Philadelphia derringer

[Barry Strickland]

Tom, here are a couple of pictures you were looking for. I have always been fascinated with Deringer pistols. I have three different books of them to study and appreciate the different sizes they were made in. It seems as if there were more counterfeit made than the original, some even exceeding the workmanship of their namesake. These are just a small sample of the variety of butt styles they were built with. These pictures were taken off the internet not out of my books.

 

[user 43911]

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/philadelphia-deringer-set-with-accessories.122211/

 

[Eutycus]

View attachment 35416
What I want to do is make my derringer look like Booth's gun. That means some checkering, darker finish, and apparently a butt cap. I'm looking for a pic of the back of the Booth gun to see what the butt cap/back strap looks like.

I don't recall seeing a picture of the bottom view of Booths gun. Does it have a butt cap?

 

[Eterry]

I always thought the point of checkering was twofold. First, to give your sweaty hand something extra to hang onto when something big and nasty was headed in your direction.
Secondly, done correctly, it really makes plain dark wood stand out.

 

[tom in nc]

Here is a pic of Booth's gun. showing the butt cap.

 

[Eutycus]

I had no idea Booth's gun was so "fancy". I had always thought of it a more "plain Jane", checkered but nothing fancy.

 

[Eutycus]

I've just read an article that states Booth's gun was unusual in that it had a left handed rifling to it. Most typical guns of the day had right handed twist.Any truth to that?

 

[SDSmlf]

I've just read an article that states Booth's gun was unusual in that it had a left handed rifling to it. Most typical guns of the day had right handed twist.Any truth to that?

Wonder if it mattered to Abe?

 

[Eutycus]

Why would the manufacturer market both right and left handed derringers? Experimental prototype maybe?

 

[desi23]

Why would the manufacturer market both right and left handed derringers? Experimental prototype maybe?

Maybe just trying different rifling types? Henry Deringer made a variety of arms and IIRC his pistol barrels started out as rifle length and would be cut down to the desired size for the variety of handguns he offered (one full length barrel providing several pistol ones). He sold belt, pocket and vest pocket size handguns as well as sporting rifles but is best known today for the small guns. Which is not surprising considering they were the most popular (and copied) of all his guns.