FAQ

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Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

No. Handguns must be purchased from a Federal Firearms License holder (gun dealer) in the state you reside.

Any gun dealer can get this gun for you from Bond Arms distributors. For a dealer in your area that has at least one version of the Defender derringer in stock, check our Find a Dealer page.

No, unfortunately due to Prop 65, we are not able to sell any of our products in California.

If you live in California and have a problem with one of our guns, we recommend taking it to a local gun dealer or gunsmith and see if they're able to do something for it. Due to Prop 65, we are not able to fix or change any gun and return back to you. Your local gun dealer or gunsmith may call us to see if there is something that we recommend, but unfortunately, we are not able to do anything at this time.

We do offer tours. If you would like to take a Bond Arms Factory Tour please call Customer Service at 817.573.4445  or email us at customerservice@bondarms.com.

Please be aware that tours are only available Monday – Friday at 10am or 1pm with a minimum of a 2 week notice.

For Factory tours we offer two options:

$15 per person:  Tour + a Bond Arms T-Shirt ($20 Value)

$20 per person:  Tour + a Bond Arms T-Shirt + Bond Arms Mug ($32 Value)

 

Product Questions

First, lets talk about the similarities:

  • All Bond Arms firearms use essentially the same frame* – making the guns fully modular.
  • The other differences are the finish, grips, barrels, and other possible options they may come with.

To get the best idea of the differences visit our Handgun Comparison page.

*The only difference in frames is the trigger guard vs non-trigger guard models and the California models (these only accept CA Barrels).

The Bond Arms derringers are true pocket pistols. The Texas and Cowboy Defenders have a 3″ barrel, are 5″ long, 3.5″ tall.

The Texas Defender is 20 ounces in .45 caliber.

The Cowboy Defender is 19 ounces in .45 caliber.

The Century 2000 Defender has a 3 1/2″ barrel, is 5 1/2″ long, 3 1/2″ tall and 21 ounces.

In comparison, a Walther PPKS (the world’s standard in pocket pistols since 1936) weighs 23 ounces and is chambered only in .380 ACP.

To find the specific size and weight of any of the models please visit the Handgun Detail pages.

No. There are California barrels for our California handguns and there are standard barrels for all of our other standard guns. Be sure if you are purchasing a new barrel it is the correct one.

The trigger pull on our pistols is approximately 7 pounds which is within the acceptable range for a pistol of this type. Derringers, being small compact pistols, require the user to operate the gun in a specific manner.

  1. With the hammer in the full cock position, grasp the grip with your shooting hand making sure that your hand is not touching the cocked hammer. Any amount of pressure applied to the cocked hammer by your hand will increase the trigger pull substantially.
  2. Make contact with the trigger using the pad of your trigger finger. Avoid pulling the trigger with the bend of your first knuckle.
  3. Pull the trigger back and downward.

Generally speaking, the 2.5″ .410 is a mild recoiling load for this gun. The 3″ .410′s recoil is similar to shooting a .45ACP in a Commander sized 1911. Our experience over the years is that most of the people concerned about the recoil before their purchase were pleasantly surprised that the recoil was less than they expected.

Michael Bond, the owner’s son, was introduced to shooting the .410 Defender back in 2001 when he was eleven years old and weighed 75 lbs. and he did not find the recoil to be a problem.

NO. It is okay to dry fire the pistol with fired casings in place of live ammo. Dry firing on either the .22 Mag or .22 Long Rifle will damage the chamber. DO NOT DRY FIRE on these calibers. Snap Caps are not recommended.
No. The crossbolt safety should be used as an emergency device to keep the gun from firing unintentionally. It can be harmful to the gun to repeatedly snap the hammer down on the crossbolt safety.
Think of the rebounding hammer as an automatic half cock. The hammer automatically rebounds to a blocked position off of the firing pins. This allows for safer reloading compared to other derringers. The rebounding hammer is an exclusive patented feature for the Bond Defender derringers.

Yes.

.45Colt/.410 chamber will shoot either a .45Colt, .410 Shot shell or a .45 Schofield.

.450 Autobond chamber will also shoot a .45ACP or .45 Super in the derringer.

.450 Autobond 1911 pistol will also shoot the .45ACP.

.357 Maximum will also shoot the .357 Magnum,.38 Special, and .357 Magnum CCI Shot Shell.

.32 H&R Magnum will also shoot .32 S&W Long and .32 Colt New Police.

.44 Special will also shoot .44 Russian.

No.
Yes. The .45 Colt is exactly the same round as the .45 Long Colt. The .45 Long Colt name was required in the late 1800′s to differentiate between the .45 Colt and the shorter .45 Schofield. With the passing of the.45 Schofield as a popular round, the name .45 Colt is now the most accepted name for this cartridge.
  1. Push the locking lever handle down and swing the barrel away from the frame. Make sure the barrel is unloaded.
  2. Take a standard 1/8″ allen wrench and remove the barrel hinge screw.
  3. With the screw removed, you can now remove the barrel from the frame.
  4. Align the new barrel into the frame, insert the barrel hinge screw and tighten.

When cocking the hammer back you will see a separate piece of metal on the left hand side which is the hammer head. There is a cam that moves the hammer head up and down each time the hammer is cocked.

When you cock the hammer back if the hammer head stays up this means that the top barrel will fire next. If the hammer head drops this means the bottom barrel will fire next.

The bottom barrel is lined up with the sights and the top barrel may tend to shoot slightly high. To compensate for the top barrel shooting high, aim slightly lower until you find the right position.

You can pre-select the chamber you wish to fire by doing the following:

1. Swing the barrel away from the frame to the unload position.

2. Unload the pistol.

3. Push the safety to the “on fire” position.

4. Depress the trigger and push the hammer forward onto the firing pins.

5. Look at the breech face where the firing pin protrudes and see which firing pin is visible. If you see the top firing pin, you will know that the next time the hammer is cocked the bottom chamber will fire.

Most of the competitive shooters that use The Bond derringer set the pistol to shoot the bottom chamber first. By selecting the bottom chamber first, the pistol recoils straight back with practically no muzzle flip allowing a faster recovery time for the second shot.

Open barrel and in the seat area use a 5/64 allen wrench to loosen.

There is only one screw and you will turn it counter clockwise.

The 5/64 allen wrench is not one we usually include with the gun when you purchase. You can do it your self and it may be very firmly tightened.

We do try to make the most popular calibers. We have  2.5″,  3″,  3.5″, and 4.25″ barrels and since any of our barrels fit any of our guns we feel that most of our customers can find several they like. We are always making more barrels with different lengths and calibers available, so stay in touch for our next new barrel.

The Action Upgrade is only available to guns with a serial number under 95,000 due to the guns after that already have the lightest trigger and hammer pull that we offer.

If you are interested in getting an Action Upgrade please contact Customer Service for pricing and how to send your gun in. Customer Service phone number is 817-573-4445 and the email is customerservice@bondarms.com.

Yes, you can use oil on your holster, however you can only use vegetable oil.  If you use any other oil for your holster you will damage your holster and our warranty will not cover any damages to your holster from using the improper oil.