I was out making the rounds yesterday and ran into a Davis Industries Model D-25, .25 ACP Caliber Derringer. It’s a two shot model. The sales manager at a LGS and I got into a long conversation about the reliability and safety characteristics. He emptied a .25 ACP round out, removing the bullet and powder. Then he fired a primer only affixed cartridge. (It was a slow day.)
The manufacturer’s owner manual recommends that it be carried on a half-cock with the safety on. It also recommends not carrying it loaded! Go figure on that one.
He wanted a $100.00 so I left it alone until this morning. After some negotiations I gave him $60.00 and brought it to the house. These old derringers were popular back in the day as a last ditch, vest pocket or even boot gun. I used to carry a .32 Caliber Derringer made by some company in Florida, as a BUG for years. They’re safe as long as you follow the rules and use the half cock, with the safety on.
Here’s a Ruger LCP .380 with Davis Industries Model D-25. Size wise it’s about 4 inches long and about 3 inches high. I’d rather have a Ruger LCP which is a heck of a lot safer.
Since Davis Industries went out of business back in July 2002, Cobra Industries bought their inventory, along with that of Republic Arms and Talon Industries. You’d have to be familiar with the history of Raven Firearms (Jennings), Bryco, Davis to Cobra and Jimenez to appreciate the number of times the deck has been shuffled on who makes these little critters.
Any way it’s a nice addition to the “Saturday Night Special” part of my collection. Back in the day when a college student or someone who lived in a troubled neighborhood wanted to buy something cheap for protection, they were “vogue”.
