Henry Rifle Forums

Four years ago next month was when I got my first Bond Arms derringer, the Snakeslayer model in .357 Magnum (3.5" barrel). I needed to sell it to meet some financial needs, and it is the handgun I've most regretted having to let go.

Yesterday I replaced that excellent derringer with a new Bond Arms Snakeslayer IV model, again in .357 Magnum, but the BASS IV model comes with a longer 4.25" barrel. For me it is a "partner handgun" to shoot at the range with my Henry SGC in .22LR. I also bought a .22LR 3" derringer barrel, so this will be my S/A handgun pairing to my rifle. I'm looking forward to trying it out.

Here are some photos I took in the waning sunlight. Thanks for checking out my derringer....or my hand-held Over/Under!

Have a great Friday, Veteran's Day, and enjoy the upcoming weekend, Everybody.

I'm no expert by far, but it looks like that is some pretty fine engraving on the grips.

Looks like cocobolo? Very nice PT, and in a great caliber.

Beautiful, congratulations, thanks for the photos!

Congratulations, PT7. That's a beautiful gun in two very useful calibers. Your photos are great! Thanks.

Beautiful little gun.

Always wanted one, lol.

Very nice! I have one of those on my need to buy list.

Thanks, Henry88. Yes, this gun has really nice engraving. These are an extended grip made from Rosewood. This set is actually nicer than what I had on my first BA derringer.

I did get an extended rubber grip as they allow a more solid hold on the gun. But I'm not sure whether I'll change the Rosewood grips out. I love wood, and these sure look great! Here's the Hogue-like black rubber grips I have. Have a good day.

Henry88 wrote:I'm no expert by far, but it looks like that is some pretty fine engraving on the grips.

Looks like cocobolo? Very nice PT, and in a great caliber.

Thank you for posting. I really like the Bond Arms derringers. I've had a thing for derringers because of the movie Silverado (also the reason why I got into lever rifles).

The less expensive Cobra models are always tempting at around $125 but they are virtually novelty guns.

NICE finish, looks good
Have fun, and show us how she works !!

Congrats!

Good shooting to you.

Cate

Before I head to the range for the first time with O.U., I read through the safety & instruction manual that came with my derringer. Found an interesting statement under the "firing" section: "The Bond Arms Derringer is a short-range handgun. Effective range is from 1 to 21 feet."

I do plan to shoot it beyond that 7 yards max they stated, although I'll start there since I haven't shot an over/under handgun for quite a while. Here are a couple of videos showing two fellows stretch that max distance....Enjoy!

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=bob ... &FORM=VIRE

In this second video by "TheFireArmGuy," the Backup derringer model he used has only a 2.5" barrel. My .357 Magnum barrel is 4.25", so I'd like to shoot this challenge sometime. Should be fun!

http://bondarms.com/wont-believe-far-aw ... -accurate/

What an awesome little handgun! Many thanks for sharing the pics.

Very cool. Thanks!

I was wondering what type of distances you've managed to shoot. Even if you can get reasonable groups at 7 yards I'd call that a success.

What is the trigger pull like? Is it a million pounds like the Cobras?

The challenge I had with my first BA derringer was adjusting my aim because the o/u barrels are at different distances from the top of the shooting hand. I shot that derringer okay at 7 yards with a 3.5" barrel (.357 Magnum) and 3" barrel (9MM). When I went out to 15 yards, I shot so-so. Since my new derringer has a 4.2" barrel, I hope to improve my accuracy.

Back in late 2012-early 2013, Bond Arms did an action upgrade (new trigger and hammer design) for all their derringers. My first derringer had the old style action, but I had BA do a retrofit and install the new action. It was a great improvement, especially for ease of trigger pull. My current manual states the S/A trigger pull is between 6-7 pounds. They instruct us to "pull the trigger back and downward." It works pretty well, especially with the upgraded trigger and hammer.

Gunblast.com did a good review of this action upgrade back then. The pictures they posted are very good, and clearly show the differences between the old and the new designs. http://www.gunblast.com/BondArms.htm

Wow, having a million pounds trigger pull could really be a chore!!

JCN wrote:I was wondering what type of distances you've managed to shoot. Even if you can get reasonable groups at 7 yards I'd call that a success.

What is the trigger pull like? Is it a million pounds like the Cobras?