Cobra Arms Derringer

[insanelupus]

I've been thinking of getting a Cobra Arms Derringer, with the 2 3/4" barrels in .38 Special.  Anyone have any thoughts, good, bad or otherwise on these things?  I've never gotten to look at one.  I've been told, by a few that while inexpensive they are well made for their intended purpose.  Any thoughts?

[timothy]

I shot my freinds yesterday and it was a nightmare. We thought it was broken because we couldnt make it fire, but found we werent pulling the trigger hard enough. I'd say it had about 140 lb pull and required both index fingers (2) pulling as hard as possible to fire. We then found the chamberes were oversized as the 22 shells would not eject. We didnt want to break the ejector so we tapped them out with a screw driver. By this time we noticed the finish was coming off. I was disapointed as I have been wanting to get one. I dont think they'll all be that bad however and the chrome finish might hold up better than the black paint on his. I did examine a chrome model in the store but saw the finish was flaking off at the crowns of both barrels. A company called American Derringer makes a quality version of this very cool gun and I'd like to get one of those. Its too bad Cobra cant make it work as its a great price but too good to be true. good luck

[howdy doody]

Here in California the Davis/Cobra is the only derringer you can buy. They have a test called a drop test and the Cobra/Davis passed it and others didn't or didn't submit one to check.
I bought a Davis before they changed the name to Cobra for $80. I got the short barreled version in .38. Well, you aren't kidding about that trigger pull, but that thing is very shootable if you do a couple things. One thing is that if like dropping the hammer with the trigger. Squeeze the trigger in a downward type motion. It works better that way. Me? I can shoot mine real quick by slip hammering. That is a two handed method of first squeezing the trigger and then drawing back the hammer with the thumb of the off hand and letting the hammer fly. It is fast. It can also be dangerous, because one thing you don't want to let happen is get a finger of the off hand in front of the muzzle. I actually won a pocket pistol side match a few years ago and beat out some that were shooting top break S&Ws.
Now, as far a derringers I have tried, the one to have is the Bond. That is a very well made derringer and best yet is they have a barrel system, where you can swap barrels and calibers. That derringer can be slicked up some too and are very popular with the CAS crowd.
You have a well made derringer not legal in California to sell and then you have one made of pot metal that is crude that can be sold in California. Go figure!

[PlacitasSlim]

I personally would stay away from the Cobra. I have two American Derringers and love them. The Bond is also a good product, but is larger than the American.