page_title: Derringer
section_title: Sharps Pepperbox
hierarchical_section_title: Derringer / Sharps Pepperbox
caption_attribution_description: English: Sharps 22 Pepperbox
context_page_description: The term "derringer" has come to refer to any small-sized 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.
  The original Philadelphia Deringer was a muzzleloading percussion cap single-shot pistol introduced in 1825 by Henry Deringer. In total, approximately 15,000 Deringer pistols were manufactured. All were single barrel pistols with back-action percussion locks, typically .41 caliber with rifled bores, and walnut stocks. Barrel length varied from 1.5 to 6 in, and the hardware was commonly a copper-nickel alloy known as "German silver".
  The term "derringer" has become a genericized misspelling of the last name of Henry Deringer. A derringer is generally the smallest usable handgun of a given caliber, and was frequently used by women, because it is easily concealable in a purse or as a stocking gun.
context_section_description: One of the more common derringers found in the "Old West" were the Sharps Derringers. They are four-barrel, single-action pepperbox derringers with a revolving firing pin. They come in .22, .30 and .32 rimfire, and their four barrels slide forward to load and unload. First patented in 1849, they were not made until 1859, when Sharps patented a practical derringer design. These first model derringers had brass frames and fired the recently introduced .22 Rimfire metallic cartridges. The second model was a .30 Rimfire derringer. The third model derringer was a .32 Rimfire, with an iron frame, and the barrel release was moved from under the frame to the left side of the frame. The fourth model derringer  was also a .32 Rimfire with a new "birdshead" grip and slightly shorter barrels, otherwise it was virtually identical to the third model. Production of these little pistols came to an end with the death of Christian Sharps in 1874.
caption: Sharps 4 barrel .22 Rimfire derringer
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