6,
Not a matter of supreme knowledge, but I'll expand it a bit.
The Bond is the best, premium stainless materials, superior safety mechanism, regulated reasonably well (as derringers go) on the barrels, and the barrels are easily user-interchangeable. We have two here, and barrels for three different calibers.
The Bonds are also the biggest & heaviest, I do not consider them practical pocket pistols. They are reliable and heavy duty guns. You can buy one base derringer & any number of upper barrel halves in any caliber Bond offers to change calibers yourself at home.
The ADC is next in quality, also premium stainless materials in construction, a usable safety mechanism, and decent barrel regulation (again, as derringers go, intended for fairly close targets). I have one here, no quarrels with it at all, the only reason I consider it to come in second is because of the different safety arrangement and the lack of interchangeable barrels. It's also a beefy gun, much more so than the original Remington derringer, and markedly smaller than the Bond. I have, on occasion, for specific purposes, carried the ADC in a pocket. I don't consider it any kind of ideal primary or sole carry gun for defensive use. For me, it's a pincher. (I carry it in a pinch. )
The Cobra is made of much cheaper materials, largely with zinc alloy to reduce weight and costs. (Barrels themselves are steel.) The barrels are typically poorly regulated, even for derringers, and I can't see any possibility of them holding up over the long run anywhere near as long as the other two makes.
The Cobras are light in weight, if that's important, and of a size that can be viable for regular pocket carry. They are nowhere near as strong as the Bond or the ADC, and can't handle the range of larger or more powerful calibers beyond the .38 & 9mm that the others can. Granted, most people who buy a derringer don't do it to shoot .357 & .44 Mags, but it illustrates the difference in strength between the three makes. That materials choice and strength also affects the longterm durability of the gun.
So-
Bond for brute strength, the safety system, and the interchangeable barrels/calibers.
ADC for strength and pocketability.
Cobra for low weight & price. (And, you can order one in Ruby Red, whereas you can't with the other two.)
Bond & ADC can shoot a bit farther with better chances of putting two shots close together.
My Bond is a belt-carried backup for outdoor use with a larger revolver, my ADC is, as mentioned, a pinch gun for the pocket.
The Bond has a good rep among the Cowboy Action Shooters who do derringer side events on a regular basis, the Cobra is used for more economical reasons by other CAS people who don't shoot them quite as much. One of the CAS champions endorses the Bond as his match derringer. I don't see anybody doing that for a Cobra.
If you don't plan to shoot larger or more powerful calibers (my wife has a .32 Mag Bond, I have .357 Mag and .45 Colt Bond barrels and a .45 ACP ADC), don't need or want a derringer that maximizes its already limited realistic range, don't plan to shoot it much (which is quite likely the case with most derringers anyway), and/or only want what I do consider essentially a toy, the Cobra can meet your needs.
Most do function well with limited use, I've heard of a few incidents where they had to be repaired at relatively low mileage, and many reports of significantly diverging point of impact hits between the two barrels.
Expect heavy trigger pulls on all three, the nature of the double-barreled derringer beast.
Hopefully more complete information in making a decision, I've listed good & bad about all three as I see it.
There's nothing wrong, by the way, with buying a gun purely for recreational purposes, as long as you have a realistic expectation of the gun & it will do what you're buying it to do.
6, if you have more info, I'd like to hear it. And, you're right- the Cobras with nine different finishes (including Majestic Pink) ARE great for shadow boxes.
Denis
Not a matter of supreme knowledge, but I'll expand it a bit.
The Bond is the best, premium stainless materials, superior safety mechanism, regulated reasonably well (as derringers go) on the barrels, and the barrels are easily user-interchangeable. We have two here, and barrels for three different calibers.
The Bonds are also the biggest & heaviest, I do not consider them practical pocket pistols. They are reliable and heavy duty guns. You can buy one base derringer & any number of upper barrel halves in any caliber Bond offers to change calibers yourself at home.
The ADC is next in quality, also premium stainless materials in construction, a usable safety mechanism, and decent barrel regulation (again, as derringers go, intended for fairly close targets). I have one here, no quarrels with it at all, the only reason I consider it to come in second is because of the different safety arrangement and the lack of interchangeable barrels. It's also a beefy gun, much more so than the original Remington derringer, and markedly smaller than the Bond. I have, on occasion, for specific purposes, carried the ADC in a pocket. I don't consider it any kind of ideal primary or sole carry gun for defensive use. For me, it's a pincher. (I carry it in a pinch.
)The Cobra is made of much cheaper materials, largely with zinc alloy to reduce weight and costs. (Barrels themselves are steel.) The barrels are typically poorly regulated, even for derringers, and I can't see any possibility of them holding up over the long run anywhere near as long as the other two makes.
The Cobras are light in weight, if that's important, and of a size that can be viable for regular pocket carry. They are nowhere near as strong as the Bond or the ADC, and can't handle the range of larger or more powerful calibers beyond the .38 & 9mm that the others can. Granted, most people who buy a derringer don't do it to shoot .357 & .44 Mags, but it illustrates the difference in strength between the three makes. That materials choice and strength also affects the longterm durability of the gun.
So-
Bond for brute strength, the safety system, and the interchangeable barrels/calibers.
ADC for strength and pocketability.
Cobra for low weight & price. (And, you can order one in Ruby Red, whereas you can't with the other two.)
Bond & ADC can shoot a bit farther with better chances of putting two shots close together.
My Bond is a belt-carried backup for outdoor use with a larger revolver, my ADC is, as mentioned, a pinch gun for the pocket.
The Bond has a good rep among the Cowboy Action Shooters who do derringer side events on a regular basis, the Cobra is used for more economical reasons by other CAS people who don't shoot them quite as much. One of the CAS champions endorses the Bond as his match derringer. I don't see anybody doing that for a Cobra.
If you don't plan to shoot larger or more powerful calibers (my wife has a .32 Mag Bond, I have .357 Mag and .45 Colt Bond barrels and a .45 ACP ADC), don't need or want a derringer that maximizes its already limited realistic range, don't plan to shoot it much (which is quite likely the case with most derringers anyway), and/or only want what I do consider essentially a toy, the Cobra can meet your needs.
Most do function well with limited use, I've heard of a few incidents where they had to be repaired at relatively low mileage, and many reports of significantly diverging point of impact hits between the two barrels.
Expect heavy trigger pulls on all three, the nature of the double-barreled derringer beast.
Hopefully more complete information in making a decision, I've listed good & bad about all three as I see it.
There's nothing wrong, by the way, with buying a gun purely for recreational purposes, as long as you have a realistic expectation of the gun & it will do what you're buying it to do.
6, if you have more info, I'd like to hear it. And, you're right- the Cobras with nine different finishes (including Majestic Pink) ARE great for shadow boxes.
Denis
