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Derringers

The original Philadelphia Deringer was a single-shot muzzleloading percussion cap pistol introduced in 1852, by Henry Deringer. In total, approximately 15,000 Deringer pistols were manufactured. All were single barrel pistols with back action percussion locks, typically.41 caliber with rifled bores, and walnut stocks. Barrel length varied from 1" to 6", and the hardware was commonly a copper-nickel alloy known as " German silver ".

The term derringer (/ ˈ d ɛr ɪ n dʒ ər /) has become a genericized misspelling of the last name of Henry Deringer. Many copies of the original Philadelphia Deringer pistol were made by other gun makers worldwide, and the name was often misspelled; this misspelling soon became an alternative generic term for any pocket pistol, along with the generic phrase palm pistol, which Deringer's competitors invented and used in their advertising. With the advent of metallic cartridges, pistols produced in the modern form are still commonly called "derringers".

Daniel Moore patented a single shot metallic cartridge.38 Rimfire derringer in 1861. These pistols have barrels that pivoted sideways on the frame to allow access to the breech for reloading. Moore would manufacture them until 1865, when he sold out to National Arms Company which produced single shot.41 Rimfire derringers until 1870, when it was acquired by Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company. Colt continued to produce the.41 Rimfire derringer after the acquisition, as an effort to help break into the metallic-cartridge gun market, but also introduced its own three single shot Colt Derringer Models, all of them also chambered in the.41 Rimfire cartridge. The last model to be in production, the third Colt Derringer, was not dropped until 1912. The third Colt Derringer Model was re-released in the 1950s for western movies, under the name of Fourth Model Colt Deringer.

The Remington Model 95 derringer was one of the first metallic cartridge handguns. Small and easy to use, Remington manufactured more than 150,000 of these over-under, double-barreled derringers from 1866 until the end of their production in 1935. The Remington derringer doubled the capacity of the derringers designed by Daniel Moore, while maintaining a compact size. The Remington Model 95 has achieved such widespread popularity, that it has completely overshadowed its predecessors, becoming synonymous with the word "derringer". The Model 95 was made only in.41 Rimfire. Its barrels pivoted upwards to reload and a cam on the hammer alternated between top and bottom barrels. The.41 Rimfire bullet moved very slowly, at about 425 feet per second (130 m/s), around half the speed of a modern.45 ACP. It could be seen in flight, but at very close range, such as at a casino or saloon card table, it could easily kill. There were four models with several variations. The Remington derringer design is still being made; in a variety of calibers from.22 long rifle to.45 Long Colt and.410 gauge, by several manufacturers. The current production of derringers are used by Cowboy Action Shooters as well as a concealed-carry weapon.

While the classic Remington design is a single-action derringer with a hammer and tip-up action, the High Standard D-100 introduced in 1962, is a hammer-less, double-action derringer with a half-trigger-guard and a standard break action design. These double-barrel derringers were chambered for.22 Long Rifle and.22 Magnum and were available in blued, nickel, silver, and gold plated finishes. Although, they were discontinued in 1984, American Derringer would obtain the High Standard design in 1990 and produce a larger.38 Special version. These derringers called the DS22 and DA38 are still being made and are popular concealed carry handguns.

The COP.357 is a modern 4-shot Derringer -type pistol chambered for.357 Magnum. Introduced in 1983, it is a double-action weapon about twice as wide, and substantially heavier than the typical.25 automatic pistol. Still, it is relatively compact size and a powerful cartridge makes it an effective defensive weapon or a police backup gun. The COP.357 is quite robust in design and construction. It is made of solid stainless steel components. Cartridges are loaded into the four separate chambers by sliding a latch that "pops-up" the barrel for loading purposes, similar to top-break shotguns. Each of the four chambers has its own dedicated firing pin. It uses an internal hammer, which is activated by depressing the trigger to hit a ratcheting/rotating striker that in turn strikes one firing pin at a time. Older " pepperboxes " also used multiple barrels, but the barrels were the part that rotated. The COP.357 operates similarly to the Sharps derringer of the 1850s, in that it uses the ratcheting/rotating striker, which is completely internal, to fire each chamber in sequence.