Bond Arms

CBS Dallas Tours Bond Arms Factory

admin — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 18:11:43 +0000

Local news station comes to tour the Bond Arms factory with Gordon Bond himself!

See where our legendary Bond Arms Derringer is made and how we manufacture “The Smallest, Most Powerful, Best Built, Personal Protection Handgun You Can Carry”

This video is from CBS Local Dallas and is not ours. They deserve the credit for such a great video piece. Thanks guys!

To carry or not to carry – Luke Clayton, North Texas E-News

admin — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 07:01:15 +0000

I’ve never been very interested in carrying or shooting handguns. Not that I haven’t been exposed to them most of my life. My firearms instructors in the Marines gave me some good firearms instructions at a very early age. I just never thought I had need for a handgun later in life.

I have more rifles and shotguns that I shoot on a regular basis and even several muzzleloaders that I enjoy shooting but a handgun? Well, I’ve took a long, hard look at my situation and made the decision to purchase a handgun for protection of my family and myself when traveling. I have another reason for considering carrying a light weight, easy to handle firearm: protection from wild critters while I’m hunting.

On an almost daily basis, I am in some very thick cover infested with wild hogs. To date, I’ve never had what I consider to be a real ‘show down’ with a boar but I’ve come close. I have plenty of friends that have their horror stories about wild hogs. I guide elk hunters each fall in the Rockies and the past couple years and especially last fall, bear numbers have greatly increased in the area we hunt. Our group of hunters all left camp last years with plenty of tales of their close encounters. I had a big boar that stalked within about 15 yards of me (I was setting on the ground in some oak brush, calling elk for my hunter).

The bear looked me in the eye for a long 30 seconds or so before slowly walking away. I also encountered a sow with two cubs on the same hunt. This encounter also became intense enough for me to wish I had some protection. I was guiding bow hunters and wasn’t even packing a bow. THEY were doing the hunting.

I’ve been looking at the two-barrel handguns made by Bond Arms for some time, especially the model called the Snake Slayer IV. When visiting with the Bond Arms head honcho Gordon Bond a couple weeks ago, he asked if I would like him to set up a shooting session with Amy Graves, better known as the Bond Arms Girl. I’d watched Amy’s videos and knew she was a storehouse of knowledge about all the handguns offered by her company.

Amy Graves, the Bond Arms Girl, is the official spokesperson for Bond Arms. Here she poses for a picture with some of her company’s very popular handguns. photo by Luke Clayton

I readily accepted the offer and in a telephone conservation with Amy learned that she would bring many of the different models for me to shoot so that I could decide upon which model best suited my needs. I was already leaning heavily toward the Snake Slayer IV…

Bond Arms Backup – American Rifleman

admin — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 06:18:38 +0000

In 2012, Bond Arms released its most compact big-bore pistols to date. These included the Mini, with a cowboy-style frame and a 2.5-inch .45 Colt barrel, and the Girl Mini, with the same frame and barrel length chambered in .38/.357 Mag. Although the revolver-caliber Minis have been popular, customers have asked for more. They’ve told the company they want Minis that are ammunition-compatible with popular defensive semi-autos, such as the 9 mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP. For 2013, Bond Arms provides the answer to this request with the new Bond Arms Backup. But this pistol offers more than just a new caliber. The Backup will launch key innovations soon to be available across Bond’s entire line up.

Bond Arms was founded in 1995 with the idea that the Remington Model 95 over-under, single-action derringer could be converted from an Old West anachronism into a modern defensive handgun. The barrel and frame were redesigned to safely fire modern calibers. The beefed-up double barrels and frames are constructed completely from stainless steel, and shaped with modern manufacturing processes. This makes for a pistol that’s both strong and durable.

The original Remington derringer had a half-cock position for the hammer as its only safety feature. Bond Arms installed multiple modern safeties instead. These include a rebounding hammer, a release-lever retention device to prevent the pistol from bumping open while firing and a cross bolt safety. The cross bolt features a tension screw, located on the right side of the frame near the hammer that allows the shooter to adjust the finger pressure required to engage and disengage the safety button. The Backup has one more safety feature that’s available on select Bond models, which is a removable trigger guard.

But these features have been available for some time now. What’s new for this year is a redesigned trigger and hammer that measurably improve the trigger pull. Shooters these days are not used to the Remington 95′s roll-it-down trigger. It can feel strange when most handguns have triggers that essentially feel like they travel straight back. The new Bond Arms trigger is more deeply indented to create a more natural finger rest, and it has a shorter travel distance. The sample gun provided had a 4-pound, 2-ounce trigger pull compared to the 5-pound 12-ounce pull of an older model that was also gauged. The result of these trigger changes is a lighter, crisper feel that should be more familiar to modern handgun fans. The hammer has been modified with a flatter, wider spur to provide better purchase for the cocking thumb. It also requires less pressure to lock back for firing. While the trigger and hammer were not bad to start with, the updated firing mechanism is a real improvement. One more change to the Backup is the slimmer, more rounded profile of the wooden grip panels. It’s a subtle difference, but a noticeable one…

Bond Arms – American Rifleman

admin — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 06:02:50 +0000

In the late 19th Century, American gunsmith Henry Deringer invented and became famous for some of the most commercially successful pocket guns of all time. His products did so well that his name, eventually misspelled as “derringer,” became synonymous with any pocket-size single- or double-barrel pistol. Perhaps the most famous double-barrel cartridge loading pistol to receive the derringer moniker is the Remington Model 95.

