Frequently Asked Questions

To find Bond Arms products in your area, please enter your zip code in this link to find a retailer near you.
We also have links to some of the major retailers who carry our firearms on the individual firearm's page.

If you are interested in accessories or finding an online firearms dealer to ship to your local FFL, there are many online retailers who order our products through our distributors who can be found through web browsing. 
Because there are so many, we cannot endorse one online store over another.

No.  Bond Arms does not sell to the general public. 

All firearms must be purchased from a Federal Firearms License holder (gun dealer) in the state you reside.  For a dealer in your area, go to our Find a Dealer page.

Be aware that there are fraudulant online stores which advertise firearms for sale.  If an online store advertises that they can ship a firearms to your home or that they accept payment methods such as Venmo or cryptocurrency, do not engage in business with them.  Federal law prohibits firearms from being shipped directly to your residence.  Always use a legitimate brick-and-mortar store for all firearm purchases.

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.

As we are a manufacturer of firearms, we can only offer tours on a very limited basis. 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.

No.  Our focus is on the firearms themselves and the accessories that go with them.  

And with the new products being released, we really do not see ammunition production in our future.

We get asked this question quite often.  The answer is: Whichever barrel did not fire last time.

Some other manufacturers of derringers have a selector switch which must be moved from one side to another.  
This is not the case with Bond Arms derringers.

Our derringers automatically swap from one barrel to the next every time the hammer is pulled back.
This happens through the life of the firearm, and it switches whether a cartidge is in the chamber or not.

If you need to know which barrel is going to fire, all you have to do is look at the position of the hammer head:

When the hammer head is close to the hammer, the top barrel will be firing.  When the hammer head is further away, the bottom barrel will fire.



If you need the next shot our of your Bond Arms derringer to be the barrel other than what is indicated by the hammer head (let's just say you had .45LC in one chamber and .410 bore in the other), all you have to do is engage the manual safety, gently lower the hammer, and then disengage the safety. 
When you cock the hammer back again, the hammer head will have automatically moved into position to fire the other barrel.

Some barrels that we manufacture do not have extractors because the ammunition is "rimless".

Common calibers which are rimless are calibers that were developed to primarily be used in semiautomatic pistols.  These include 9mm, .45ACP, 10mm, .40 S&W, .380ACP and more.

                        


When there is no rim, an extractor has nothing to "grab", and the user removes the cartidge by gently prying it from the barrel using the gap that we engineer in place of the extractor.
This gap also functions as a loaded-barrel indicator as the rounds are clearly visible when loaded.

Although the bullets which come out of both a .45ACP (aka .45 Auto) and a .45LC are the exact same diameter, a .45ACP will not fit into a .45 Colt barrel because of the diameter of it's rim.

A .45 Colt (aka .45LC, aka .45 Long Colt) does not fall too deep in the .482" chamber because it has a large rim with a .512" diameter that stops it.

This is not the case with a .45ACP.  The .45ACP does not have the large lip, and is what is known as a "rimless" round. 

With an outside diameter of .480" at it's largest point, the round will fall too deeply in the .482" diameter chamber, and the firing pin will not strike it.


Never use ammunition in a firearm other than what is specifically marked on the barrel.
Bond Arms does not take responsiblity for any damage cause by any individual who improperly loads a firearm with ammunition that is not specifically designed for that firearm. 

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.





It is also worth pointing out that Bond Arms also replaces the hammer as part of the action upgrade.  The older hammer was narrow.  Newer hammers are flared at the top for a more comfortable shooting experience.

Stinger frames are not compatible with any of the original hand cannon barrels like the ones we sell on our website.

Further, Stinger frames and barrels are not compatible between the original, black, aluminum Stinger frame and the newer, steel, Stinger RS frame.

There is a noticible ridge on the top of the barrel of the orginal Stinger frame that was put there to accomodate the steel breechface we put onto the alimunim frame.  Without that bump, the steel barrel would flip back and rest on the hammer.  
On the Stinger RS, we took the ridge off because the breechface is a different shape.  If the ridge was still there, the barrel on the Stinger RS would not open far enough for proper loading and unloading.

Bond Arms strongly discourages our customers from purchasing aftermarket rimfire barrels because of their high rate of failure.  


Getting a small firing pin to line up just right with the small rim is much more difficult than lining up the firing pin to hit the much larger centerfire primer.  

For that reason, Bond Arms test fires each and every rimfire pistol we sell to ensure that the barrel and the frame are properly matched to each other.  This is the only way to guarantee that the pistol functions properly.

Aftermarket rimfire barrels have not been matched to customer's frames, and (more often than not) will not function properly.  Therefore, if a customer wishes to own a Bond Arms derringer which will fire a .22LR, Bond has six models from which to choose: 
Rawhide 22LR (https://www.bondarms.com/Rawhide-22LR-P8574.aspx)
Stinger RS 22LR (https://www.bondarms.com/Stinger-RS-22LR-P8575.aspx)
Stinger 22LR (https://www.bondarms.com/Stinger-22LR-P8576.aspx)
BP22  (https://www.bondarms.com/BP22-New-P8590.aspx)
Stubby  https://www.bondarms.com/StubbyNEW-P8585.aspx
Honey B  https://www.bondarms.com/Honey-BNEW-P8588.aspx

Every now and then, on social media, a claim is made that someone bought an aftermarket rimfire barrel for their Bond derringer that worked just fine.  This is not the norm.  Every day, Bond Arms manufactures rimfire barrels that do not fire from their original frames, and they have to be fit to other frames to fire properly before we ship them.  Just because one person with one frame has an aftermarket barrel that works on their derringer does not guarantee that any other aftermarket rimfire barrel with work on your frame. 



