DoubleTap Defense .45ACP Pocket Derringer – SHOT Show 2013

Authors Paul Helinski SHOT Show 2013
DoubleTap Defense .45ACP Pocket Derringer - SHOT Show 2013
DoubleTap Defense .45ACP Pocket Derringer - SHOT Show 2013
The unfinished version of the DoubleTap in titanium gives you an idea of the detail of the gun under the terrible SHOT Show lighting. This is the .45ACP version, and the 9mm version is the same gun, so much so that the barrels are swappable.
DoubleTap Defense .45ACP Pocket Derringer - SHOT Show 2013
This is a cutaway. Supposedly there are only 4 moving parts on the gun. Wonder if it actually works? Note the porting, which is $70 extra, but we don’t know if they will be shipping like that or if you have to send them back.
DoubleTap Defense .45ACP Pocket Derringer - SHOT Show 2013
Those two bullets at the bottom you see on the cutaway are actually in a compartment that comes with a bullet strip to reload the gun.
DoubleTap Defense .45ACP Pocket Derringer - SHOT Show 2013
This is a picture that DoubleTap had at the booth of what apparently is the new factory. They did seem to actually be telling the truth this year though. It was quite apparent talking to the German guys at their booth last year that there was no ability to manufacturer the guns whatsoever.
DoubleTap Defense .45ACP Pocket Derringer - SHOT Show 2013
If you want one of these guns, demand is going to outstrip supply for quite a while. Ask your local dealer to get on a list at his favorite of these distributors of the DoubleTap pocket pistol.
DoubleTap Defense .45ACP Pocket Derringer - SHOT Show 2013
This year we should actually see the DoubleTap in the market, and we wish them well.

DoubleTap Defense LLC
https://doubletapdefensellc.com/

One of the stories you didn’t see at GunsAmerica last year at SHOT Show was the “DoubleTap” pocket pistol. We elected to not cover it because though it seemed a good idea, it was clear from speaking with the management at the show that it was not going to be available in the market anytime soon. Several lawsuits later, the inventors of the DoubleTap have changed manufacturing facilities and it looks like the gun is actually going to be available in a couple months. This is a really neat double derringer style pocket pistol that comes in both .45ACP and 9mm, and it is available in both aluminum, at 12 ounces empty, for $499, or titanium at 14 ounces, for $729. At present all of the major distributors have placed orders for the guns, in the tens of thousands, and within a couple months the factory, located in Naples, Florida, should be able to produce over 5,000 guns per month. A full line of holsters and accessories are already available for the DoubleTap, and the barrels and calibers are interchangeable, with .40S&W hopefully available by summer.

What makes the Double Tap interesting is that it only has four moving parts. We haven’t gotten an actual gun in hand yet, so who knows what those parts are, but it does make the gun intriguing. The width of the DoubleTap is .665 inches. It is 5.5 inches long, and only 3 inches high. For another $70 you can get the barrels ported, but we weren’t able to ascertain if any ported models will be shipping to the distributors. If you look at the pictures, you can see that the grip cap actually holds another two rounds, which is pretty nifty. Now that the clouds have parted over the DoubleTap it will be interesting to see how it does in the market. The best gun for concealed carry is the gun you will actually carry, and a high quality 12 ounce double derringer in potent calibers should be very well received. Hopefully DoubleTap Defense will send us one in soon.

If you want one of these guns, get yourself on a list for one now with your local stocking gun dealer. There is a list of distributors in the pictures, and all of them should be able to get guns within about 60 days. This is a heavily prototyped gun that has been tested extensively, (ie. it ain’t no Diamondback). Most likely we will get one of these for review, and it should light them up pretty good with demand. They also have an advertising budget, so you will see them reviewed in the print magazines as well. This might be your first real look at the Florida made DoubleTaps coming into the market, but once they arrive you will hear about them a lot, and my guess is that the reviews will be positive. I’m not giving up my XD-S anytime soon, but as a gun you can carry in beltless shorts, or for women, in a thigh holster or gym pants pockets, the DoubleTap is intriguing to say the least. We’ll have to see how it handles of course. The .45ACP isn’t going to be comfortable to shoot in a 12 ounce gun, but you never know until you try, and hopefully we’ll be able to try it soon.

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  • J April 24, 2016, 6:52 am

    I read this gun has only 4 moving parts…Define “moving part” because I see at least 15 moving parts in it’s assembly schematic and 6 of those moving parts are to the guns actual firing mechanism.

