The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Mini revolver or Derringer (NAA or Cimarron)

Kappe · July 25, 2013, 09:57 PM

While I generally think Cimarron is a fabulous company, their derringers are manufactured by a company called Cobra. Cobra bought the tooling, machining and rights from Davis Industries to produce its pistols after the latter went under. Their derringers are/were made of poor quality materials - most of the barrels on them have sleeves, with the rest of the barrel and frame being made from what may or may not be pot metal.

They're also quite heavy. The .22LR derringer is roughly the same size as the .22 Magnum NAA Mini, but easily weighs 50% more.

Cobra firearms come with a lifetime warranty, so I wouldn't lose any sleep over having one as a fun gun, but I would be very uneasy with it as any form of defensive gun since there are much better options out there for not much more money.

NAA on the other hand indeed has a reputation as a quality manufacturer. If you're concerned about the small grip, consider getting the .22 Magnum version with a spare .22LR cylinder - the .22 Mag is appreciably bigger than the .22LR-only version in overall size. The hammer is also much easier to pull back than the derringers in my experience, and carrying them safe is a fairly quick and simple proposition (the cylinder notches), while with the derringer it is certainly not.

July 25, 2013, 09:57 PM	#2
Kappe Senior Member Join Date: May 28, 2013 Location: New Jersey Posts: 149	While I generally think Cimarron is a fabulous company, their derringers are manufactured by a company called Cobra. Cobra bought the tooling, machining and rights from Davis Industries to produce its pistols after the latter went under. Their derringers are/were made of poor quality materials - most of the barrels on them have sleeves, with the rest of the barrel and frame being made from what may or may not be pot metal. They're also quite heavy. The .22LR derringer is roughly the same size as the .22 Magnum NAA Mini, but easily weighs 50% more. Cobra firearms come with a lifetime warranty, so I wouldn't lose any sleep over having one as a fun gun, but I would be very uneasy with it as any form of defensive gun since there are much better options out there for not much more money. NAA on the other hand indeed has a reputation as a quality manufacturer. If you're concerned about the small grip, consider getting the .22 Magnum version with a spare .22LR cylinder - the .22 Mag is appreciably bigger than the .22LR-only version in overall size. The hammer is also much easier to pull back than the derringers in my experience, and carrying them safe is a fairly quick and simple proposition (the cylinder notches), while with the derringer it is certainly not.