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38 Special or 32 SW Long

2K views 24 replies 7 participants last post by  carver 
#1 · (Edited)
Just a curious minute to share. The pictures show a hole in my old satelitte tv dish antenna made by a Davis derringer in 38 special. The first barrel hit but the second barrel missed the 3' target completely from 10 feet. I would not advise the use of the derringer for any purpose.
The next picture shows a dent in the antenna from 4 or 5 feet from a 32 SW long. I would not want to get shot in the belly with either but ...............................

I read here that Mr Goforth has gone over to Jesus. He was a wealth of information. A nice guy.
 

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#2 ·
Usually a derringer is a "get off me" gun. They are good at close ranges of three, or four, feet. I agree with you on not wanting to get shot with either. And I might add that neither of these two guns would be my choice for a carry pistol. Maybe a BUG, but nothing more.
 
#3 ·
I have a Davis .32ACP derringer that isn't all that bad for accuracy.

My Cobra .38Spl Big Bore has rifling that looks like it was painted in bore(seriously, my calipers cannot even measure the difference between bore and groove).

As mentioned above, they are only a "get off me" type gun. I carry them from time to time because of one of my employer's personal request. ...The company I work for directly follows the laws of the state that were are located. But the company that we contract to has a no gun policy, but two levels of direct bosses has told me - "no gun in our buildings, but when in the field - just keep it concealed so not to scare customers or the general populous." My Davis .32 is the smallest handgun I've ever held. The only things smaller are those NAA mini 22 revolvers.
 
#5 ·
Hi. This derringer was in fact a Cobra as you mention the name. I took it to a local 'gun buyback' put on by the city. About 10 scalper gun buyers approached me and anybody who parked nearby. I sold the thing for $150 to some eager beaver. Go figure.
A thought. If I had the derringer facing a bad guy who was holding my motherinlaw as a shield. I may not worry about the accuracy problem related above but couldnt guarantee myself a hit on the badass. BR
 
#7 ·
It could still be the gun. The Cobra make derringers have horribly stiff triggers. Before I touched mine up, it took two fingers to pull the trigger. ...not joking at all.

Mine is still pretty stiff, but not as bad as it once was.
 
#9 ·
I have two Davis Derringers. A chrome .32 ACP that looks pretty and goes bang. I picked up a big bore in .32 H&R Mag a while back because it was one of those so cheap you can't pass up deals! I have never fired the .32 Mag, but if it is as accurate as the .32 ACP, I won't be impressed! They will work point blank and in a pinch, but a target pistol they are not, even at 10 feet.
 
#14 ·
I have a Davis in .38 Special, and it is also a 'two finger' trigger pull. I do carry it in my back posket when I can't carry my CCW Walther PPK when it's too hot to wear a jacket to conceal it completely. It is definately a 'belly gun' in that the only way it will be effective is if I put it in the bad guy's belly.
 
#16 ·
I believe it is the derringer (Davis) and not my wife's or my shooting. You can literally watch that .32 ACP slug fly down range. At ten feet on a silhouette target aimed at center mass (The "X") it puts one in the forehead and the other in the groin. Now, I wouldn't want to get hit by it in either of those two places by it, but it is pretty worthless unless you stick in somebody's belly and pull the trigger. It shoots straight, just one barrel high and the other low. But hey, we paid $63 bucks for it new because my wife had to have it. I haven't fired the large frame derringer yet, but the trigger pull is a two hand effort. I think it is in the design as it travels more straight back than on a gentle sweep. I am going to disassemble it one day to strip it down as the black finish is in poor shape and it is missing the safety balls. I am going to look in the "inerds" to see if there is something I can clean up to improve the situation.
 
#19 ·
Tye Dye - Over many years I've heard and read a lot from guys wanting to improve the trigger pull on these things to try to improve function, and almost every time it's only ended in making the gun completely unsafe to use. I doubt if even a bent barrel would be noticeable on one of these. If you are too far from the target to give it a powder burn, you are likely too far away to hit it. This is one of the very few times in many years that I disagree with Bill, but maybe there is a 'derringer' out there that I have yet to shoot that has some degree of quality.
 
#21 ·
I would imagine some of the more expensive derringers are fairly accurate and have decent trigger pulls. I really am not going to spend $300 to $400 in a derringer either. If I spend that kind of money it is going to be for something that goes "bang" at least 5 times in a pistol. I really don't think the trigger pull makes it that inaccurate. I bought the first one because my wife wanted it and it was like $63 bucks brand new. The second one I bought, I knew exactly what I was getting. But for $35 you can't go wrong. We have elected a Democratic Governor in Virginia and I plan to use the "buy back" program to my benefit when he does one. I honestly think he will try it in his reign of terror as he is a staunch Obama supporter. When they do one, I am going to take them two 5-gallon buckets full of derringers, ring of fire guns and Saturday night specials. None of which I have paid more than $50 for. Cash them in and then go to my local gun shop and by me a couple of nice firearms to add to my collection. They are money in the bank to me.
 
#20 ·
Not all small pistols are inaccurate!
 
#23 ·
Sorry to hear about that Liberal Governor you guys got stuck with. Virginia is a beautiful State - I was stationed there for almost a year back in the late 60s. Next to Grant's Pass in Oregon it was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

Just a passing question - does anyone make a quality derringer type pistol? I thought about useing .38 Special shotshell rounds in mine to be able to hit SOMETHING, but they won't chamber in my cheapie little Davis. That pistol takes two men and a boy to pull the trigger.
 
#24 ·
Sorry to hear about that Liberal Governor you guys got stuck with. Virginia is a beautiful State - I was stationed there for almost a year back in the late 60s. Next to Grant's Pass in Oregon it was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

Just a passing question - does anyone make a quality derringer type pistol? I thought about useing .38 Special shotshell rounds in mine to be able to hit SOMETHING, but they won't chamber in my cheapie little Davis. That pistol takes two men and a boy to pull the trigger.
I would have to agree that Virginia is a beautiful state, course I was born and raised here so I am partial. We have always had pockets of liberals in VA like every other state in the urban areas. Over the last 20 years or so we have been invaded by more citizens from New Jersey and points further Northeast. The red state of Virginia is slowly and surely becoming a blue state. The people who "escape" to Virginia are more moderate and liberal than the die hard Republicans and conservative Southern Democrats that I grew up with. They will drop lines, "When we lived in New Jersey, our state would provide this." They are slowly turning my state into the state they were trying to escape in the first place.
 
#25 ·
Have you ever wondered why these little pistols have such a heavy trigger pull? They make them that way for a reason. SAFETY! These are short range emergency pistols. They are not target pistols. However, some of them are quality made, and they do shoot well. Watch this video all the way thru, there is a good tip at the end.
 
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