  • Robert Bussiere January 30, 2015, 3:56 pm

    I own a DoubleTap 45 ACP Ported. I would like information on what do I have to do to fire the 410 rounds. Please provide any information available.
    Thanks Bob

  • Old Hippie February 10, 2014, 2:22 pm

    There is a ton of BS in these write-Ups. “derringer” type pistols were not built for hunting or targets. Thery were originally purchased by gamblers, men for their “ladies” and so on. We wanted it LOUD, Gun Flash, and deadly at 5 to 10 feet! If they had wanted a “Thompson Sub-machine gun” or a 1,000 yard hit within a 1-inch square, we would bought such. LITE/SMALL/LOUD/GUT-SHOOTER/LOTS OF MUZZLE FLASH! That’s it!!!

  • RinAR December 4, 2013, 2:12 pm

    I am going to expand a bit on the battle between the developers of this firearm, who must be still in disagreement and each waiting to buy the other out, depending on their profits from their sales. We re not involved in the their dispute. I hope they take some well meaning advice and learn to live with each others decisions, not take it out on their customers. I agree with those who feel the prices are far too pricey for the average person needing this type of self defense. ,45 ACP is not my favorite ammo, but it does the job. It is suggested that they offer both calibers in the same sale, but in less expensive steel than titanium. Love titanium but the cost is proving prohibitive, if the partners are paying attention to this blog, it is time for them to sit down and decide whether or not they wish to stay in business and make money, or sit at home brooding and pouting. Perhaps it is time for them to grow up and face this problem like mature, far-sighted partners. I want to have this product, but at these prices, it is simply not affordable. Merry Christmas to all! R in AR

  • Jim McLeod November 1, 2013, 8:10 pm

    I have a S & W Bodyguard semi auto 380., a ultra lightweight S & W 357 m p revolver with a 1.87 inch barrel., A Springfield XDs 45. semi auto, and a 2 shot Double Tap 45. I do not like the S&W Bodyguard, due to it’s 11 pound trigger pull. I like the XDS and the Revolver. The one gun I ALWAYS carry is the Double Tap 45. At times I will carry 2 guns , but that can be inconvenient and sometimes hard to hide. I paid about $600.00 for the Double Tap and consider it one of the best gun investments I ever made. I will take 2 in my hand any day rather than 10 + in the car.

  • Kiba October 9, 2013, 2:16 am

    My diamond back was the worst gun I ever bought. It got sent back once and it came back with the exact same problem/s, it would not fire any more than two rds. of any kind of ammo made. They put a new ‘grip assembly’ they called it (frame and inserts) and it did the exact same thing, my dealer took it back in trade and I don’t even remember what else I got at the moment. When I stripped that thing and saw those two tiny dainty looking clothes-hanger springs on the sides of it I knew it was gonna be trouble. But having said all that I know people that have had no trouble with theirs, but those lame looking clothes pin springs were something.

  • Kiba October 9, 2013, 2:06 am

    C’mon Roger do you really have to use the word “haters”, my God man.lol. And if I wanted one I would have it, or ten of them as far as that goes…’haters?’… Geesh… Is your last name Shultz? Used to be Wasserman?

  • Kiba October 9, 2013, 2:02 am

    Bond arms? I have two words for you, as big and as heavy as a full size gun and as expensive as one too. Why in Gods name would anyone want something that big and heavy and expensive for just two shots? Just don’t make sense. Oh now they are nice, heavy-duty and really put together but they defeat the whole purpose, don’t they?

  • Kiba October 9, 2013, 1:51 am

    I was at a local shop today and they had two 9mm double taps , one was ported and one was not but my God I was surprised at how big they was, if you slide one in your hip pocket it will totally fill that pocket up. Other than that I did like them but for the size and the high price you may as well just get a cheap but effective Cobra derringer they are two shots and they do work every time, at least the three I have work every time I fire them. I just take them along with me when I shoot and fire like four rds. each in them and I haven’t had a problem with any of them yet. I have a .22 mag, a .38 spec. and a .380. I like the Double Tap but like I said for the money and size and a two shot trick why spend so much on a two-shot that big when the smaller ones go bang just the same?