Bond Arms strongly discourages our customers from purchasing aftermarket rimfire barrels because of their high rate of failure.

It is also for the above stated reasons that Bond Arms does not, and will not, manufacture rimfire barrels for sale as an accessory.  You must buy the firearms to guarantee proper results.

Gordon Bond addresses the issue here:  

No. 

Bond Arms does not, and will not, manufacture rimfire barrels as an accessory for our derringers.

Rimfire barrels must be matched to each frame individually and tested for a proper fit and function.  With the extremely tight tolerances dealing with a small firing pin and a small rimfire target, Bond cannot guarantee that an aftermarket rimfire barrel will properly function on a customer's frame.

Because Bond Arms cannot guarantee a high success rate with aftermarket rimfire barrels, we will not be selling them outside of a matched frame.

Yes.  This is quite normal.

Your Bond Arms derringer is built to extremely high tolerances.  But there still does have to be a little bit of room internally for things to function correctly.  A slight rattle is fine.  A clunking noise could be something else.  Call customer service if you have a concern about the noise made by your Bond Arms derringer.

Bond Arms' lineup has a bit of diversity.

On the small end of things, Stubby (https://www.bondarms.com/StubbyNEW-P8585.aspx) features a 2.2" barrel and sports an overall length of merely 4.2".  Stubby is also only .88" at it's widest point.




Our lightest weight derringer is the original Stinger (https://www.bondarms.com/www.bondarms.com/Stinger-P8525.aspx) which only weights 12oz.




The largest firearms we produce is the Texan (https://www.bondarms.com/bond-arms-handguns/texan/) which features a 6" barrel and has an overall length of 8.125".



Finally, the heaviest firearm we manufacture is the Cyclops® (https://www.bondarms.com/CyclopsNEW-P8582.aspx) which comes in at 28oz.

For 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.  The accessory barrels on our webpage (https://www.bondarms.com/shop/product-category/gun-barrels/) indicate which frame those barrels will fit.

We make 4 different frames: Hand Cannon, Stinger, Stinger RS, and Cyclops®.  Each of these frames uses their own unique barrels that are only compatible with other frames of the same type.

If you are unsure of which frame you own, look up the model here:

Hand Cannon Frames	Stinger Frames	Stinger RS Frames	Cyclops® Frames
Grizzly	Stinger "Fireball"	Honey B	Cyclops® 45-70
Rowdy	Stinger 22LR	Stubby	Cyclops® 44 Magnum
Rowdy XL	Stinger	Stinger RS 22LR	Cyclops® .50AE
Rawhide
Roughneck
Snake Slayer
Snake Slayer IV
Texas Defender
Cowboy Defender
Century 2000
PT2A
Sound of Freedom
Old Glory
1836
Texan
Z-Slayer
Blackjack
Rustic Ranger
Ranger II
Rustic Defender
Patriot
Mama Bear
Papa Bear
Cub
Backup
BP22
Mini

No, but with one exception:  It is okay to dry-fire the pistol with fired casings in place of live ammo for a few rounds only. 

Snap Caps are not recommended.

And if you happen to have a Bond chambered in .22LR or one of our older rimfire models like the .22WMR (22 Magnum), DO NOT EVER dry fire as it will damage the chamber and firing pins.

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.

When a Bond Arms derringer is fired, the hammer automatically backs away from the firing pins and locks in a half-cock position.  

The rebounding hammer is an exclusive patented feature for the Bond Defender derringers.

No.

Honestly, there just isn't any market demand for such a thing.  

Yes.

The .45 Colt is exactly the same round as the .45 Long Colt.

History Lesson:  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.  You might also see it abbreviated as ".45LC"

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.



*Stinger and Stinger RS frames do not feature a removable trigger guard.

We do try to make the most popular calibers that we get asked about.

Currently, Bond Arms offer handguns with 2.2", 2.5″,  3″,  3.5″, 4.25″ and 6" barrels in a variety of finishes and over a dozen calibers between the .22LR and the .45-70.

And, since any of our accessory barrels fit any the hand cannon frames, 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.

Yes.  With limitations:

-.45Colt/.410 chamber will shoot either a .45Colt, .410 Shotshell or a .45 Schofield.

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

-.44 Special will also shoot .44 Russian.


Outside of those examples, it is not advisable to fire ammunition that is not specifically designated on the barrel.

There are too many variables such as chamber depth, tapering cartidges, and rimmed, semi-rimmed, and rimless cartidges (just to name a few) for the assumption to be made that a cartridge other than the one specifically stamped on the barrel will properly fire just because they are "the same caliber".

Do not try to use a .380ACP in a 9mm barrel.
Do not try to use a .40S&W in a 10mm barrel.
Do not try to use a .45ACP in a .45LC or a .45LC/.410 barrel.

Again:

Never use ammunition in a firearm other than what is specifically marked on the barrel.
Bond Arms does not take responsiblity for any damage cause by any individual who improperly loads a firearm with ammunition that is not specifically designed for that firearm. 

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.

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 downwards and back.

DeSantis makes the majority of our holsters, and this statement is from them:
"Do not apply leather dressings, mink oil or mitt and glove dressing to your holster.  These will soften the leather to the point it loses retention properties.  'Massaging' or kneading a leather holster may also soften it to the point where retention qualities are lost.  This practice should also be avoided."We can only recommend using a little bit of saddle soap if you need to clean your holster.  Otherwise, leave it be or risk losing the retention properties.