American Derringer Corporation is an American manufacturer of firearms, based in

Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the s ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. The company was founded by Robert A. Saunders and Elizabeth Saunders in 1980 and makes a variety of

derringers A derringer is a small handgun that is neither a revolver nor a semi/ fully automatic pistol. It is not to be confused with mini-revolvers or pocket pistols, although some later derringers were manufactured with the pepperbox configuration. ...

and small

pocket pistol In American English, a pocket pistol is any small, pocket-sized semi-automatic pistol (or less commonly referencing either derringers, or small revolvers), and is suitable for concealed carry in either a coat, jacket, or trouser pocket. Pocket ...

History

Founded in 1980, American Derringer specializes in making high-quality stainless-steel derringers and small pistols. Its primary product line is the Model 1 Derringer, which is based on the iconic

Remington Model 95 The Remington Model 95 is a double-barrel pocket pistol commonly recognized as a Derringer. The design was little changed during a production run of nearly 70 years through several financial reorganizations of the manufacturer causing repeating ...

deringer. These modern stainless steel versions are made in over 60 calibers ranging from

.22 Long Rifle The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smo ...

, to

.45 Long Colt The .45 Colt (11.43×33mmR), is a rimmed, straight-walled, handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It was originally a black-powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 187 ...

and

.410 gauge The .410 bore is one of the smallest caliber of shotgun shell commonly available (along with the 9mm Flobert rimfire cartridge, and the less common .22 rimfire shot shell). A .410 bore shotgun loaded with shot shells is well suited for small g ...

, to even

.45-70 Government The .45-70 rifle cartridge, also known as the .45-70 Government, was developed at the U.S. Army's Springfield Armory for use in the Springfield Model 1873, which is known to collectors as the "Trapdoor Springfield." The new cartridge was a rep ...

. In 1989, American Derringer would introduce the "Lady Derringer" marketing concept. As a result, Elizabeth would become the face of the company and would model in provocative clothing for calendars, posters and gun magazine advertisements. This marketing campaign was highly successful and credited with dramatically increasing sales. COP 357

In 1990, American Derringer obtained the rights to the

High Standard Derringer High Standard Derringer was introduced by High Standard Manufacturing Company in 1962; it was a remarkable change to the over-under derringer design with innovative solutions. The original model (D-100), was produced from 1962 to 1967 in 22 LR on ...

design and produce a larger

.38 Special The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & ...

version. These derringers called the DS22 and DA38 are still made and continue to be popular concealed carry handguns. In the same year, they introduced a version of the quad-barrel, double-action

COP 357 Derringer Cop or Cops commonly refers to: * Police officer Cop and other variants may also refer to: Art and entertainment Film * ''Cop'' (film), a 1988 American thriller * ''Cops'' (film), an American silent comedy short starring Buster Keaton * ''The ...

and a smaller caliber version called the MINI COP in

.22 Magnum The .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, also called .22 WMR, .22 Magnum, .22 WMRF, .22 MRF, or .22 Mag, is a rimfire cartridge. Originally loaded with a bullet weight of delivering velocities in the range from a rifle barrel, .22 WMR is now loaded ...

, although these were later discontinued. Semmerling LM4 - Satin Chrome Variant

American Derringer also makes a small semi-automatic pistol called the LM5, chambered for .25ACP and

.32 Auto .32 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol, also known as .32 Automatic) is a centerfire pistol cartridge. It is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning, initially for use in the FN M1900 semi-automatic pistol. ...

. The Semmerling LM4 is a five-shot,

.45 ACP The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...

manual repeating double-action pistol designed as a backup gun. American Derringer has also made Mini-Revolvers and the Stainless Steel Pen Pistol Model 2, which "Transforms From A 'PEN' To A Legal Pistol In 2 Seconds",Pistols of the World. by Ian Hogg, John Walter David & Charles, Krause Publications. Aug 29, 2004 - Antiques & Collectibles.page 13-14 although these were also discontinued.

References

External links

{{Commonscat, American Derringer
Official page
Derringers Firearm manufacturers of the United States

History

See also

References

External links