Author Topic: .45/410 Derringer (Read 4788 times)

kjeff50cal · « **on:** February 19, 2005, 12:39:35 PM »

I'm a push over for interesting guns and if they are cheap and interesting all the better. I have one of those single barrel (used tobe Cobray) .45/.410 derringers on layaway and when I get it out shooting nothing but cowboy action loads in it with an occational CCI shotshell when I go fishing (we have small halibut called founder in the Gulf of Mexico & only need the guns to shoot the occational cottonmouth). Has any body owned, fired, and or cussed out one of these guns? I'm looking for first hand accounts.

tony212 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 20, 2005, 12:53:04 AM »

Hi KJEFF
Yeah, I had one. Like you I thought it would be a great gun to carry while fishing, hiking and the likes. it was small, easy to carry but shot a big bullet. Just the ticket. Anyway, after I bought it I tried shooting it. Couldn't hit anything with it unless i was less than 5' away. I tried remington .45 colts, .410 slugs, .410 birdshot and even .410 buckshot. No help. Even though I couldn't hit anything with it I held onto it for about five or six years. THen the saftey button broke, when you would move the safety on, the pin would slide through the frame and the guns hammer would fall off. Then one of the latch release covers came off. I finally sold it for $10.00. The idea is a good one, small gun big caliber that can fire shotgun ammo as well, but the quality of that particular model is poor. I quess for $50 you shouldn't expect too much.
Hope this helps;
Tony212

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #2 on:** February 20, 2005, 02:08:13 AM »

I had one also. I shot it a lot. It works great up close with the .410 shotshells. I could not hit anything with the 45L/C rounds. It always came back a cut my thump when I shot the .410 shells. I also sold mine. The coolness factor wore off.

kjeff50cal · « **Reply #3 on:** February 20, 2005, 06:06:33 PM »

Thanks Redhawk & Tony212, I must be a gutton for punishment. I had a pair of American Derringers in .45acp & .45LC/.410. Sold both, the .45.acp as trade fodder for some forgettable firearm and the .45LC/.410 to an older gentleman who had just retired and needed a snake/fishing gun. The current prices of replacing the above with new versions is prohibited on my current budget. BTW either one was a "handfull to shoot" though the .45acp was fairly accurate for such a short unregulated double-barrel.

kjeff50cal

Dusty Miller · « **Reply #4 on:** February 21, 2005, 07:35:50 AM »

For the record, they are illegal in the PRC.

kjeff50cal · « **Reply #5 on:** February 21, 2005, 01:31:46 PM »

"For the record, they are illegal in the PRC."

Threatening a snake with a stick is illegal in Kalifornia I think it violates its natural rights. :lol:

Thank God I'm in Texas.

kjeff50cal

knight0334 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 21, 2005, 03:51:03 PM »

I used to own (2) of the model DD, the double barrel version, before they were stolen. Carried them for snakes, wild dogs and 2 legged vermin. Two dogs, and 1 "baby toy snake" found out the hard way what one of them Cobray derringers can do.

I shot everything from cowboy loads to fairly warm long colts. And 2 1/2" #7 shot to 3" mag with buckshot, slugs too. I usually carried a 3" shot shell in one chamber and a warm 45LC JHP in the other.

They aren't too accurate, but thats to be expected. Only safe place when firing shot shells was behind it. lol BIG pattern!!

kjeff50cal · « **Reply #7 on:** February 21, 2005, 04:40:31 PM »

Quote

I used to own (2) of the model DD, the double barrel version, before they were stolen. Carried them for snakes, wild dogs and 2 legged vermin. Two dogs, and 1 "baby toy snake" found out the hard way what one of them Cobray derringers can do.

Exactly what I'm after, but what is a "baby toy snake"

[/quote]

willysjeep134 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 24, 2005, 04:24:14 AM »

I was looking seriously into two models they offer. One is the 11 inch barrled single shot .45/.410. It is billed as a "single barrel shotgun pistol" in the Shotgun News adds. I was thinking that it looks surprisingly a lot like the old Stevens Autoshot .410 smoothbore pistol. Might be just the thing for grouse and rabbits. I figure the longer barrel must make it something like a contender in performance, as long as the rifling isn't too fast.

The other one I saw that I really liked was a .22 over .45/.410 folding stocked "survival rifle". It looks a bit crude and akward, but it could easily be modified to look a little more like the old Marble's Game Getter. Marbles made these things from 1908 to just before the depression in a shop only 5 miles from my house. I think it would be quite the homage to them for me to try to recreate one. The Leinad survival rifle stock is pretty ugly, but that would be the easiest part to replace with something that looked more Marble-like. Maybe I might just get one of those.

sachel.45 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 24, 2005, 11:07:31 AM »

hi new to this forum great place. i think i might have what you're talking about is it called super comache? or something like that? i like mine. it has two chokes one for the .45 colt and one for the .410. it has a grip like a single action colt. i think mine cost me like 150 bucks at griigs or something. i think mine has a 10" barrel. it also has adjustable sights.

willysjeep134 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 24, 2005, 02:20:31 PM »

Nope, the super commanche is imported, and full sized.
These derringers are tiny. They come in many models all based on the same grip frame and lockwork.
These things were variously made by LEINAD, FMJ, COBRAY, ECTCETERA....

They are all really the same company. It was once jointly owned by a man and his wife. When they devorced they split their holdings. The man, who's last name was Daniel, renamed the company LEINAD for legal reasons because his wife owned the name to their old company and was still selling off old stock through their regular channels.