Remington’s compact two-shot over-under pistol was available from 1866 to 1935. It’s the same little gun that’s so often seen jumping out of boots and vest pockets when cowboys and card sharks just can’t get along at saloon card tables in the classic Old West movies. Bond Arms of Granbury, Texas, has taken this venerable 19th century pistol and redesigned it for 21st century concealed carry, resulting in one of the most compact and powerful pocket pistols available.

Pistol Features
First and foremost, Bond pistols are strong. Unlike some modern derringers, with frames made of an unidentifiable lightweight alloy, Bond frames and barrels are built like Army tanks from nothing but sturdy stainless steel. The sight system consists of a fixed-blade front sight, and a notched rear sight. The trigger is single-action only, meaning that the hammer has to be manually cocked for each shot. The grip is a rounded bird’s head shape providing a two-finger grip when fitted with standard grip panels. The pistol frames are available with or without a removable trigger guard. The swing-up barrels for these pistols are fitted with a shell ejector for rimmed cartridges or a notched chamber opening for rimless semi-auto cartridges.

An important part of the Bond re-design is the incorporation of modern safety features. The original Remington 95 had no safeties, except for a half-cock position for the hammer. The Bond firing mechanism features a rebounding hammer design. Each time the gun is fired, the hammer rebounds and locks in a half-cock position away from the frame. This means the hammer never rests against the firing pins. A push-button, cross-bolt safety, commonly found on rifle and shotgun triggers, can block the hammer from striking the firing pins even if the pistol is fully cocked and the trigger is pressed. The third safety to note is, simply stated, a hook on the trigger that locks the barrel release lever into the closed position as the pistol is fired. This prevents the barrel release lever, if accidentally bumped by the shooter’s thumb as the pistol recoils, from popping the barrels open as the pistol fires. This is a patented safety feature not available on other Remington 95-based handguns.

Bond Arms pistols were modular before modular guns became all the rage. All Bond barrels, pistol frames and grip panels are interchangeable. This allows any frame to switch caliber, barrel length or grip size. The turn of a screw will change the grip panels from the standard two-finger grip to a three-finger extended grip or even a hand-filling jumbo grip. With the use of an Allen wrench, the barrel hinge pin can be quickly removed to install barrels in assorted lengths and calibers. Among the most popular barrels are the .45 Colt/.410 Defender and Snake Slayer models that allow the use of 2 1/2 or 3-inch .410 shot shells. However, a variety of calibers are available—from rimfire rounds like the .22 Long Rifle and .22 Mag., to popular semi-auto loads like the 9 mm and .40 S&W and potent pistol cartridges like the 10 mm, .357 Mag. and .45 Colt…

Tribute To Bob Munden – The Fastest Gun Who Ever Lived

admin — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 12:37:48 +0000

Bob Munden, known perhaps equally as a fierce Fast-Draw competitor who was recognized by Guinness World Records as The Fastest Man with a Gun Who Ever Lived, as an exhibition shooter of the highest order with all kinds of firearms; an entertainer as well as a master gun smith who developed groundbreaking methods of customizing to perfection the beloved .45 caliber single action revolver and other guns, died Monday of heart failure.

What Made Bob Munden So Great:

Besides being an all around great person Bob did things with firearms that left people in awe…

Bob Munden was born in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, and started his shooting career at age 11. Beginning in high school, Bob competed in Jeff Cooper’s Big Bear “Leatherslaps” shooting competitions at Big Bear Lake, California in the 1950s. The Leatherslaps eventually became the South Western Combat Pistol League (SWCPL). When Bob Munden was 17, he placed second in the 1958 Leatherslap using a Colt .45 Single Action borrowed from Cooper. He claims to have won over 3,500 fast draw trophies.

After taking up exhibition shooting, Bob Munden gave many demonstrations to audiences, once with John Satterwhite. Munden also gave shooting demonstrations on television shows the world over, most notably featured in “Super Humans” on the History Channel, American Shooter, Shooting USA, Shooting USA’s Impossible Shots and Ripley’s Believe it or Not. Munden was also a custom gunsmith.

Of all the special shooting he has done for television, the shot people comment about the most is when he hit a 14″x 24″ steel, rectangle target 200 yards away 4 times in a row using a stock, iron-sighted (no scope) Smith & Wesson Model 60, .38-caliber, double-action revolver with a 2″ barrel. Or… perhaps it is the shot where he opened a safety pin with a bullet, using a 1911. Now that we think about it… the splitting two playing cards by splitting a bullet on an axe blade is pretty popular too.

