Henry Deringer Pocket Pistol
- Category
- Pistol
- Barrel
- 60 mm
- Weight, empty
- 230 g
- Introduced
- 1852
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Henry Deringer Pocket Pistol is a single-shot percussion muzzleloading pistol made in Philadelphia from 1852 until Henry Deringer's death in 1868. Chambered most commonly in .41 caliber and firing a single round lead ball, it had a short rifled iron barrel (typically around 2 to 2.5 inches), a walnut stock and German silver furniture, and was small enough to conceal in a coat pocket. Sold in pairs as a backup self-defense weapon, it became so famous that its maker's name entered the language as the generic 'derringer'. One was used by John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
Henry Deringer never patented his pocket pistol, and after John Wilkes Booth used one to kill Abraham Lincoln, the design's notoriety was permanent, so much so that the misspelled 'derringer' became the generic term for any small concealable single-shot pistol.
Calibers ranged from roughly .31 to .50, with .41 the most common; barrel length varied widely from barely over one inch to four inches or more. The pistol Booth used was a Henry Deringer of Philadelphia of approximately .44 caliber. The name was widely imitated, and Deringer won a landmark trademark-infringement suit over copies.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Henry Deringer
- Category
- Pistol
- Country
- United States
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1852 to 1868
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 60 mm
- Overall length
- 140 mm
- Height
- 70 mm
- Width
- 25 mm
- Weight, empty
- 230 g
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Muzzleloader
- Firing mechanism
- Percussion
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 1
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Walnut
- Finish
- Browned
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 180 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 136 J
- Effective range
- 9 m
- Maximum range
- 50 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Single shot
Muzzle loading
Back action lock
German silver furniture
Concealable
Engraved lock plate
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 1,909 pistols | 230 g | 794 g | Among the lightest tenth |
| Overall lengthAmong 1,911 pistols | 140 mm | 196 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 1,941 pistols | 60 mm | 102 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 1,962 pistols | 1 | 8 | Among the smallest capacities |
Answers
Questions about the Henry Deringer Pocket Pistol
How much does the Henry Deringer Pocket Pistol weigh?
The Henry Deringer Pocket Pistol weighs 230 g (8.1 oz) empty.
What caliber is the Henry Deringer Pocket Pistol?
The Henry Deringer Pocket Pistol is chambered in .41 Caliber Percussion (Cap and Ball).
How many rounds does the Henry Deringer Pocket Pistol hold?
The Henry Deringer Pocket Pistol holds 1 rounds.
How long is the Henry Deringer Pocket Pistol?
The Henry Deringer Pocket Pistol is 140 mm (5.51 in) long overall, with a 60 mm (2.36 in) barrel.
Who makes the Henry Deringer Pocket Pistol?
The Henry Deringer Pocket Pistol is made by Henry Deringer (United States). It was designed by Henry Deringer.
When was the Henry Deringer Pocket Pistol introduced?
The Henry Deringer Pocket Pistol was introduced in 1852 and discontinued in 1868.
How does the Henry Deringer Pocket Pistol operate?
The Henry Deringer Pocket Pistol uses a muzzleloader action, and its firing mechanism is percussion.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- American civilians
- United States
Provenance
Confidence in this record
60%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/deringer-pocket' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "deringer-pocket", "name": "Henry Deringer Pocket Pistol", "manufacturer": { "id": "henry-deringer", "name": "Henry Deringer", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1806, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "updatedAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "version": "89a395fdc1692db3b5f1781d31240066b09c57ddae9eb45a58ff9dfd2d3aeaa5" }, "category": { "id": "pistol", "name": "Pistol", "description": "Handguns designed to be fired with one or two hands" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 1852, "barrel_length_mm": 60, "weight_empty_g": 230, "action_type": "muzzleloader"}