I was driving to work yesterday, sitting in a traffic jam on I-77 really… and listing to Glenn Beck on the Patriot XM. And I heard an advertisement for Bond Arms Derringers.
Then last night I was with my wife at Cabela’s and she pointed out the Bond Arms and was basically “Oh look, Shiny!”
Here’s the thing about Bond Arms. They do make the best Derringers on the market. They are built with high quality standards, good materials, and with an excellent fit and finish. I’ve never seen a bad one.
But I’ve also never seen one I’d actually carry for Self Defense. They are thick and they are heavy. They are solid chunks of steel weight with two holes drills through them. They are as thick as a Double Whopper With Cheese. And for all that size and weight, you only get two shots. Now, I understand the reason for all that beef… Because you can change barrels and change calibers… tons of options for that. But every option leaves you with just two shots.
Two from a gun with horrible sights and a horrible trigger, that has to be manually cocked. How you get a terrible trigger pull from a Single Action Trigger is beyond me. Combine bad sights and a bad trigger with only 2 shoots and you get something that’s very much Less than Ideal for actual self defense use. Put that in a package that’s so thick and heavy – you will not be carrying it very often.
Bond Arms looks Old School Cool. And they are. Just don’t be buying them for actual self defense use.
Supposedly the new generation (as in last 2 years) have a rather improved trigger.
I’m surprised you didn’t mention how expensive they are, and the extra barrels as well…talk about sticker shock. I can get a pretty good quality used auto for the same price and overall be much happier with that purchase than with the Bond derringer.
Cost means different things to different people… almost not worth mentioning.
Yea, I’m gonna have to disagree with you there…while cost does mean different things to different people, it is always worth mentioning. If the MSRP was 100.00 then people would say it is a good value but if the MSRP was 1000.00 then people would be straining to look for the value at that price. IMO it’s priced in a class of firearms that offer better value for the same money and considering that I’m poor I need all the value I can get for my money.
Agree with Matt here, to a extent, the lil devils are pricey new for what they are. Bought a .38/.357 version used for $150 a few years ago, it was clean, well kept and I couldn’t realy haggle the price of it. Lil bastard was rowdy when firing it, that and it wasn’t consistant at any appreciable range just shy of point blank, to which in my mind at the time was just what I was looking for, “point blank range”. It’s long since rotated out of my collection for what I gave for it, can’t argue that, but what I did like about it was the novelty of it, it was fun, fairly small, and very loud. Oddly enough, in terms of nearly the same weight and size, my SP101 filled that fire breathing void with 3 extra rounds, way better sights and grip. Would I buy another one? Probably…..ok yes, if the price wasn’t too inflated, and the one that caught my eye http://bondarms.com/bond-arms-handguns/snake-slayer-iv/ . My Judge, loaded with Winchester Super-X 000 sure is a hell of alot of fun and devastating, but takes up alot of room in my tackle box. And that, my distant fellow associates, is my justification for it with my nose in the air. 😉
I think the trigger was designed by the lawyers to be defensible in court so the gun would not be pegged as having an exposed spur trigger that “caused” ADD’s. Same thinking IMHO as putting a 12 lb. trigger on a semi auto with no other “safeties” so instant court defense.
Actually, if you look up the coverage of the trial of (now former) NYPD Ofc. Peter Liang, his jury directly examined his NYPD-spec Glock 19, complete with the NY-2 trigger spring, weighing in at 11-1/2 lbs. pull weight – they all unanimously agreed that a trigger of that weight was sufficiently heavy that deliberate effort, rather than an unintentional/accidental flinch, was required to fire that gun. The NY-2 trigger may be mocked by serious firearms aficionados and trainers, but the NYPD’s policy on trigger weight will probably remain unchanged for the foreseeable future as a result of this verdict…
A friend has one in .410/.45LC and while you’d be OK out to about 3 yards with the some of the SD shot shells I’d be worried about collateral damage to bystanders. Yep, the trigger was heavy and stiff and made any kind of accuracy work just miserable. I’d rather carry my NAA Guardian in .32 ACP that keyholes bullets.
Last time I was in my local pawn shop I saw a black woman who wanted to buy a derringer as a purse gun. The clerk was wisely attempting to steer her toward a revolver, instead. I think the market for these guns are just such low-income people who want something small enough to carry everywhere without paying more than $200.
I agree, too much money. You can get a Ruger LCP or LC9 for the same money. They are also a bit more narrow and about the same length. Geoff Who would rather have 7 or 8 rounds in .380 or 9mm.
One interesting development is that Bond Arms just bought out Boberg and are about to start producing the XR9 as their new “bullpup pistol”. I’m not sure how practical that little gun is but its definitely innovative and definitely cool looking.
Derringers?
Just as heavy as other arms which hold more BBs!
Poor sights, etc.
Akin to buying thin, one-ply TP.
Doesn’t do the job, and one might get dirty…
gfa
Mostly agree with the Ogre. However if I lived in snake country i would own a .45/.410 version with 410 shotshells for rattler/cottonmouth defense. That’s the one niche that makes sense — heavy little gun but still a lot more convenient than a Judge or a .410 Mossberg!
You make a valid point.
I’d rather a Judge Public Defender myself… but if it works for you, then it isn’t wrong. Carry On!