Bob says the most difficult shot he has accomplished, many times, in front of a camera and on DVD, is a shot that to his knowledge had never been done before. He throws and splits (not only hits) a playing card in two while it is in the air, using a Colt .45 single-action revolver. The first time Bob accomplished this feat was at the 1986 SASS End of Trail Tournament in Coto de Caza, California, using someone else’s gun. It was a .45 single action he had never touched before that belonged to EMF’s Boyd Davis.

Bob holds 18 unbroken World Records in Fast Draw competition that he set with a real, stock-weight, Colt .45 single-action revolver. Though the World Fast Draw Association erased the records more than once when they changed regulations or timing equipment, Bob set them again, always using a real gun and a real holster, no light-weight “funny guns” or gimmicks.

Read about the rest of Bob’s amazing feats here

Bob has always been a great friend of the Bond Arms crew, he loved the guns and showed everyone the things you could achieve with them.

Check Out Some Of Our Favorite Video Bob Munden Did:

Bob On Stan Lee’s Superhumans:

Bob Munden “The Fastest Gun Who Ever Lived”

February 8, 1942 – December 10, 2012

Bob, you will truly be missed.

8 Most Underrated Personal Defense Handguns – Guns and Ammo

admin — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 22:13:22 +0000

by B. Gil Horman | September 25, 2012

When looking at the diverse selection of defensive handguns available on the market today, shooters tend to divide the playing field into “good” guns and “bad” guns. The good ones are reliable, shoot well and fill the buyer’s needs. The bad ones are inaccurate, dysfunctional or just don’t fit the shooter’s requirements. But in between these sweeping categorizations we find a variety of handguns that, while often rejected by the masses or shooting experts, have managed to earn a loyal following. These guns may be stars that lost their shine, chambered in controversial calibers or just plain weird to look at, but for one reason or another, the folks that own them would never give them up without a fight. Take a look and see which one of these underdogs you have tucked away in your safe.

Bond Arms Derringers

In the late 19th Century, American gunsmith Henry Deringer became famous for his innovative pocket pistols. His name, eventually misspelled as “derringer,” became synonymous with any pocket-sized single or double barrel pistol. These days, the derringer label is usually treated as a derogatory denunciation of a pistol’s quality. This is because several companies over the years have produced sub-standard replicas of the famous Remington Model 95, resulting in over-under double barrel pistols getting a reputation for being cheap, unreliable, and even dangerous to use.

Bond Arms, on the other hand, has taken the original Model 95 concept and redesigned it to be a powerful, reliable, modern defensive handgun. Unlike some derringers, with frames made of an unidentifiable light-weight alloy, the Bond frames and barrels are built from nothing but sturdy stainless steel. The Bond’s safety features include a rebounding hammer, a push button cross-bolt safety and a mechanism to lock the barrel release lever into the closed position as the pistol is fired.

The primary weakness of the derringer platform is its low ammunition capacity of just two rounds. Bond strives to make up for that restriction by offering interchangeable barrels to fire a variety of big bore cartridges, including the .45 Colt, .44 Special, .357 Magnum and .410 shotgun shells. The folks at Bond Arms will be the first to admit that their derringers aren’t for everyone, but the company maintains a strong and loyal fan base because of their high standards for quality, excellent customer service and their double-barrel pistol’s reliability.

Browning Hi-Power

Mr. John Browning remains one of the finest gun designers of all times. It’s almost impossible to identify any piece of technology created more than a hundred years ago that’s still in common use, but the Browning-developed 1911 .45 ACP remains one of the most influential and popular handguns in use by American shooters today. The 1911 is so popular, in fact, that it’s almost possible to forget that Browning designed several defensive handguns, most of which were successful in their time. One that’s still in production, but rarely thought about by the average shooter, is the Browning Hi-Power 9mm pistol.

FN Herstal commissioned Browning to design a pistol that would fill a French military requirement for a new service pistol which had a capacity over 10 rounds, and would be rugged and easy to service, launching a 9mm bullet. Since he had sold the rights to the 1911 to the U.S. military, he started from scratch. The result was a slim and trim single-action pistol using a 13-round staggered magazine. While the Hi-Power is an excellent pistol that has seen service around the world, it’s never really been popular in the country of its maker. Part of the lackluster sales may be due to its relatively high price. Some say it’s a matter of shooting market trends. It was only in the late 1980s that the 9mm became a popular defensive caliber. At the same time the 9mm was gaining momentum, new pistol designs like the Glock and Beretta 92 may have kept the Hi-Power from catching on.

Makarov 9×18 Pistols

In the mid-1990s, not long after the fall of the Soviet Union, a variety of inexpensive Eastern Bloc firearms started making their way onto the shelves of American gun dealers. Among the more popular models was the Makarov pistol. This all-steel, single-stack semi-auto is usually chambered for the Soviet 9×18 Makarov cartridge. So why was it such a hot ticket item then, but pretty much off of the shooting radar now?

