page_title: Derringer
section_title: Modern designs
hierarchical_section_title: Derringer / Modern designs
caption_attribution_description: English: Heizer DoubleTap pistol
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: A military pistol that is truly a derringer design is the FP-45 Liberator, a .45 ACP insurgency weapon dropped behind Axis lines in World War II. The FP-45 was a crude, single-shot pistol designed to be cheaply and quickly mass-produced. It had just 23 largely stamped and turned steel parts that were cheap and easy to manufacture. It fired a .45 caliber pistol cartridge from an unrifled barrel.  Due to this limitation, it was intended for short range use, 1–4 yards (1–4 m). Its maximum effective range was only about 25 feet (8 m). At longer range, the bullet would begin to tumble and stray off course. Five extra rounds of ammunition could be stored in the pistol grip. The original delivered cost for the FP-45 was $2.10/unit, lending it the nickname "Woolworth pistol".
  While the classic Remington design is a single-action derringer with a hammer and tip-up action, the High Standard D-100, introduced in 1962, is a hammer-less, double-action derringer with a half-trigger-guard and a standard break action design. These double-barrel derringers were chambered for .22 Long Rifle and .22 Magnum and were available in blued, nickel, silver, and gold plated finishes. Although they were discontinued in 1984, American Derringer obtained the rights to the High Standard design in 1990 and produced a larger .38 Special version. These derringers, called the DS22 and DA38, are still made and are popular concealed carry handguns.
  The COP 357 is a four-barrel, hammer-less, double-action, .357 Magnum derringer with the barrels stacked in a 2 × 2 block. Introduced in 1984, it is not much larger than a .25 ACP semi-automatic pistol, and is significantly smaller than a small-frame revolver. A smaller-caliber version of the MINI COP in .22 Magnum was also made by American Derringer.
  DoubleTap derringers are modern, hammer-less, double-action, double-barreled, large caliber derringers designed for personal protection and introduced by DoubleTap Defense in 2012. They feature stainless steel ported barrels and aluminum or titanium alloy frames. They also hold two extra rounds in the grip. The name comes from the double tap shooting technique in which two rounds are quickly fired before engaging the next target. Its makers have stated that they drew inspiration from the FP-45 Liberator pistol, which also held extra ammo in the grip.
caption: DoubleTap .45ACP derringer
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