Why were/are Derringers rifled? They aren't target guns after all. Just curious.
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Derringer barrels
- Thread starter russellshaffer
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Any of them but I don't know if originals were smooth or rifled. I don't see any use in rifling in such a short range weapon.
Phil Coffins
69 Cal.
A mark of quality or perhaps craftsmanship? Engraving didn’t help them work either.
They were rifled to help wring the most accuracy possible from a handgun with a very short distance between whatever sights they had. The very same principle carries over into todays snubnose revolvers.
Sam squanch
62 Cal.
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I think the rifling in the barrel of a derringer in the day was a selling gimmick. These guns were card table distance fight equalizers, I think most gun savvy people back then thought the rifling useless.
Another possible reason they were rifled could be a safety factor. Consider that many men and women carried Deringers and other pocket pistols as a concealed carry option. Lots of them were not gun savvy people and they knew little about gun safety, specifically that the patched ball needed to always be firmly seated on the powder. Rifling would aid in the retention of the prb. There were enhanced shooting galleries called gun emporiums, where they could shoot if they wanted, or they could merely drop their guns off and then have them professionally cleaned, lubed, and reloaded. I imagine that for those people having their guns serviced by gun techs was well worth whatever they were charged. I still am of the opinion that accuracy enhancement was the major reason for rifling. Also, don't underestimate the accuracy potential of one of those little guns in the right hands. If interested, watch YouTube clips of the late Bob Munden shooting unmentionable snubbies at 100 yards or more.
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Contact Dixie Gun Works and ask them. Turner had a large collection of originals in the store. They can tell you what you want to know. Many years ago (early 70's) I was buying their Derringer kits and they were all smoothbores.
I can't speak about any other 19th century pocket pistol maker other than Henry Deringer, but he purchased rifle barrels from other manufacturers, cut them to length as needed, and then gave them his secret acid bath pickling to impart his unique faux Damascus finish. So for him, it might have been a cost saving profit enhancer.
Here's an interesting take on why the rifling. Go to LME's #11 post in the Pre-Flintlock section under Matchlock x accuracy.
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I agree 100%. I once watched my brother smack a 12" diameter gong over 100 yards away with a little CVA derringer that had no sights. I believe the load was 10grs. 3fg GOEX and a patched .440 ball. It took him 3 or 4 shots to walk the ball in but he did it. We were kidding around that the ball must had been about out of gas by the time it got to the target.
One of my favorite professional shooters, he was truly gifted and could do things with a handgun that the rest of us can only dream of.
