Shooting Mommy's Gun: two shot Derringer

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The gun: Davis Industries D-32

My mother has had this gun for years now - she actually used to carry for protection if you can imagine that. Today I borrowed it and took it to the range.

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To start with, this thing is tiny. It fits snugly in the palm of my hand. It's so small that it doesn't even look like a real gun, but nonetheless it holds two .32 auto cartridges and it will fire them, so a gun it is.

I only fired 6 rounds through it today, because honestly it seems a little cheaply made and I was half worried that it would blow up in my hand. But I guess when you've just been caught cheating at poker on a riverboat, you have to take your chances with gun concealed in your vest pocket. :)

It's got a bit of a kick when you fire it, and I assume that's because it's so light weight. There's just no mass to resist the force. And it's not accurate at all. Below you can see my "group" (for lack of a better word) of six shots. I was aiming at the center of the large white circle, and all the shots went high and to the left. This was shot at 3 yards.

One thing that surprised me about it was that it only shot one bullet at a time. I had expected both to go off simultaneously, but it has some mechanism that guarantees that it fires the top barrel first, and the bottom barrel on the subsequent shot.

All in all, it's a curious little gun, more of a conversation piece than a real gun, but neat to play with.

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106+ recreational uses of firearms
1 defensive use
0 people injured
0 people killed

Re: Shooting Mommy's Gun: two shot Derringer

4
Wabatuckian wrote:Thank you for the report.

The mechanism is similar to that found in double barrel, single trigger shotguns.

These were indeed serious weapons, though of course last ditch and, as you discovered, only really viable for bad breath distance.

A note: If this is an older one it may not have a drop safety. Please be careful with it.

Regards,

Josh
It does have a safety. It's the little round button (depressed in the picture) below the trigger. Corresponding button on the other side - push right for safe, push left for fire. It's literally just a bolt that physically blocks the hammer; in fact, you have to cock the hammer before you can put the safety on, otherwise the hammer blocks the safety bolt.
106+ recreational uses of firearms
1 defensive use
0 people injured
0 people killed

Re: Shooting Mommy's Gun: two shot Derringer

7
Eris wrote:
Wabatuckian wrote:Thank you for the report.

The mechanism is similar to that found in double barrel, single trigger shotguns.

These were indeed serious weapons, though of course last ditch and, as you discovered, only really viable for bad breath distance.

A note: If this is an older one it may not have a drop safety. Please be careful with it.

Regards,

Josh
It does have a safety. It's the little round button (depressed in the picture) below the trigger. Corresponding button on the other side - push right for safe, push left for fire. It's literally just a bolt that physically blocks the hammer; in fact, you have to cock the hammer before you can put the safety on, otherwise the hammer blocks the safety bolt.
Hello,

That is good to know. However, if I'm not mistaken, it doesn't have a transfer bar safety. This could be an issue for carry. Manual hammer block safeties are awesome, but not practical on a single-action used for carry.

This is just something to consider, maybe.

Regards,

Josh
Image

Re: Shooting Mommy's Gun: two shot Derringer

8
Wabatuckian wrote:That is good to know. However, if I'm not mistaken, it doesn't have a transfer bar safety. This could be an issue for carry. Manual hammer block safeties are awesome, but not practical on a single-action used for carry.

This is just something to consider, maybe.
Oh I'd never carry this gun. Seems like if I ever tried to shoot someone with it I'd just end up making them angry. Nah, this is just a curio as far as I'm concerned.
106+ recreational uses of firearms
1 defensive use
0 people injured
0 people killed

Re: Shooting Mommy's Gun: two shot Derringer

11
I wanted to know more about this gun, so I googled the manufacturer. They are out of business, but there is a wikipedia page.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis_Industries

Apparently this gun is made from a zinc alloy, which probably explains it's slightly odd appearance to me. It just seemed a bit too shiny to be stainless steel.
106+ recreational uses of firearms
1 defensive use
0 people injured
0 people killed

Re: Shooting Mommy's Gun: two shot Derringer

12
Very nice, I like small guns but with a manual safety. Derringers remind me of this news story.
A Kingwood man who accidentally shot an elderly woman when his gun dropped from his coat pocket says he's totally distraught after the incident. It happened as the man (who did not want to be identified) was having dinner on Jan. 13 at Raffa’s in the 1600 block of W. Lake Houston Pkwy. He said he had on a jacket that he hadn’t worn in a year. He said he didn’t know it had his .38 caliber derringer gun in its pocket.

The gun ended up falling out of his pocket. “Everybody looked around. There was a big explosion in the restaurant. No one knew what it was. Then, the person who I was dining with saw the derringer under my seat,” he said. The explosion was his gun going off as it hit the floor. Police said a bullet hit another diner, Diana Barker, in the buttocks and continued through her hip, into her abdomen and ended at the right side of her chest. Paramedics rushed the 71-year-old grandmother to Ben Taub Hospital.

“I was almost in shock. Oh my God. That’s my gun,” the Kingwood man said he uttered to himself after the gun went off.“I don’t even know what to say. I’m sorry the whole thing happened. If I knew there was a gun in the jacket, I would not have gone in the restaurant with it.” Twelve days after the accidental shooting, Barker is still in the hospital. Her sons say their mother is making slow, steady progress, but the road to recovery has been tough. The bullet is still lodged inside of her and she can feel it. Once she’s able to leave the hospital she’s going to need weeks of rehabilitation. “I have been wondering how she is doing. I'm totally distraught over the whole thing. I didn't sleep the whole night,” said the Kingwood man.“My prayers are with the family; and I'm hoping she fully recovers.”

The Kingwood man has a concealed handgun license. According to management at Raffa’s, if you have a concealed handgun license, you can bring a gun into the restaurant. At this point, the man whose gun went off is not facing criminal charges. That’s why 11 News is not identifying him at this time. However, on Tuesday, sources close to the investigation said the case is not closed. He could still face criminal charges and the case could go before a grand jury. The gun owner told 11 News he knows that is a possibility.
http://www.topix.com/forum/city/deer-pa ... B0JGSI2LUK
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