One of the guys at work shot an American Derringer in .357 Magnum over the weekend and both barrels fired at the same time. The gun jumped out of his hand and flipped up and the barrel end hit him 1'' below his left eye. Nice cut and his eye was swollen shut the next day. He was shooting Blazer brass and both primers were struck.
Has anyone ever heard of such a situation with a Derringer before? I'll see if he'll let me post a picture.
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pirateguy191
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Derringer Firing Both Barrels At Once???
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"When democracy turns to tyranny, the armed citizen still gets to vote." ~ Mike Vanderboegh
NRA member, NRA basic pistol instructor, DBACB
"When democracy turns to tyranny, the armed citizen still gets to vote." ~ Mike Vanderboegh
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DontTreadOnMe
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Re: Derringer Firing Both Barrels At Once???
Because derringers have 2 firing pins the springs must be heavy enough to overcome the pins inertia, otherwise the recoil can cause the second pin to move forward and strike the primer. The lighter the gun & more powerful the round, the beefier the springs have to be to prevent this from happening.
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steves 50de
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Re: Derringer Firing Both Barrels At Once???
I have a 38 derringer and hold it tight when shooting as that possibility has crossed my mind can't imagine both barrel's of 357 mag ,...ouch.pirateguy191 wrote:One of the guys at work shot an American Derringer in .357 Magnum over the weekend and both barrels fired at the same time. The gun jumped out of his hand and flipped up and the barrel end hit him 1'' below his left eye. Nice cut and his eye was swollen shut the next day. He was shooting Blazer brass and both primers were struck.
Has anyone ever heard of such a situation with a Derringer before? I'll see if he'll let me post a picture.
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BobK
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Re: Derringer Firing Both Barrels At Once???
So where is the Youtube video? 
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This froggie ain't boiling! Shall not be infringed! Μολών Λαβέ
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pirateguy191
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Re: Derringer Firing Both Barrels At Once???
No video but I have a picture of his eye in my email at work. If I remember, I'll post it tomorrow. It's his BIL's gun and for some reason the manufacturer won't return his emails.
"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." - Ronald Reagan
"When democracy turns to tyranny, the armed citizen still gets to vote." ~ Mike Vanderboegh
NRA member, NRA basic pistol instructor, DBACB
"When democracy turns to tyranny, the armed citizen still gets to vote." ~ Mike Vanderboegh
NRA member, NRA basic pistol instructor, DBACB
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pirateguy191
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Re: Derringer Firing Both Barrels At Once???
Derringer eye.
"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." - Ronald Reagan
"When democracy turns to tyranny, the armed citizen still gets to vote." ~ Mike Vanderboegh
NRA member, NRA basic pistol instructor, DBACB
"When democracy turns to tyranny, the armed citizen still gets to vote." ~ Mike Vanderboegh
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Werz
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Re: Derringer Firing Both Barrels At Once???
After seeing the photo, I'll bet a video would get YouTube hits in the millions.BobK wrote:So where is the Youtube video?
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steves 50de
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Re: Derringer Firing Both Barrels At Once???
Yep like the girl shooting the 50 ae desert eagle and get's clocked between the eye's, not fun.Werz wrote:After seeing the photo, I'll bet a video would get YouTube hits in the millions.BobK wrote:So where is the Youtube video?
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Bruenor
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Re: Derringer Firing Both Barrels At Once???
so single trigger pull, multiple rounds fired, does that make it a machine gun ?
The derringers I messed with before had some sort of ratcheting mechanism on the hammer, so the first trigger pull would strike the top firing pin, then pulling back the hammer would ratchet the hammer to strike the lower firing pin. I don't think it was possible for the hammer face to strike both firing pins at the same time. Maybe this derringer is built differently than the old one I found.
The derringers I messed with before had some sort of ratcheting mechanism on the hammer, so the first trigger pull would strike the top firing pin, then pulling back the hammer would ratchet the hammer to strike the lower firing pin. I don't think it was possible for the hammer face to strike both firing pins at the same time. Maybe this derringer is built differently than the old one I found.
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"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. . . Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them."
- Thomas Paine
"Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem."
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Werz
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Re: Derringer Firing Both Barrels At Once???
Well, if there was YouTube video, the ATF might take action. However, that action would probably be limited to agents sitting at the computer and saying, "Aw, dude, you gotta see this!"Bruenor wrote:so single trigger pull, multiple rounds fired, does that make it a machine gun ?
"An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life."
-- Robert A. Heinlein, Beyond This Horizon
"Remember that protecting our gun rights still boils down to keeping a majority in the electorate, and that our daily activities can have the impact of being ambassadors for the gun culture ..."
-- BobK
Open carry is a First Amendment exercise.
-- Robert A. Heinlein, Beyond This Horizon
"Remember that protecting our gun rights still boils down to keeping a majority in the electorate, and that our daily activities can have the impact of being ambassadors for the gun culture ..."
-- BobK
Open carry is a First Amendment exercise.
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DontTreadOnMe
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Re: Derringer Firing Both Barrels At Once???
The problem isn't the hammer striking the 2nd firing pin (causing the pin to strike the primer) it's the pins own inertia causing it to move forward (technically the pin stays still while the gun & cartridge move backward due to 1st round's recoil) with sufficient force to strike the primer on the 2nd round.Bruenor wrote:The derringers I messed with before had some sort of ratcheting mechanism on the hammer, so the first trigger pull would strike the top firing pin, then pulling back the hammer would ratchet the hammer to strike the lower firing pin. I don't think it was possible for the hammer face to strike both firing pins at the same time. Maybe this derringer is built differently than the old one I found.
Unless the derringer incorporates firing pin blocks for both pins (I've never heard of one that does, but I'm by no means an expert) this is a theoretical possibility for any derringer. Certain design features can make it more likely (ex: heavy pin & light return spring) and some behaviors can make it more likely (ex: shooting +P+ ammo from a gun not even rated for +P).