The Makarov sold like hot cakes for the same reasons the Soviets chose to issue the pistol to their forces for 40 years: It’s simple, rugged, relatively light and compact, and it produces a level of stopping power right in line with the .380 ACP. What made these already affordable pistols even more attractive was the plentiful and inexpensive surplus ammunition with which to feed them.

However, as is common with imported surplus guns, the quality of the pistols varied. Some were excellent performers, while others were boat anchors. This inconsistency in quality control left some buyers loyal for life, while others swore off Russian guns forever. In time, the cheaper guns and ammo dried up along with any general interest in them. Those who got the good ones love them and hold on to them. You can still buy Makarovs, usually from online sources, but you’ll pay about the same amount as you would for a value-priced pocket .380.

North American Arms Mini-Revolver

Tucked away in the mountain valley of Provo, Utah, North American Arms (NAA) has been producing some of the smallest defensive handguns available since 1971. After examining a NAA .22 Short mini-revolver, weighing in at a whopping 4 ounces, almost no other handgun deserves the title of “tiny.” If you want to take advantage of the supply of its namesake ammunition, the .22 LR frame is also available. To give a maximum boost to this diminutive revolver’s power potential, a selection of .22 Magnum versions is also available.

Shooters who flip out at the idea of carrying one of these little guns for self-defense will start reading the riot act at the paragraph about the inadequacies of .22 rimfire pistols for self-defense and stop somewhere around the section labeled “Belly Guns.” But as folks who carry these guns on a daily basis point out, the primary goal of the mini-revolver’s design is presence, not power. In other words, when the balloon goes up, a mini-revolver in the pocket trumps two .45s in the gun safe at home. And they’re not as wimpy as some people think. Ballistician Brassfetcher has posted test tables and a video that may surprise you.

Ruger SP101 .327 Federal

Ruger has a long and decorated history of providing top quality handguns at an affordable price, but not every one of them has been a success. While revolvers like the LCR, Blackhawk and Super Redhawk steadily travel out of the factory into shooter’s hands, one little revolver that launched with big expectations is languishing away in the Ruger catalogue. It’s the SP101 chambered for the .327 Federal cartridge.

Released in 2011, this version of the SP101 was the result of a team effort with Federal Ammunition. The .327 Federal cartridge is an update to the .32 H&R magnum. Chambered for this round, the SP101 offers shooters recoil and power levels ranging from the soft shooting .32 S&W cartridge all the way up to lightly-loaded .357 magnum rounds. Best of all, the narrower cartridge leaves room in the cylinder for a sixth cartridge. Reviews were very positive, with folks who tested the gun generally giving it a big thumbs-up.

Unfortunately, this gun and ammunition combination has fallen victim to the same new cartridge issues that waylaid other innovations like the .41 Magnum and 10mm. First, the reception by the general public was lukewarm at best. Why invest in a new caliber that’s so similar to the readily available and well trusted .38 Special? Secondly, when the bevy of new handguns chambered to fire the .327 Fed arrived, the ammunition was in low supply and nearly impossible to lay hands on. With the perception that there was no ammunition for the guns, they did not sell well. This kept the demand for ammunition low, which resulted in inventory remaining low, thus becoming a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy that haunts the round to this day. Although this particular SP101 has lost its spot in the limelight, it’s still available from Ruger. Ammunition companies, including Federal, Cor-Bon and Buffalo Bore, currently provide factory .327 Fed cartridges.

Smith & Wesson Model 64 .38 Special

If you’re new to shooting, or under the age of 40, there’s a whole subset of reliable, battle-proven defensive handguns that are going to be underplayed or ignored completely while you’re perusing your options at the gun shops. This group is well-represented by the once popular, but now nearly forgotten, Smith & Wesson K-Frame .38 Special revolvers. These medium-frame .38s were once the “standard” by which all other revolvers were judged. The blued Model 10, and later the stainless steel Model 64, could be found on the hips of law enforcement personnel around the world.

In the mid-1980s, police forces began to make the switch over to high-capacity semi-autos. As a result, the K-frame revolver started to fade from view. Much of the hyperbole used 30 years ago to boost sales of semi-autos, “proving” semis are far superior to revolvers in every way, seems to have become engrained in people’s minds as facts. The truth is, medium-sized .38s are an excellent option for home and personal defense. Accurate, reliable, easy to operate, certainly enough power to get the job done, and far more comfortable to shoot and practice with than the smaller five-shot J-Frame snub nosed revolvers. The upside to this lack of love for the K-Frames is that they can be purchased second-hand for around $300 dollars. Those who shoot and love these guns say they’re perfectly happy to pay more.

Steyr M Series

To say that Americans are picky about what features they like their guns to have would be an understatement. Considering how much guns cost and how broad the selection is, there’s no good reason for shooters to settle for anything less than just what they want. Unfortunately, this same perspective can result in shooters shying away from the unfamiliar. Even though the design features that are different from the norm are positive, they can cause a pistol to be ignored.

