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Bond Arms, of Granbury, Texas, made its reputation selling derivatives of the derringer. Before you call me on it, now might be a good time to state that I know I mispelled “derringer”, but that’s the common way to spell it nowadays.
The man who invented it, Henry Deringer, Jr., perfected his one-shot pistol in the 1850s. I guess its most notorious use was when Booth used one to assassinate Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Later, a second barrel was added to some models. There, got that out of the way – moving on…
The company prides itself on making very unique hand cannons. I did a quick check of their website and came up with almost 60 different models and calibers. I won’t list them… check that link if you are interested.
They offer a total of 15 calibers/gauges across seven barrel lengths, with six different grip materials available in standard or extended sizes. That’s a bunch! Speaking of calibers, they range from .22LR, which is very doable, to .45-70 and .50 AE – not so doable, at least for me. That’s where my “hand cannon” comment comes in.
They sent me two guns to look at… a Cyclops ‘Merica in .45-70 (!), and an America 250th in .45 Colt./.410. Let’s look at them…
Cyclops .45-70
(I love the “Land Of Rednecks!”)
Cyclops… get it?
The recoil is prodigious, but downloading the .45-70 is always an option, as is shot shells…
America 250th
Both of these guns show some very nice workmanship. From the engraving to the fit and finish, I found no faults with either.
The Cyclops is left in natural stainless, while the 250th is Cerakoted. You get the extended grip with either. I love the “Land of Rednecks”… companies with a sense of humor tend to be interesting, and build interesting products.
Operation
Using these guns is pretty straightforward, as it should be for a one- or two-shot pistol. (I can’t call them revolvers, obviously, and I typically use “pistol” for semi-autos, but it will have to do here). Here’s the drill…
(For both guns):
- Move the latch lever on the left side down and open the barrel(s), back and up.
- Load the barrel(s).
- Close the barrel(s) and slide the crossbolt safety to “safe” if desired.
- When you’re ready to shoot, line up the sights and pull the trigger.
About the trigger…It says in the owner’s manual for the 250th .45C/.410 that its trigger needs to be pulled by the pad of your trigger finger, not the first joint. The trigger needs to come back and down, not just straight back. The Cyclops didn’t seem to have this recommendation. It took me a while to get used to that different type of trigger pull, but once learned, it’ll become automatic.
Here’s a screen grab from the owner’s manual…
Can you select which barrel fires first in guns equipped with two barrels? Yes. Again, the owner’s manual explains it very well:
Also, the gun has two safeties. One is the crossbolt safety on the frame, and the other (child safety device) involves putting that safety on “safe”, opening the barrels, and using the provided Allen wrench to physically screw the internal safety locking device into the crossbolt safety. That will lock the safety, and render the gun inoperable.
Shooting These Little Blasters
.410 only, first shot
I admit, I did not attempt to track the .45/.410’s group size as I would with a “normal” pistol or revolver. These guns are not made for that purpose… as the manual states, they are supposed to be fired from one to about 21 feet. Whether you are defending a life or ventilating tin cans, you can’t hit much past seven yards.
Or can you? See below…
As you can see, I put a target up at about five yards and let fly with first, a .410 shell and then some .45 Colts. The ammo I shot is above, if you’re interested. Black Hills makes some pretty interesting loads, especially in the “old-timey” .45 Colt. Even the typeface invokes memories of times gone by. They sent me some .45 Colt, 250-grain loads for this review, for which I am grateful.
First, notice the good concentration of shots on the target. That half-ounce of #6 shot was fairly concentrated. I’ve had experience before with .410 out of a revolver that wasn’t so great… the rifling spun the shot column, and it was pretty scattered when it hit the target. That didn’t seem to be the case here. Maybe the shorter barrel had something to do with it, since there was less time to spin it.
In terms of the .45 Colt, you see where the shots landed. They were actually very close to the point of aim, and I didn’t notice much difference between the barrels.
Here’s something to think about…. I have a small, round steel target that hangs about 20 yards in front of my shooting bench, off to the side. I was curious, so I grabbed the gun and parked about 15 yards out. I aimed and shot, and hit it more often than not. I was pleasantly surprised that this close-range, “get-off-me” gun could ring steel that far away.
Do You Need One?
Here again, my rhetorical question resonates. Do you need one? Obviously, you know the answer to that, but let me toss out a few reasons to have one of these…
- Novelty. These guns are fairly novel, and unlike most other guns out there. Pull this 2-shooter out at the range, and watch the line form of guys who want to shoot it who’d “…always heard about these but never tried it”…
- Practical. I live out, and am continually fighting varmints near our chicken coop, as regular readers of my reviews no doubt know. I have trail cam footage of a fox slinking about the other night, even. I would love to have a couple of .410 shells at the ready to deal with such critters at close range, if I could get close.
- Hiking. Shove some .410 and .45 Colt ammo in your pocket, and you’re good for almost anything that might pop up on a trail.
- Defense. You sure wouldn’t choose this for concealed carry… well, I wouldn’t… but as a truck/backpack/bedside drawer/etc. type of gun, it sure would be handy. Even at under 800 fps, that big 250-grain .45 slug will command attention. I even killed a big doe with that bullet/cartridge combo out of a Ruger Blackhawk one deer season. It just works.
To sum up, I like these small, potent blasters. Be sure… they DO kick, but it isn’t terrible. I had fun shooting the .45/.410, even with my arthritic hands.
If you want something a bit off the beaten path where handguns are concerned, give these guns a look. They’re well-built, heavy-duty, and made in Texas… what’s not to like?
Links To Items Used In This Review
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