  • Arlene September 15, 2013, 3:20 pm

    I was very interested in getting the al ported barrel. The reviews were mixed about the trigger pull. I went to a gun show to try and couldn’t pull the trigger! It took both hands. Not safe or handy. This would be perfect for us girls for our concealed weapons. My compact 45 fires quite easy but too big for my pocket. Girls, check it out before buying

  • Jerry S August 9, 2013, 6:15 pm

    Purchased .45 ACP aluminum frame for $499.00. Put 100 flawless rounds through it and it hurt my hand to do so. Let’s face it, this is not, and never was intended to be a target pistol. It is personal tactical defense firearm and will fill that role admirably. The thin flat profile sits in any pocket with nearly a trace, there is nothing to snag when presenting the firearm and at very close “last ditch” distances it delivers two rounds of .45 ACP quickly and smoothly. Using the “sights” is near fantasy but as a point shooting arm at 10′ -15′ it hit within the cardio vascular area every time. I will use it as a backup to my Colt 1911 Officers Model and it will be my discrete carry gun when social situations demand.

  • Roger June 13, 2013, 5:27 am

    My Double tap came in on June 10, 2013. 45ACP aluminum $500. Very well made.
    So many haters post dumb replys. You don’t have to buy it. There are a lot of people out in the world who will.
    We are the haves and you are the have nots.

  • Roger June 13, 2013, 5:27 am

    My Double tap came in on June 10, 2013. 45ACP aluminum $500. Very well made.
    So many haters post dumb replys. You don’t have to buy it. There are a lot of people out in the world who will.
    We are the haves and you are the have nots.

  • Roger May 11, 2013, 1:47 pm

    Heck I have been waiting to buy this 3 years now. Hope it makes it out. After the Shot Show they said it would. It wasn’t. Then just at the NRA show they said it would. Not out yet -May 2013?
    I want it because I collect firearms and I love them all.

  • Jay R. February 5, 2013, 3:18 am

    Saw it for the 1st time in person at the St. Louis NRA show last year, it did feel like it would hurt a bit after a couple rounds! I would still buy one for the $700, it’s just cash, will make more:) Looking at the Chiappa triple shootgun too for $1600, just like different stuff. Why decide on which one to buy when you can just buy both; they are like baseball cards for big boys.

    • Administrator February 5, 2013, 9:26 am

      Wait for some actual reviews on the Chiappa. One broke while we were at the range.

  • George L. February 4, 2013, 6:05 pm

    You could buy an XD-S and ammo for the price of this derringer and be much better armed

  • Lou February 1, 2013, 1:05 pm

    If you need to have a derringer I have two words. Bond Arms.

  • Jason Wilde January 30, 2013, 8:59 pm

    Well, unless Azimuth Technologies is making these for double-shot, the image of their machine shop was stolen from this website: http://www.azimuthtechnology.com/50-years-of-experience/

    • Administrator January 30, 2013, 9:22 pm

      They are the ones making them. If you had bothered to click into their website you would have seen the press release on the front page.

  • Robert January 29, 2013, 7:57 pm

    That is the ugliest gun I have ever seen! two shots? how about an AMT 45ACP with Five (i think) much better gun! for much less money!

  • Rick January 29, 2013, 5:43 am

    A brick would be cheaper and probably just as accurate. I have a .38 Special derringer I bought new for $50 twenty years ago. That’ll do for the 2 shot in my gun safe. I could buy a really decent high capacity 9mm or .40 for what they want for that waffle iron of a palm howitzer.

  • Danny January 28, 2013, 8:27 pm

    Why not just buy a real Derringer, any cal.you want old or new, it would still be cheaper and maybe a lot cooler.

    • Administrator January 28, 2013, 10:00 pm

      And steel, so heavy, and no safety, and sometimes works sometimes doesn’t. Go buy a “real derringer” and shoot 200 rounds and you’ll see.

  • Mark January 28, 2013, 6:03 pm

    I doubt the sales of the Double Tap will make much of a profit. The .45 Cal is great but even in the aluminum model I would much rather have my even lighter Ruger LCP. You can buy the LCP for the same or less money and be armed with 7 rounds of 9mm one after the other. Bang!-Bang! – or – Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop! I’ll take 7 Pops over two Bangs every day.

  • Mike January 28, 2013, 12:54 pm

    Just out of curiosity a quick Google search of Diamondback reviews shows numerous reviews all positive except one, yours what gives?

    • Administrator January 28, 2013, 2:33 pm

      One word, **advertising**. They spent a lot of money in the print world so the print writers were ordered to coo over them. We don’t roll like the print mags.