A pistol that falls squarely into this category–in the U.S. anyway–is the Steyr M9-A1. It exhibits many of the desirable features of commonly adopted pistols like the Glock, Smith & Wesson M&P and Springfield XD, including the same price. The latest version of the pistol, including the Styer M-A1, has even been called the “Glock Killer” by some reviewers. But even though the pistol has been in production since 1999, it’s rarely seen on the American shooting range. So why is the public’s reception of this pistol so unenthusiastic? Some say it’s the grip angle, others say they don’t care for the unusual sight system that uses triangles instead of dots. It also gained a reputation with some for having a poor trigger, which is a problem the manufacturer reports as having been addressed in the latest versions. The shooters who own them are willing to state that this is a pistol that deserves more respect.

Taurus Judge .45/.410 Revolvers

The turbulent story of how the .45 Colt/.410 Taurus Judge has been received by the shooting community reads just like the release of a summertime blockbuster movie. First, rumors that a .410-firing revolver was about to arrive on the scene had everyone all atwitter. Then, the Judge was officially reviewed by various professional gun writers. Just like movie critics, they panned the new gun. Statements of the Judge being useless, a solution in search of a problem, inaccurate, a jack-of-all trades but a master of none, were commonly posted and printed. Few professionals had anything nice to say about it. And what did consumers do in spite of these reviews? They proceeded to buy them by the truckload, making the Judge one of the most successful products in Taurus’ history.

Years later, the Judge is still a controversial defensive handgun. One of the reasons is that Taurus has said shooters should load the gun with birdshot for close range defensive situations, like a carjacking. Gun gurus will gladly point out that .410 birdshot loads, while painful, do not produce the penetration needed for successful threat stopping shots. However, loaded with .45 Colt or .410 Buckshot loads, the Judge produces plenty of stopping power at close range. Whether you like it or not, the Judge is here to stay.

American Rifleman: Bond releases its smallest big-bore derringers yet, and gives the Defender a patriotic twist.

admin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:15:54 +0000

By B. Gil Horman

At the Range
For this shooting session, three new guns from the Bond Arms 2012 catalogue were tested. The first two are the new Mini models. Both pistols use the cowboy-style frame with no trigger guard and the brand new 2 1/2-inch Mini barrels. The Mini features a .45 Colt only barrel and an engraved rosewood grip. The Bond Girl Mini is fitted with a .38 Spl./.357 Mag. barrel and a Bond Girl pink synthetic pearl grip. The third pistol in the test set is the new USA Defender featuring a 3-inch .45 Colt/.410 barrel, a removable trigger guard and an engraved extended rosewood grip. All three guns showed an excellent level of fit and finish, and they all fired a variety of ammunition without any malfunctions….

View the full article: http://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/bond-arms-derringers-review/

Check out the photo gallery: http://www.americanrifleman.org/GalleryItem.aspx?cid=22&gid=153&id=1357

Bond Arms High – Quality Derringers and Knives

admin — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:10:23 +0000

Bond Arms makes the world’s best derringers. That is a strong statement, but to anyone who has handled and fired one, it is a true statement. Made of stainless steel, tightly fitted and beautifully finished, the Bond derringers are strong and powerful. I have owned my Snake Slayer for almost three years now, and it has proven to be a handy and reliable weapon. I carry mine often when out in the woods during warm weather, when rattlers, copperheads, and cottonmouths are crawling. Around the farm, these creatures like to lay under equipment and such, and I won’t tolerate them around the area where my grandkids and their wonderful grandpa play and work. Loaded with a payload of 410 number 8 shot, the Bond makes quick work of dispatching venomous snakes.

Check out the video detailing the Bond Arms Line

The Bond Arms Line

A Bond derringer is also very handy to wear while driving. I carry mine is a Bond driving holster, which is a cross draw that holds the weapon horizontally on my belt, just to the right of my belt buckle, me being a left-handed shooter. A three inch 410 shotshell loaded with five pellets of 000 buck or something like the Winchester PDX1 makes a formidable car-jacker repellant. Even a load of birdshot at close range into the face of an attacker is very effective. I have covered most everything in detail on the Bond pistol before in my review of the Snake Slayer, so I won’t plow that same ground here again. In that review, I mentioned the wide assortment of Bond derringers available, and in this piece, I will spotlight just a few.

Bond Arms Mini

First up is a Bond Mini with some pink grip panels. This is the “Bond Girl” gun, and has really been a hit with the women to whom I have shown it. Pictured here, the Bond Girl pistol is chambered for the 38 Special/357 magnum cartridges, but as with any of the Bond Derringers, switching to another set of barrels is very quick and easy to do. Nicole really liked the Bond, and shot it very well, both with the 38 Special cartridge, and then also with the three-inch 410 shotshell, after switching barrels with my Snake Slayer.

Also shown here is a Bond Mini chambered for the 45 Colt cartridge. This weapon has barrels that are too short for the 410 shotshell, and is a good choice for those who want only to shoot the 45 Colt cartridge. Again, extra barrel sets can be purchased to allow the use of several different cartridges on any one Bond frame.

