I used the quotes, cause, yeah, that's not how you spell it, ut it's how everyone after Henry himself decided to spell it, so...

Anyway, Finally found a Remington at a price I could afford, so I went and grabbed it. (Sort of. I really need to bitch my bitch about WA state's absolutely amazing descent into pure bred window licking full retard garbage legislation in the appropriate forum,, but yeah. After a bunch of BS and three weeks of "waiting period, I was ultimately allowed to take physical possession of this absolutely terrifying weapon of mass destruction)



So now, I have examples of two out of three of wha I would call the "US Derringers": the original (Mine is a very nice repro) muzzle loading as made by Henry Deringer in Philadelphia, the Remington Double Derringer (Later Model 95), with only the High Standard D100 Derringer left to find a good example of somewhere.

If you say the word "derringer" I would bet it's one of the above three most people think of.

My Remington is a late production Remington UMC marked, with the mononblock barrels. In really nice condition, heck if I could find any ammmo, I wouldn't heist to fire a few rounds through it just to say I did. As it is, it can just be a cool example of what a "pocket pistol" looked like at the turn of the (previous) century!

Bill R

Would love to see them!

I had a High Standard. I sold it when I realized I was actually carrying it with two shots for self defense. Although there was a news item about a heir to a fortune fighting off kidnappers with one.

I had a Great Western reproduction Remington, a very close copy except in .38 S&W. I used it for SASS derringer side matches along with with my S&W .38 Single Action 2nd Model for pocket pistol side matches.

Never did anything about a Philiadelphia Deringer, though.

I once read that customers could shoot their Deringers on the company range in the shop cellar and have staff clean and reload them. Note that the pocket size Deringers do not have ramrods. I assume they came with a loading rod, but if you were in Philadelphia it would sure be convenient to just hand it to the clerk.

I believe that John Wilkes Booth was a fan of the percussion model.

Here’s mine. Small “o” variation.

Bring out your inner James West.

quote:

Sort of. I really need to bitch my bitch about WA state's absolutely amazing descent into pure bred window licking full retard garbage legislation in the appropriate forum,,

I mean you could conceivably kill a president or head of state…….in 1865 or 2025 assuming you had a literal army of commandos with the highest tech equipment who made the way for you and subdued said head of state so I mean……….could happen right.

Very cool stuff. Always appreciate when you share.

One of the things I am finding most interesting as I dig into it is the definition of what people considered “good enough” for personal protection, in terms of a “pocket pistol”.

In 1865 it might have been a single shot percussion muzzle loader. If you were gangstering it, maybe a Colt 1849 .31 five or six shot single action.

1890 and now it’s a Remington in .41 rimfire or maybe a Colt open top .22 rimfire.

Roll up to the early 1900s and we start getting DA revolvers in.32 and .38, followed by some good automatics in .32, .25, and.380….

Then late in the 20th century, we had “pocket pistols” limited to J frames, Seecamp .32, etc.

Now, heck, it’s 11 rounds of full on 9mm +P in a polymer striker fire and everyone is just..”yeah, that’s my pocket gun”

Bill R

quote:

1890 and now it’s a Remington in .41 rimfire or maybe a Colt open top .22 rimfire.

By 1890 I could have a .32 or .38 S&W, maybe a Bulldog, no need to depend on a two shooter or peashooter.

Just saw one used to deadly effect the other night!

The family had that Remington derringer, nobody seemed to know anything about it. There was also a WW1 S&W .45(?) service revolver that an officer relative had carried.

The guns disappeared after the family made a move. It wasn't until several weeks later I realized the guns were gone. I know the movers who stole them but it was too late to do anything about. And I was just a kid so my word was of no value.

When I started at the Prosecutor's Office in '81, we had either 10 or 12 of those HS derringers, all in 22 mag. I, sorta by default, became the gun guy and I pulled them out of storage around 1990 and found all were busted-they would fire the first barrel, but not the second. I knew a gunsmith, long gone now to his reward, who tried to get and then even make the parts, but they just would not work. Tried to contact High Standard, tried the parts guys advertising in Shotgun News and got no where. We traded them in, getting pretty much nothing for them, IIRC, in a purchase of the then-new lasers for the investigators' revolvers.

I was disappointed as I had carried one of the HS derringers in my rear pocket as a police officer for a couple of years before leaving for law school. Mine was a 22 LR and, though I never shot it a lot, it had always worked.

They were interesting guns for sure.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
Bring out your inner James West.

Wild Wild West was great. Brings back some fond memories of James West and the derringer up his sleeve.

Imagine being a kid, 6 or 7 years old, playing with a real Buddy's Double Deuce .22 caliber derringer in your room with real bullets. Cocking and thumbing down the hammer like a real pro. Imagine that same kid, that couldn't hit a 50 gallon drum at 5 yards, manage to shoot a snow bird out of a tree 25 yards away on Christmas day in the late mid/late 1960s.