Bond Arms Texas Defender Review
When you think of guns from the "Wild West", a Derringer is always on the list. For such a simple gun, it has a huge presence. I was excited to see the changes from the antique Derringer "pocket pistol" (which I inherited from my papa) to the modern Bond Arms Derringer guns. I'm reviewing their Texas Defender with .22, 38, & 45 interchangeable barrel systems.
The Bond Arms Texas Defender Pistol features a 3" barrel with a satin stainless steel finish and rosewood grips. This pistol is quite a beauty. It comes standard with a trigger guard, crossbolt safety, blade-front and fixed rear sights, along with a spring-loaded cammed locking lever. Best of all: it is made in the USA!
The first thing I noticed on the TD is the high quality of the stainless steel. There is a huge weight difference and overall thickness of the stainless steel. The patented spring loaded “rapid reload lever” allows the barrels to swing upward for loading and unloading. The crossbolt safety works in the direction opposite of most cross bolt safeties. Instead of pushing from the right side of the gun to the left to fire, the Bond safety is pushed from left to right. (Which is great for this lefty). When this is done, there is a red ring visible on the right side crossbolt portion indicating
“fire.” If you need to de-cock the gun, the safety can be pushed on and the hammer strike will be blocked from contact with the firing pin. I read the manual to learn the change-out process of the barrels.
Incredibly, it only takes a few seconds to change the barrel. It's as easy as unscewing the connection bolt on the barrel, and screwing in the new one with an Allen Wrench. Bond Derringer grips are designed to distribute recoil over the large surface of the palm of the hand, which explains why after firing the 45 one-handed, I was still holding the pistol! As I shot, I drew multiple people around me that were interested in this gun. Talk about a fun gun to shoot! My smile never left my face.
Guns vary in power, control, and comfort. The Texas Defender gets a plus in each of these departments. For ultimate power, you can shoot 45's with it. As far as the control, it's extremely accurate. I was dead on with my accuracy up to 10ft. (Being a single action, two shot, accuracy was one of my main concerns.) For comfort, I shot each caliber one-handed with no issues. I was fully expecting more recoil on the higher calibers. 
The Texas Defender only weighs 20
ounces and is 5" in length with the 45 barrel. It was very comfortable to conceal carry. For those with issues about it only being a two-shot, Bond Arms makes a holster that holds extra rounds.MSRP’s on Bond Arms Derringers are in the $500 range depending on model. They are well worth the price and last a lifetime.