Original, Antique, Wild West Remington Double Barrel Derringer, Model Number 1

Nickle plated finish, American Elliot’s 1865 Patent Remington .41 Rim Fire Obsolete Calibre Double Barrelled Derringer With Antique Ivory Grips. Sn 2611

In a complimentary, but much later made, gambler's walnut case, with inlaid brass three aces upon the lid.


The design of the Remington double derringer was little changed by Remington during a production run of nearly 70 years. This is an excellent, original, fully functioning very early example. The pistol has two 3" barrels and measures 5" overall making it easy to conceal and therefore popular with period Wild West Gamblers. The top of the barrel rib is stamped 'E. REMINGTON & SONS. ILION N.Y.' & 'ELLIOTS PATENT DEC 12 1865'. The underside of the bottom barrel is stamped '. It has a sheathed trigger & period Ivory grips which have a few, fine, old, stable cracks. The pistol retains its original factory nickel plated finish. The barrels rifled bores are clean and its loading cocking and firing actions work crisply. Often the hinges on these derringers are found with cracks, our examples’ hinge has no cracks. The price for this iconic piece of American Wild West history includes UK delivery. NB As an antique obsolete calibre weapon no licence is required to own this item in the UK if retained as part of a collection or display. Sn 2611 (Antique Ivory Content Comprises Less Than 10% Volume & Weight).

“We pack six-shooters and derringers for fear of the knave,” wrote 1860s Nevada miner and hay rancher George A. Whitney when describing life in the West to his brother. Although frontiersmen of the mid to late 19th century generally favoured big, large-caliber revolvers, and often ridiculed the tiny pocket pistols of the day, many carried them in hopes of that extra margin of protection.

The Glenwood Springs Historical Society pulled the trigger on a move the group hopes will shape its future and promises to boost the town’s reputation as an Old West tourist stop.

The society board authorized in 2017 the $84,000 purchase of Doc Holliday’s Derringer, one of few items believed to have been in the Hotel Glenwood room where he died Nov. 8, 1887. The board voted to buy the Derringer, given to Holliday by his common-law wife, Mary Katherine “Big Nose Kate” Horony-Cummings, a Hungarian-born prostitute. The handle is engraved, “To Doc from Kate.”

The gun is now in a safe-deposit box. The society will plan its exhibition and invite the public to view it as soon as possible.

Colonel Custer is also known on one occasion to have been given a derringer pistol, in case of capture before going into an Native American Indian encampment under a truce. The fear of Native american Indian mutilation whilst an officer was still alive may have made the ‘secret’ carrying of such weapons a common practice. One eyewitness claim about the body of Custer, is that he shot himself in the head with a Derringer type pistol.

The Derringer has passed into history as one of the most famous pistols of the Wild West era. The name gained it's infamy as the make of pistol used to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln, and from then on it was duly associated with the very small high calibre vest, boot or pocket pistols that became a most necessary part of life in the Old West.

The earliest Remington Derringer was in .41 Rimfire caliber and achieved wide popularity. The .41 Rimfire bullet moved very slowly, at about 425 feet per second (a modern .45 ACP travels at 850 feet per second). It could be seen in flight, but at very close range, such as at a casino or saloon card table, it could easily kill. The Remington Derringer was sold from 1866. Derringers sometimes had the dubious reputation of being a favoured tool of assassins.

As an original, antique collectable, no licence is required to buy, own and collect this pistol. The action is in excellent, tight and and crisp condition

Code: 24924