The models I've seen so far are.
Single barrled, side by side, over under twister, over under break open, .22 over .410 over under, 5 shot .45 pepperbox, 10 shot .22 magnum pepperbox, side by side and single shot 11 inch "shotgun pistols", stocked versions of the "shotgun pistols" and a survival rifle like above. Most are chambered in .45 colt/.410. Some come in .22 rimfire, and a few are made in .38 and .357. They also make many into muzzle loaders by adding a breech plug. Oh, and they offer a 12 gauge flare pistol. Last I heard they were all made in Ducktown Tennesee. They don't have a webpage, but are sold by many importers through publications like Shotgun News and Gun List.

sachel.45 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 24, 2005, 02:24:09 PM »

oh sorry the 11" barrel threw me off

Jim101 · « **Reply #12 on:** February 24, 2005, 06:13:45 PM »

Why not try the NAA mini-mag .22? .22 MAGS and MAG bird shot..I have one and carry it for snakes etc... Well made and the company stands behind their guns....

Jim

willysjeep134 · « **Reply #13 on:** February 25, 2005, 07:12:28 AM »

The Super Comanche is a pretty cool unit in my book too. If I were thinking about getting a .410 contender, I might get the commanche first and see if it is someting I would find useful. The leinads are usually cheaper though, and most would fit better in a tackle box.

kjeff50cal · « **Reply #14 on:** February 25, 2005, 06:31:47 PM »

The derringer in question is now a moot point because the manager of the gun shop I deal with dangled a deal I had to jump on... he had a 1911 Government Model (.45 ACP) come in with a finish only a bargain hunter could love and offered it to me at a price :-D ...... Oh well I transfered the money off the derringer and the payment I was about to make on it.... the .45's finnish was scarred with light rust but it locks up tight. A field stripping showed that the innerds were shiny and well oiled and the barrel looked new. It cost about 4 times the price of the Leinad but I feel I'm getting a 1000 fold use out of the 1911. After I get it out I may again look for a "tacklebox gun" but for now I know a source of .45 ACP shotshells in several different shot sizes (from size 12 to size 6) with a payload to rival a .410 2 1/2" shell. BUT it wont fit in my tacklebox.
:-D :-D :-D

kjeff50cal

willysjeep134 · « **Reply #15 on:** February 27, 2005, 04:26:46 PM »

all the more reason to get a bigger tackle box! Sounds like you got a pretty sweet deal.

knight0334 · « **Reply #16 on:** March 01, 2005, 01:33:21 PM »

Quote from: kjeff50cal

Exactly what I'm after, but what is a "baby toy snake"

Baby toy snake = rattle snake

kjeff50cal · « **Reply #17 on:** March 01, 2005, 06:05:32 PM »

As Homer Simpson says... "Duh-oh"

kjeff50cal

mmmpc535 · « **Reply #18 on:** October 13, 2005, 05:34:46 PM »

I too bought the cool factor, had the trigger guards slam back and cut my finger, and unable to hold it firmly enough to hit much of anything. BUT ! That all change when I used my dremel tool to round off the sharp edges of the trigger guards but mostly when I built myself a new set of grips copying the style of my Ruger Super Black hawk. Now I will be keeping the gun it works great and I am able to handle the recoil for accuracy after eliminating the mini birds head OEM grips. A picture of my Lienad with the new grips can be seen at.

http://www.cpinternet.com/~mmmpc535/Lienad_W-BlackHawkStyleGrips.JPG

mmmpc535 · « **Reply #19 on:** October 15, 2005, 06:50:58 AM »

Sorry, my server would not recognize the link in the previous message, the link has been changed to:

http://www.cpinternet.com/~mmmpc535/LienadWBlackHawkGrips.jpg

PaulS · « **Reply #20 on:** October 15, 2005, 01:12:50 PM »

I've had a Cobray single barrel revolver for years and it shoots fine for its purpose. At 25 yds I can kep slug loads on the paper in about a 18 inch circular pattern - no groups with this one folks. With #9 birdshot the pattern opens to about 1 inch per foot. Great for snakes and squirels. The gun, if used for defense should be fired at the closest possible range - I always figure if it was the only gun I had at the time I would have to hold it against the neck and pull that twelve pound trigger. Not my ideal technique. I can keep the 45 Colt slugs on the paper at 25 yards but not in a small enough pattern to hit a man. The velocity is also very disappointing at just over 600 fps with 200 grain Winchester silver tips. The slug is enough faster that it is a better load for a solid bullet and slightly more accurate (if patterns allow such a statement). I modified mine to a floating hammer so it can be carried more safely while loaded by reversing the strut on the hammer. I keep it for those times when I will be going into snake country or for when I actually hunt rattlers.
I have never had any problems with it and the one my brother has (we got them at the same time) has given him no problems either. It is a "saturday night special" that proves there is no such things.
PaulS

wyocarp · « **Reply #21 on:** November 15, 2005, 06:58:02 PM »

My brother brought one he has had without shooting for over a dozen years to the range this past summer. He had never shot it and wasn't even sure what bullets to shoot with it. So, I grabbed a couple of rounds from a friend and shot it. I barrowed it from him and took it with me hunting and my son and I both tried to shot various things at about 25 yds. We finally decided that the one who came closest to the 18" target/stump won the competition. Then, we just decided that we had made enough noise and quit. I think they are more dangerous to the one carrying them than to anyone else unless you were to put the barrel up to the target and pull the trigger.