USA Defender

Another derringer shown here is the Bond USA Defender. It is chambered in 45 Colt/410 shotshell, but with shorter barrels, to use the two and one-half inch shotshell, sacrificing a bit of shotshell payload for better concealability. The laser-engraved grip panels are beautiful, with the American flag replicated on the laminated wood.

My favorite of the guns shown here is the Ranger II. It is also chambered for 45 Colt/410, and has a trigger guard, which distinguishes the Ranger II from the Ranger. The black grips look good with the stainless pistol, and the black driving holster is both beautiful and functional. Well-balanced with its longer barrels, the Ranger II just feels right to me.

Texas Ranger

The special cased gun and knife set shown here is Bond’s tribute to the Texas Rangers. Not the baseball team, but the special division of the Texas state police. As indicated on the upper barrel, The Rangers have been in service since 1823, commissioned by Stephen Austin, and have been around almost continuously ever since, except during the reconstruction period after The Confederate States were aggressively invaded from the north and lost that war, along with their sovereignty. The Texas Rangers are some of the most respected law enforcement officers in the nation, and have a colorful and interesting history in the formation of the Republic of Texas, as well as the state.

The Bond Texas Ranger derringer in the cased set is chambered for the 45 Colt/410 Shotshell combination. It comes cased with a special Buck knife, laser-engraved with the Bond Arms logo. The pistol grip and the knife scales are made of Texas mesquite wood, and have replica Texas Ranger badges inlaid. This is a good-looking, highly collectable Bond derringer with special serial numbers, and is available for a limited time. The pistol commemorates the 200th Anniversary of the Rangers, which is still twelve years away, but the pistols are only available for a limited time. I like the idea of having the guns done early. Many times, gun manufacturers will issue a commemorative, and by the time it finally gets into production, the anniversary has passed. Bond is thinking ahead on this one. Anyway, it is a beautiful gun and knife set, cased with a glass top, and in production now. These Texas Ranger sets can be ordered direct from Bond Arms, and they will take care of getting it delivered to your gun dealer.

Bond Arms Buck Knife

Speaking of knives, Bond now has commissioned Buck to produce knives for them. I remember a time when just about everyone carried a Buck 110 folding knife. These Buck knives that bear the Bond logo are made in the USA, open quickly, and lock open for safety. The three and one-quarter inch blades are stainless, and the scales are available in laminated rosewood or black ash, and have a stainless steel pocket clip.

Like all Bond derringers, the ones shown here are fine examples of craftsmanship, and are made in the USA.

Check out the line of Bond firearms, knives, holsters, and accessories online at www.bondarms.com/store/

To find a Bond retailer near you, click on the DEALER LOCATOR at www.lipseys.com

To order a Bond derringer online, go to www.galleryofguns.com

Article by: Jeff Quinn

Original version can be seen here

Bond Arms Ranger II Review – American Rifleman

admin — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:29:12 +0000

The Ranger II and Holster

Derringers have filled the small handgun role for many years, and Bond Arms Ranger II is a modern version of this iconic firearm.

By NRA Staff

There is no arguing that, when it comes to handguns, small is in. And there is no handgun that has been filling that role longer than the Derringer. First popularized by Henry Deringer in the early 19th century, and much copied since, in modern times the form is perhaps best represented by Bond Arms out of Granbury, Texas. The Bond Arms Ranger II exemplifies the later two-barrel style, and this single-action, break-open pistol is chambered to fire 2 1/2- or 3-inch .410-bore shotshells, as well as .45 Colt and .45 Schofield.

The gun features stainless steel construction with a brushed finish, is CNC-machined and is built entirely in the United States. Weighing more than 23 ounces, this handgun feels solid enough to handle a variety of loads, and thanks to the patented interchangeable barrel system, it can. All Bond Arms derringers will accept any one of the company’s 16 different barrels, available in 22 cartridge options, and new barrels can be shipped directly to the consumer.

Changing barrels requires only the action to be opened and the removal of the single hinge screw with a 1/8-inch Allen wrench. Replacement barrels come with sights and a spring-loaded extractor pre-installed. The extractor can also be manually pushed using a thumb extension to help remove rounds that may become stuck; however, the chambers are well-honed to aid smooth extraction. The blade front sight and notched rear sight are integral with the barrel, which starts as a solid piece of steel before the two barrel openings are bored out and rifled. Featuring 3-inch chambers, the Ranger II has rifling in only the last 1½ inches of its total length.

Bond Arms Derringers have several mechanical safeties to ensure their proper use and to protect against an unintentional discharge. The first is the rebounding hammer that acts as a half-cock position and prevents forward movement of the hammer. This also acts as a hammer drop safety so it will not fire if dropped on the hammer on top of a chambered round. The hammer will engage the firing pins only if the trigger is completely depressed.

The twin firing pins are also auto-retracting to help prevent accidental discharges when loading. A cross-bolt safety is also included above the grip. It completely prevents any hammer contact with the firing pins when activated. The cross-bolt safety can also be locked in the “on” position with an Allen wrench on a screw on the breech face. An internal locking device, located next to the trigger, locks the action and helps prevent unauthorized use. Many may also appreciate the inclusion of a trigger guard that is removable for those preferring a more traditional outline.

