Cobra 38 deringer

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Years ago, I carried a Davis derringer in 32acp.
Being chrome plated, it actually had a good intimidation factor when viewed from the perp eye muzzle end.
I fired a round at night once, with no hearing pro...very impressive, large cone shaped muzzle blast, and very loud.
Good hideout gun, always went bang, and one of the two barrels shot to POA at 25yds.
 
Cobra 38 deringer
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Get one of the NAA revolvers in .22mag....... You'll be glad you picked it over a Derringer.
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They make a NAA Mini Revolver .22 Mag in 38 Special? :rolleyes:

I also have a NAA Mini Revolver. But when I went mini, I went MINI! Mine is chambered in 22 Short. Just like my Cobra 38, lots of fun to play with, but I have much better CCW choices. It does tuck away in places no other gun would though. Like the watch pocket in a pair of jeans.
 
The Cobras are made 20 miles south of me. I have a .22 mag derringer that wouldn't reliably fire on both barrels, so I took it down to them. I walked out a few minutes later with two new firing pins, a new main spring, and a new barrel set all installed and test fired free of charge.

They stand by their warranty. Still considering trading it for a walmart gift card if there's ever a gun buyback. Pretty poor gun with a great warranty.

The derringer I actually carry is the Bond Arms .410/.45 Colt.
 
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I'd rather carry it over ANY .25 ACP pistol... but that isn't saying much.

Honestly I'd rather carry a nice folding knife. As others have said, these are complete junk and are absolutely useless for defense. I see they are all over Gun Broker. Appears nobody is buying them, and for very good reason.
 
I've seen that one company called American Derringer Company (makes sense) makes a derringer. Supposedly they are better made than the Cobra guns.

Might be a little better quality than the Cobra guns. IMHO I really want a .38 derringer, but not a Cobra. Not exactly a durable gun.
 
Forgive the ancient bump but I didn't want to start a new thread.

Here's my dilemma, I want a Derringer as a novelty that will have a few rounds fired through it every few weeks. I like the price point of the Cobra but I MUCH prefer the specs and look of the American Derringer or Bond Arms.

I'm going to a gun show in a few weeks and may buy a derringer if I find one at a good price.

One question, if I see a 9mm and 38 Special which is more manageable in a light derringer form? The maths make it look like a 38 is more stable but I'm a newbie here.
 
One question, if I see a 9mm and 38 Special which is more manageable in a light derringer form? The maths make it look like a 38 is more stable but I'm a newbie here.
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The lower pressure and muzzle energy would favor .38 Special.
 
Does anyone know for sure if American Derringer is still open? I forgot to ask that.

Also, this will be my first gun show. What are my odds of seeing a good deal? It's the Charlotte NC gun show and I'm told it's one of the better ones.
 
Can't help with the Charlotte gun show but here in Colorado you can come across some decent deals, you really have to look but sometimes they are out there. In reference to the Cobra, I have shot my co-workers .38 special Cobra and it is fun a couple of times and great as a novelty item. Is it worth $150? I don't know. In reference to high quality derringers like Bond Arms, in my opinion they are still just novelty items but cost $400 or so. Is it worth it? Again, I don't know but I certainly like the .45lc/.410 chambering they offer.

As for American Derringer, google it and it will take you to their website.
 
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Targa, I've seen their website but if you check the source code you will see that it hasn't updated in about 4 years. Also some things that are from 4 years ago still show as "new."

Also when checking online sources I can't find any that carry them.

I guess I'll try emailing them and see if I get a response but the site seems abandoned to me.
 
Your right, I did the same thing after responding to your thread with the same results as you. All I could find was used stuff for sale.
 
I wrote to them and they didn't respond so until further notice I'm going to consider American Derringers to be closed or on hiatus. I may find a nice used one at the show however.

So for new derringers in either 9mm or 38 we are left with the cheap Cobra and the nicer but pricey Bond Arms.

I wouldn't mind a micro 9mm in a more traditional design but I've heard enough horror stories about the Double Tap that I think I'll pass on it.

Then again maybe I need to give up on 9mm. I like the micro Berreta that I saw in 380.
 
In my opinion, buying a derringer, $100 or $500, is a serious error in judgement. Obviously it's better than nothing, but not MUCH better. I had a 9mm Bond Cowboy Defender because I thought it was cool and might be useful for a carry gun ... not so much ... heavy, slow to reload, hard to shoot ... they're a toy to amuse your friends at the range, then be put away while you carry an actually useful gun for self-defense.
 
One more question guys. Why is it reported that the Double Tap is painful to shoot but the Bond Arms and Cobra guns are not? Looking at pictures it seems like the Double Tap is poorly designed because they valued thin so much that they forgot what shape the human hand is. That's just a guess on my part.

As for using the derringer, I would not. I don't carry a gun for protection and if I did it would be a 9mm Sccy. Derringers are really best for collectors.
 
i carry everyday, if my option were a 2-shot double-tap in .22LR or a 12-round 9mm SCCY....i would rab that Derringer and at least have the option of shooting twice before something broke off rather than one shot with the sccy.



this is the only pic left of my second semi-auto 9mm i have ever owned, i wish i hd also held on to a picture of the box of broken and replced parts that were all collected in under six-months and 500 rounds. Super accurate after you get used to the inch-long 8# trigger, but other than that, wow was it a bad gun. I try to rant about it every time someone makes a SCCY suggestion, i wouldn't normally do that for ANY gun even if i got a total lemon, but i do it for the SCCY because after more than six-trips back home and soooo many BROKEN pieces, i was never offered a refund or a replacement....just keep on sending it back, wait, and then shot a couple mags until it breaks again. Since they clearly knew about the problems of their first gen pistol, and the second gen's were already out.....why was i never offered a new pistol of a refun? that still irk's me to this day. and i am pretty handy and good at fixing things, but when they try to talk you into doing silly things over the phone rather than sending it back again(like "warping" the frame pins in a vice so they don't walk, or replacing th internal ejector that tkaes NO normal sized punch, and sending me a bulk pack of safties since three broke(you'd think SOMEONE would have the bright idea to start making a part so prone to falure out of metal instead of soft plastic at some point), flipping springs upside down for light-strike corrections and the list goes on. lets just say that is not a gun i would ever trust even my dog's life to, and i was wholeheartedly looking forward to this pistol despite the crappy triger. the size was great, it was light, the little pencil barrel was impressively accurate, but i gave them every chance in the book. sorry.....rant over.
 
In my opinion, buying a derringer, $100 or $500, is a serious error in judgement
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ONLY if you buy guns for the sole purpose of self defense, and CCW!
My cheapo Cobra 38 Special is an absolute hoot as a range blaster. Loaded up with standard offerings based on a 158 gr. Lead round nose, hand loads loaded to the same power level, or for the more timid handed, powder puff hand loads using a 121 gr. pill from a Lyman 358242 mold.:D
 
^ Ditto, Cheapshooter!

I bought my cobra .22 derringer simply for range fun. I got the .22 lr because I figured the kick on a bigger derringer would be bad. I may buy a few of the interchangeable barrels so I can try different calibers but probably wouldn't spend the money on it for awhile.
 
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