left and .45Colt case at right. Also shown is a set of .38 Special barrels that wenton easily. The beautiful standard-size grips are another option.

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