In Response to the Guns.com Article About Derringers

The Case Against the Derringer

Yesterday over at Guns.com, David LaPell posted a great article entitled "From the Remington 95 to the Heizer DoubleTap: The Case for the Derringers". Its a very well written article, and it gives a nice look at the history of the Derringer as well as some compelling reasons why one might choose a Derringer.

Why would you carry one?  One word: summer.

While ideally one would like to have a gun on them at all times and it’s not always the easiest thing to do as the temperature rises and we lose layers of clothing. Ask yourself, how does one go about trying to concealed carry around a Glock on a really hot summer day? Few things can be more uncomfortable than trying to wear a sidearm in an inside the waistband holster when it's hot and sticky out.

Amen to that! My primary carry gun is the Glock 26, but being from the deep south I years ago came to the realization that carrying "a real gun" during the dog days of summer for any extended period of time is no comfortable task. I also had started to realize that there were times when certain clothing dictated that I pretty much had to go unarmed.

And now a little something for the ladies...

Alternate Headline: Perhaps a Pink Snubbie for the Little Lady

The Bond Arms Mini...

First up is a Bond Mini with some pink grip panels. This is the “Bond Girl” gun, and has really been a hit with the women to whom I have shown it. Pictured here, the Bond Girl pistol is chambered for the 38 Special/357 magnum cartridges, but as with any of the Bond Derringers, switching to another set of barrels is very quick and easy to do.

More on those Bond Arms Derringers

I gave you my opinion the other day... now here is a nice discussion on barrel selection over at DRTV

Bond Arms Derringers

Alternate title: How to sell a gun in two easy steps

This has been a pretty hot topic on The Interwebs lately, so I thought I would weigh in with my opinion. Let me first say that I really think Bond Arms makes some high quality firearms, and the cool factor is really way up there (those are the two steps, people).... BUT... Unless you just really, really want to own one of these for the novelty of it all then you would probably be better served with something more traditional.

Dont get me wrong, these are great guns - for what they are. They are certainly versatile. You can basically mix and match barrels and add them to the frame to custom create any caliber gun that you want. Thats cool and functional.

Still, other than showing these guns off at a BBQ or at the range, you are gonna be hard pressed to make the case that these guns more effectively get the job done than more traditional firearms. For concealed carry, I personally think that their limited capacity makes them an automatic no go. They are also rather hefty (24 oz) for a "derringer" and it most certainly wont fit in your pocket anytime soon. It is also important to note that shooting these guns in a real defensive caliber is a hot handful, indeed! As a snake slaying trail gun, it certainly will get the job done.... but like I said, there are a lot of other choices that would fill this role better. Of course there are the new breed of revolvers designed around the .410, but any traditional revolver loaded with snake shot will be more then adequate and will give you 3 or 4 more rounds in capacity than the Bond Arms.

But hey, if you really just want one of these for nothing more then the cool factor, then by all means go for it. This is America after all... and need very rarely has anything to do with it. However, if you are truly in search of a role specific firearm to fill an actual need, then you might be better served with a more traditional firearm design.

BTW - If anyone at Bond Arms sees it in their heart to send one of their quality firearms my way... I'll take this one

Video: Bond Arms 410 & 45LC Derringer