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derringer

Small, short-barrelled handgun of small bore and easily concealed.

Named for 19th-century gunsmith Henry Deringer. The misspelling of his name became the generic term for any small pocket pistol.[1]

The Jeweled Gun: In April of 1876 in Cimarron,[2] New Mexico Territory, Daisy Haskell killed Snopes, who was trying to blackmail her, with her jewel-encrusted derringer. In La Mesa[3] in May,[2] she used her derringer again to shoot Bart Maverick who, posing as her husband John, would be believed to have been killed by a jewel thief, diverting suspicion from Henrique Fillipe who had really killed her husband in Santa Fe. After shooting Bart, she hid her jeweled necklace and derringer in the hollowed stock of the Winchester Fillipe had given Bart. Unbeknownst to Daisy, Bart had already deduced some of her plan, so had replaced the bullets in her derringer with blanks before she shot him. Bart suffered some powder burns from the shooting but survived, and was able to play dead and learn the rest of her plan.[3]

Stampede: In April of 1877,[2] Madame Pompey exposed the derringer Tony Cadiz carried hidden up his sleeve during a poker game with Bret Maverick aboard the Dakota Queen[3] bound for Fort Pierre[2] up the Missouri River. Bret thanked Pompey but had already noticed the derringer. He then revealed his own Colt .45 in its holster under his coat.[4]

Relic of Fort Tejon: In July of 1878,[2] Carl Jimson carried a derringer with a holdout device hidden up his sleeve during a poker game with Bret Maverick in Silver Springs,[5] New Mexico Territory.[2] Bret realized Jimson was dealing with a stacked deck and called for a cut. Rather than allowing a cut, Jimson challenged Bret, who casually reached to his vest pocket for a match to light his cigar. Jimson used Bret's motion to claim he was going for a gun and fired his derringer at Bret, shooting him in the shoulder at close range. While recuperating for the gunshot, Bret let it be known that when he recovered, he would be looking for Jimson to finish their gunfight. To avoid such a conflict, Jimson called for Drake, a hired gun, to call Bret out first. As Bret was approaching the Square Deal Saloon to confront Jimson, he was challenged by Drake. Bret bluffed Drake by holding his hat in one hand in front of the other, telling Drake he had a derringer pointed straight at his heart. Rather than taking a chance, Drake backed down. Bret then exposed his empty fist and knocked Drake out with it.[5]