The grip design for the Ranger II adds a finger extension that provides a more positive grip, and the grip swell fills the palm comfortably. Also unique to the Ranger II is the smooth, black-wood-laminated construction with matching brushed, stainless steel Texas or Lawman star inlays gracing each side of the grip. The star matches one found on the attractive driving holster, a sturdy, black-molded leather cross-draw affair with distinct white stitching, a quick-release thumb break and a clever hook-and-loop attachment system that fits up to 1¾-inch belts.

Operation is straightforward and easily mastered. Simply rotate the frame-mounted, spring-loaded rapid reload lever downward to release the hinged barrel assembly, then rotate the barrel assembly upward, allowing the spring-loaded extractor to push the cartridges out far enough to grip and remove them, or load new ones. To fire, firmly close the barrel assembly, cock the hammer and squeeze the trigger.

The hammer face features a self-adjusting, spring-loaded block that alternates the firing sequence between the top and bottom barrels each time it is cocked. With a bit of practice and observation the shooter can determine which barrel to fire in which order—something that can be helpful if using different loads in each barrel.

The Ranger II was shot with both 000 Buckshot for patterning and .45 Colt for chronographing and accuracy testing at 7 yards. The trigger, at 7 pounds, 8 ounces, was comfortable to use, and recoil was manageable thanks in large part to the pistols weight and full-size grip. Cases also proved easy to extract.

Recoil with the .410 buckshot loads was stout, yet manageable, and it was significantly less with .45 Colt ammunition. The four-pellet buckshot pattern was also tight at 7 yards, with one group less than 5 inches and most averaging 2 to 4 inches. The upper barrel had a tendency to fire 5 inches above point of aim, and the lower barrel the same amount below point of aim at 7 yards with .410 ammunition.

The Bond Arms Ranger II provides .410-bore firepower in a small package and can be effectively used in a variety of close-range, personal-protection situations. Combined with various loads ranging from birdshot to custom defense loads to standard handgun cartridges, and the capability for quick barrel changes, it offers great versatility.

Manufacturer: Bond Arms, Inc; (817) 573-4445; www.bondarms.com
Caliber: .45 Colt/.410 with 3″ chambers
Action Type: single action, hinged, over/under
Frame: stainless steel
Barrel: 4¼”
Rifling: six grooves, RH twist, 1:12″
Capacity: two
Sights: fixed blade front, notch rear
Trigger Pull: 7 lbs., 8 ozs.
Overall Length: 61⁄4″
Width: 11⁄4″
Height: 41⁄2″
Weight: 23.5 ozs.
Stocks: black ash star
Accessories: plastic case, cross-draw holster
Suggested Retail Price: $649

See the original article at American Rifleman

Bond Arms .45 Colt/ .410 Shotshell Snake Slayer: The Derringer Perfected

admin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:23:14 +0000

by Jeff Quinn – Gunblast.com

photography by Jeff Quinn & Boge Quinn

April 20th, 2009

If you have never handled a Bond, forget everything that you know about derringers. For over 150 years, the term “derringer” has been used to describe what most think of as a cheap, light, short, two-barreled last ditch backup gun. Manufacturers in the late nineteenth century jumped on the popularity of Henry Deringer’s small pocket guns, and started cranking out pistols of varying quality to satisfy the market. Ever since, derringers have been available that chambered small caliber cartridges into pistols that were cheap to build and sell. For what they are, these derringers serve their purpose, and certainly can put two reasonably quick shots into an opponent at close range, but are sometimes lacking in quality of materials, manufacture, safety, and power. Some of these pistols will slam-fire, and can also fire if dropped on their hammer. Most on the market today are made from zinc alloys, and work pretty well, but lack the quality and size to chamber powerful big bore cartridges.