    • Gregory Markle January 28, 2013, 4:21 pm

      If you check out non-media reviews they pretty much across the board gave the Diamondback excellent marks for fit finish and ergonomics but also unanimously found that it is pretty finicky about ammunition (even having issues with different boxes of the same ammo) which leads to fairly frequent failures to function.

      • Administrator January 28, 2013, 4:49 pm

        Finicky in the same box of ammo means broken. That whole fit and finish discussion is a moronish. You are talking about an injection molded piece of plastic. Our review of the 380 was acceptable but you should read the entire article.

        • Gregory Markle January 28, 2013, 8:43 pm

          The fit and finish discussion isn’t “moronism”, it’s one aspect of describing an object in a print article. It speaks of the general quality of the workmanship and attention to detail. It does not speak to the actual engineering, design, and function of the firearm. I did read the article along with MANY others (never depend on a single source) concerning the Diamondback because customers were asking us about them. Frankly, if you gave me one I’d sell it because from what I gathered from various blogger’s reviews around the web the function was nowhere near as reliable as I would require in a a range gun let alone in a carry weapon. The real killer was that the ammo that seemed most likely to fail was the slightly hotter defensive loads that are pretty much the entire point of a compact .380 pocket gun. My .380 is a Micro Desert Eagle that has eaten whatever I have fed it and, other than a quickly smoothed out “sticky” follower in one of the six mags I have for it, it has run pretty much flawlessly for me.

          • Administrator January 28, 2013, 9:59 pm

            That’s like saying that the fit and finish on my 409 bottle is superb lol. The Micro DE is a machined piece of steel with mated parts.

  • Sha January 28, 2013, 12:06 pm

    WOW, well the $700 is way out of line and the $499 for what you get I mean aluminum come on. One of the best deals out there now is the .380 micro Desert Eagle, I shoot it all the time and very accurate at about 75 feet and closer and for a defense weapon that’s plenty any more than that and you become the guy they will arrest, and this with super loads is hard to hold I can’t imagine a .45, geez. But there will be people out there with money that will buy it thinking a woman can put in her purse, ya right, but can she shoot it, I don’t think so. Well we will see, it would be nice for a belly gun if some guy grabs you from the front with two .45 it would be all over. Think I’ll stick to my .380 with super loads.

  • jim m January 28, 2013, 12:00 pm

    A BETTER BUY WOULD SEEM TO BE THE “AMERICAN DERRINGER” MODEL THAT WILL HANDLE MOST CALIBERS WITH INTERCHANGEABLE BARRELS, INCLUDING .410 & .45 COLT…..CHEAPER, SMALLER & WEIGHING IN @ APPROX 15 OZ.

    iT’S A COLLECTIBLE NOVELTY THAT WILL QUICKLY DISAPPEAR TO SOMEONE’S CLOSET…..

  • Glenn Van Acker January 28, 2013, 11:37 am

    I must agree with Greg.

  • Greg Lawritson January 28, 2013, 10:46 am

    I agree with the other esteemed gunners leaving comments, the price is waaaaay too hefty for a concealable, “fight in a phone booth” 2-shot. I don’t know who did their ‘marketing’ study, but at $275.00 and $325.00, they may have a chance, but not at the MSRP they project now.

  • Gregory Markle January 28, 2013, 10:45 am

    I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for these to hit the market from ANY source. The high cost is probably at least partially due to the ongoing fight between all of the partners that were once involved in the creation/distribution of this product. GunsAmerica would have done well to have noted that not only was DoubleTap Defense showing these at SHOT Show, so was Heizer Defense (which was the original company) who were very adamant that their gun not be referred to as the DoubleTap and claimed to be the design rights holders going forward. The principals who run DoubleTap used to be with Heizer and as far as I know litigation is ongoing.

    Heizer was also showing a single shot 45 Long Colt/.410 single shot pistol which might actually come out before any iteration of this pistol as it is not involved in any legal issues.

  • Jim January 28, 2013, 10:28 am

    So, is the chamber able to hold a 2.5″ 410? Now, that’s a winner at about $350.

    • Administrator January 28, 2013, 10:31 am

      No that would be 45 colt.

