The COP .357 is an American 4-shot

Derringer A derringer or deringer is a small handgun that is neither a revolver, semi-automatic pistol, nor machine pistol. It is not to be confused with mini-revolvers or pocket pistols, although some later derringers were manufactured with the pepp ...

-type

pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...

chambered for

.357 Magnum The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR (as it is known in unofficial metric designation) is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...

. The

double-action Double action (or double-action) refers to one of two systems in firearms where the trigger both cocks and releases the hammer. * Double-action only (DAO) firearms trigger: The trigger both cocks and releases the hammer. There is no single-action ...

weapon is about twice as wide and substantially heavier than the typical .25 automatic pistol, though its relatively compact size and powerful cartridge made it an option for a

defensive weapon Defensive weapons include: * Personal weapons - see Self-defense#Armed * Missile defense Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception, and also the destruction of attacking missiles. ...

or a

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

backup gun.

Design

The COP .357 is quite robust in design and construction. It is made of solid stainless steel components. Cartridges are loaded into the four separate chambers by sliding a latch that "pops up" the barrel for loading purposes, similar to top-break shotguns. Each of the four chambers has its own dedicated firing pin. It uses an internal hammer, which is activated by depressing the trigger to hit a ratcheting/rotating striker that in turn strikes one firing pin at a time. Older "

pepperbox The pepper-box pistol or simply pepperbox (also "pepper-pot", from its resemblance to the household Salt and pepper shakers, pepper shakers) is a multiple-barrel firearm, mostly in the form of a handgun, that has three or more gun barrels each ...

es" also used multiple barrels, but the barrels were the parts that rotated. The COP .357 operates similarly to the Sharps Derringer of the 1850s, in that it uses the ratcheting/rotating striker, which is completely internal, to fire each chamber in sequence. Two complaints about the COP .357 are that it is too heavy to be used as a backup gun and that the trigger pull is too heavy for rapid fire, even heavier than most modern revolvers. A smaller caliber version, the "MINI COP" was also manufactured in .22 Magnum.

History and usage

It was designed by

Robert Hillberg Robert Hillberg (August 27, 1917 – August 12, 2012) was a firearm designer and the head of Research & Development at the High Standard Manufacturing Company. His designs included the folding shotgun stock, the Whitney Wolverine lightweight pisto ...

, based on his earlier work on the

Hillberg Insurgency Weapon Hillberg is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Linnéa Hillberg (1892–1977), Swedish actress * Robert Hillberg Robert Hillberg (August 27, 1917 – August 12, 2012) was a firearm designer and the head of Research & Developme ...

. It was manufactured from 1979 to 1989 by COP Inc. of California, US (COP stood for ''C''ompact ''O''ff-Duty ''P''olice). In 1990 it was manufactured by

American Derringer American Derringer Corporation is an American manufacturer of firearms, based in Waco, Texas. The company was founded by Robert A. Saunders and Elizabeth Saunders in 1980 and makes a variety of derringers and small pocket pistols. History Found ...

for a short time.

References

External links

Leon's Gun: Mother's Defender

How a COP .357 Derringer works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cop 357 Derringer Derringers Pistols of the United States .357 Magnum firearms .22 Winchester Magnum firearms Multiple-barrel firearms Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1983

Design

History and usage

See also

References

External links