Enter Bond Arms, Inc. of Granbury, Texas. The Bond Arms derringers exude quality. Some would call them the “Cadillac” of derringers. I would not. I have owned Cadillacs. Very good automobiles, but they are not up to the quality standards of Bond Arms. The closest that I can relate to the quality of the Bond pistols is the Freedom Arms revolvers. Most revolver shooters are familiar with Freedom Arms. Freedom makes the finest revolvers on the planet, and Bond Arms makes the finest derringers ever built. Ever. Made from machined stainless steel, the Bond is the derringer perfected. The Bond has a rebounding hammer and spring-loaded firing pins, adding greatly to the safety of the design. The hammer is blocked from forward movement unless the trigger is pulled, to prevent the weapon from firing if dropped upon its hammer. In addition, the Bond has a crossbolt safety that effectively blocks the hammer from contact with the firing pins. It is very simple to use, but I prefer to rely upon the rebounding hammer and block, and do not use the crossbolt. To prevent the crossbolt safety from being accidentally pushed into the “on safe” position, a small set screw can be tightened with an Allen wrench, to lock the crossbolt into either the “on safe” or “off safe” positions. To load and fire the Bond, a side lever is pushed downward, releasing the barrels to swing upward for loading. After loading, the barrels are closed, the hammer is manually cocked, and the trigger is pressed backward and slightly downward to fire. The locking block is angled, or cammed, in the design, and self-adjusts to stay tight as the gun wears, much like the lockup on a modern double-barreled shotgun. Come to think of it, the Snake Slayer is a double-barreled shotgun! The trigger pull on the sample gun released cleanly with seven and one-quarter pounds of pressure. This is a good pull on a pistol of this type. It is not too heavy, and not too light. The barrels alternate in firing sequence, without resetting when the action is opened. Most prefer to fire the bottom barrel first, and looking at the block on the hammer that contacts the firing pins, one can determine the sequence of firing. The Snake Slayer has a trigger guard, which is removable if desired, but there are models available without a trigger guard, for those who prefer it that way. I really like the trigger guard. It makes the weapon easier to handle for me, and is not in the way at all. The Bond derringers are available chambered for several different cartridges, and the barrels are interchangeable. The sample pistol wore a set of three and one-half inch .45 Colt/.410 Snake Slayer barrels, but also had spare four and three-sixteenths inch .45 Colt/.410 Snake Slayer IV and .38 Special/.357 Magnum Defender barrels that were shipped to me as well. The chamberings offered by Bond include the following:

45 Colt/.410 Shot Shell, rifled bore
.357 Magnum/.38 Special
.357 Maximum
.45 ACP
.45 Colt
.45 GAP
.44 Special
.44 WCF (.44-40)
.40 S&W
10 mm Auto
9 mm Luger
.32 H & R Magnum
.22 Long Rifle

Changing barrels is the definition of simplicity. Swing open the barrels, and remove the hinge screw with a Allen wrench. Insert the other set of barrels and replace the hinge screw. It takes very little effort and less than a minute to switch barrels. The extractor is built into the barrels, so no change is necessary for that part. The extractor is spring-loaded, and works to extract any of the rimmed cartridges automatically, lifting them slightly as the barrels are swung open. While several cartridge options are available, the bread and butter of the Bond line is their .45 Colt/.410 shotshell versions, such as the Snake Slayer shown here. The versatility of that combination is outstanding, allowing the pistol to chamber a variety of .45 Colt ammunition, and either two and one-half or three inch .410 shotshells, including birdshot, buckshot, and slugs. The three inch buckshot load usually contains five pellets of either 00 or 000 size, and at close range, is devastating on flesh. The pattern spreads pretty quickly, but at typical fighting distances, the buckshot is a very good choice. At contact distances typical in a gunfight, even birdshot is an excellent choice. While called the Snake Slayer, this handgun would be an ideal defense against a carjacker. Carried in the Bond Driving holster, it is quick into action, and a face-full of number six birdshot will repel any attacker, leaving him either dead or worse, blind for the rest of his life. Taurus is selling all of “The Judge” .45/.410 revolvers that they can make, but the Bond double barrel is much more compact than even the lightweight Judge, and fires the full-length three inch shotshell. The lightweight Judge is only offered in the two and one-half inch version. You have to go with the much-heavier steel Judge to get the three inch chamber. It is neither as light nor as compact as the Snake Slayer. While the Judge offers three more shots without reloading, the two in the Snake Slayer are plenty for any snake, and should suffice for close range defense from human predators as well. I like the Judge, but for a packing gun, I greatly prefer the Bond. The three and one-half inch barreled Snake Slayer weighed in at 21.8 ounces on my scale, and has an overall length of only five and one-half inches. It is a true pocket pistol, laying pretty flat, but I prefer to carry in the driving holster.

Shooting the Bond Snake Slayer was a pleasure. Recoil, with even the stoutest .410 shot loads was easy to control, thanks to the excellent design of the grip. Having that extra length to accommodate the little finger makes a world of difference, as does the trigger guard in helping to control the pistol. The recoil of the .45 Colt ammunition varied from mild to heavy, depending of course upon the load chosen. However, while shooting .45 Colt ammo from the Snake Slayer is a good option, I prefer to think of this thing as close range protection from poisonous snakes and two-legged vipers, and in that capacity, the .410 birdshot and buckshot excels. Shot patterns at close range with .410 birdshot were superior to any centerfire handgun shot cartridges that I have ever used. While the bores are rifled on the Snake Slayer, the shot load did not exhibit a donut pattern, and as can be seen in the picture, a snake would have no chance of squirming through that shot pattern, and neither would an attacker in a close range fight.

The Bond Arms Snake Slayer is a very unique weapon, like nothing else on the market. It is a specialized weapon, ideally suited for carry in poisonous snake country, and an excellent choice for a handgun to carry while driving an automobile. It is compact, relatively lightweight for the power that it packs, and built with pride by American craftsmen in the state of Texas. It is a good weapon, and I highly recommend it.

Check out the entire line of Bond Arms firearms and accessories online at www.bondarms.com.

For the location of a Bond Arms dealer near you, click here.