Derringer

Did You Know?

• The term 'derringer' became a genericized misspelling during reporting of the Lincoln assassination, which was committed with a concealed Philadelphia Deringer.
• The ancestor to the derringer of the Old West was the boxlock overcoat pistol, also known as boot pistols, Toby pistols, manstopper pistols, vest pocket pistols, and muff pistols.
• Daniel Moore patented a single-shot metallic cartridge .38 Rimfire pistol in 1861, and his company was later acquired by Colt, which continued producing .41 Rimfire Deringers.

Philadelphia Deringer

The Philadelphia Deringer was a small percussion handgun designed by Henry Deringer and produced from 1825 through 1868. It was a popular concealed carry handgun of the era, and its design was widely copied by competitors, sometimes down to the markings. To load one, the user would first fire a couple of percussion caps to dry out any residual moisture, then remove the remains of the last cap and place the handgun on its half-cock notch. Next, 15 to 25 grains of black powder were poured down the barrel, followed by ramming a patched lead ball down onto the powder, leaving no air gap to prevent the gun from exploding. A new percussion cap was then placed on the nipple, and the gun was ready to fire. The half-cock notch prevented accidental discharge if the trigger was bumped. To fire, the user fully cocked the hammer, aimed, and squeezed the trigger. Upon a misfire, the user could re-cock and try again or switch to a second Deringer. Accuracy was highly variable; some had front sights, others had rear sights, and some had no sights at all, being intended for point-and-shoot use across poker-table distances. Professional gamblers often fired and reloaded daily to reduce the chance of a misfire. Deringer's production records and those of his imitators indicate these pistols were almost always sold in matching pairs, typically priced at $15 to $25 for a pair, with silver-inlaid and engraved models costing more. Buying a pair compensated for the limited power and reliability of a single-shot, short-barreled pistol. Original Deringers are almost never found still in their matched pairs today.

Sharps Deringer

The Sharps deringers were four-barrel, single-action pepperboxes with revolving firing pins. They came in .22, .30, and .32 rimfire, and their four barrels slid forward to load and unload. First patented in 1849, they were not made until 1859. The first model had brass frames and fired .22 Rimfire metallic cartridges. The second model was a .30 Rimfire, the third a .32 Rimfire with an iron frame and the barrel release moved to the left side, and the fourth was also .32 Rimfire with a birdshead grip and slightly shorter barrels. Production ended with the death of Christian Sharps in 1874.

Remington Deringers

Remington’s Model 95, or Double Deringer, stacked two .41 rimfire barrels one above the other, with a pivoting top for reloading. A hammer cam switched between barrels, each holding one round. Over 150,000 were made from 1866 to 1935. The .41 Short bullet traveled about 425 feet per second. Remington also built a .32 short Rimfire “Rider Magazine Repeating” pistol, with a five-round tube under the barrel plus one in the chamber. Cocking the hammer lifted a new cartridge from the magazine and drew back the breech block; releasing it closed the block but left the hammer cocked. Muzzle velocity was 675 to 700 ft/s with a 60-grain bullet.

Modern designs

The High Standard D-100, a hammerless double-action derringer with a half-trigger-guard and break action, debuted in 1962. These two-barrel guns fired .22 Long Rifle or .22 Magnum rounds and came in blued, nickel, silver, or gold-plated finishes. Production stopped in 1984, but American Derringer bought the rights in 1990 and began making a larger .38 Special version, the DS22 and DA38, which remain in production. The COP 357, introduced in 1984, is a four-barrel, hammerless double-action .357 Magnum derringer with barrels arranged in a 2x2 block. American Derringer also produced a smaller .22 Magnum version called the Mini COP. DoubleTap derringers, launched in 2012, are hammerless double-action two-barrel large-caliber models with stainless steel ported barrels, aluminum or titanium frames, and space for two extra rounds in the grip.