Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Bond vs American Derringer

I first became aware of the existence of derringers as a boy watching Westerns with my dad. I thought it would be really neat to own one some day. In my teenage years I read, I think in Guns & Ammo, an article on the American Derringer in .44 magnum. Then the article said that they were also available in 30-30 and .45-70! I really wanted one of them someday.

Since that time, (actually long ago) I realized that there are far better options for concealed carry. Once at a gunshow in Louisville, I actually looked at a very slightly-used .45-70 American Derringer for $300 and really wanted it, but had more pressing priorities on my limited budget.

Since my budget is pretty limited for the foreseeable future and there are still many more pressing "needs", I probably won't ever buy a derringer, but was curious about something.

It seems like since I first became aware of the existence of Bond Arms, I don't hear anything about American Derringer anymore. I've never handled a Bond Arms, but they seem to be of very good quality from what I've heard. I've seen Bob Munden shoot a ballon with one at 100 yards!

Bottom line is, I'm curious if both brands are comparable in quality and why you just don't hear anything about American Derringer anymore? Their website doesn't seem to get updated either.

I don't know but I agree with you, I think it would be badass to have a 30/30 or 45-70 derringer

I have a bond arms and they are very nice. They are very big though and not a usual derringer size as I think. The are well made. Another great feature is you can use other barrels.

I was looking at the Bond Arms site the other day for the first time and saw that there are options to buy barrels in other calibers for most or all models. Didn't know that until then. A neat feature.

I looked at a Bond several months ago. Looked well made and it might even be useful in a real close fight. I would get one in 45-70 just for the fun of it.

My Bond .45/.410 is a fun gun to shoot but is not particularly accurate since the two barrels do not shoot to the same POI at about 10 yards. That is fine for belly to belly but should be a little better. The gun is sturdy and quite functional. It is also quite large. I have no experience with A.D.

HAd an American Derringer many years ago in 45 LC/ 410. Never shot it, wife became ill and that along with a lot of other stuff got sold to pay medical bills. It was solid, and hefty though! Very well built.

I can not imagine firing a .45-70 derringer as being fun, but maybe I'm just not the masochist that others are. Good luck with that.

Just make sure to budget in a lanyard and hard hat with a face shield.

I shot mt contender in 45-75 a lot with some pretty stout loads and my home swaged 350 gr jacketed spire points. Think it was an even 50 gr of 3031. Anyway it was a lot easier on the body than in a rifle.

If I had a 45-70 derringer I think I might load up some 300 gr bullets with a huge metplat and some light loads and Cream Of Wheat as a filler. A 300 gr bullet at 800 FPS would be pretty distracting when toe-to-toe distances.