      • Jon January 28, 2013, 2:16 pm

        There’s a big difference in 45 ACP and 45 Colt, a gun that shoots a 45 ACp could never shoot a 410

        • Administrator January 28, 2013, 2:34 pm

          Well the good news it that it doesn’t even fit. The .45ACP is a rimless cartridge and the 45 Colt has a big rim, and is half an inch longer.

  • archie brown January 28, 2013, 10:01 am

    The lady that held Howard hostage in the TV show-Person of Interest- had one.

  • Jesse spurlock January 28, 2013, 10:00 am

    Should change the name to EDSEL

  • CLIFFORD CRUM January 28, 2013, 9:59 am

    SOUNDS GREAT ONLY IN 9MM MY SIS IS WONTING A SMALLER DERRINGER ,WITH STOPING POWER,THE 45 MIGHT BE A LITTLE TO MUCH, THE PRICING IS REAL FACTOR

  • CLIFFORD CRUM January 28, 2013, 9:51 am

    THE DOUBLE DERINGER SOUNDS GREAT ONLY IN THE 9 MM. 45 I DO NOT KNOW, MIGHT BE A LITTLE MUCH FOR MY SISTER THAT IS 67,I WILL BE INTERESTED IN WHAT THE PRICE IS OR THE DERRINGER.

  • Lee B. January 28, 2013, 9:39 am

    Its kinda cool, but looks like a hard sell at its price point. I don’t know many folk who are going to spend $750 on a 2 shot derringer. Even if its made of titanium. Personally I think they’d be easier to sell if they just made them out of steel, and offered finishes similar to the old desert eagle line up. Maybe a titanium nitride gold tiger stripe. And maybe try to put it around the $350 mark… Then offer a limited edition run of the complete titanium ones at that $750 price point.

    With that production facility, i think I’d be cranking out AR type rifles right now. Especially at the rate their are selling.

  • Glen January 28, 2013, 8:30 am

    Want the KSG 12!

  • LEL MN January 28, 2013, 7:23 am

    The four moving parts must be the tip-up barrel, trigger, striker, and two firing pins …. whoops, that’s five, and if that’s actually two strikers that makes six moving parts…… then there’s the release for the tip-up and the trap door for the spare ammo, I think there might be eight moving parts.

    • Andy January 29, 2013, 5:44 pm

      I think they’re referring to the number of moving parts required to fire it…

  • nock vanderburg January 28, 2013, 7:03 am

    I have to say i am extremely dissappointed that this gun is so much money….i will never buy it for that. I have about 20 otyer guns i would get first.

  • nock vanderburg January 28, 2013, 7:01 am

    Hahahahahahahaha…i was seeing these ads in magizines for a year with no price. I figured it would be 300.00-400.00 dollars…. but 730.00? Hahaha give me a break…it may be popular with the distributors but its going to bomb with the consumer for that price…there are just way too many other much better guns available than this at the same price or less.

    Here is why it will bomb.
    1. A newbie gun owner wont shell out 730.00 on anything let alone a mini hand cannon.
    2. Any respectable seasoned gun owner has a list of about 10 guns he is already looking for and certainly wont piss away his pot on a derringer.

    3. This gun is, lets face it, more novelty than anything else which is what the company is banking on…but in these times nobody will spend that kind of money on a novelty shooter.

    Now all these reasons change if the price is cutnin half…then everyone will want one. Its like those sig P6s. Nobody really needed another surplus 9mm but for 335-350 everyone said what the hell….

  • Chris January 28, 2013, 6:21 am

    From the website this looks like a smooth bore pistol? If it is I wonder how well it shoots.

  • beewhyz January 28, 2013, 4:24 am

    I can’t really imagine why you’d want to spend $500 to $730 for a two shot, unaimable pistol when you can more firepower in a much more manageable weapon much cheaper. Another case of “cool factor” over money well spent.

    • SD3 August 28, 2013, 8:20 pm

      Here’s why:
      1. It actually *conceals* in a pocket, making it much more likely to be carried.
      2. It will not jam, unlike nearly every other firearm.
      3. It cannot be pushed out of battery, unlike nearly every other pistol.
      4. It’s a .45 ACP.
      5. It’s extremely intuitive, extremely simple, and extremely reliable.
      6. It doesn’t need, and is not intended to be aimed. “B-b-b-but, but, but!…” No. This is a 5 yard, “get the F— off me!” gun. Point & shoot.

      I carry every day now, thanks to this gun. A lot of other people will now, as well. Worth every penny!

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