Yeah, I know you can get extra barrel sets, but if you were to get a Bond Arms derringer to play with as a BUG, would you match your CCW caliber or something different...just curious.

ROCK6

If I bought a Bond arms I’d want it for venomous snakes so I’d buy a caliber that has shot shells.   The 38 Special shot shells are usually the easiest to find so I’d get the 38/357 model.   My other choice would be 9 MM just because I have a lot of components and you can still get shot shells and don’t have to worry about feeding.

I’ve shot a couple of Bond Arms including the 45 Long Colt/410 shotgun version.  I felt like the size was to large and might as well carry a weapon with more capacity.   The 410 would make better snake medicine but not suitable for self defense but the 45 Long Colt is no slouch in that department.

I have Cowboy model in 45 long Colt left of from my cowboy action shooting days. I was able to consistently hit 16" steel plates at 10 yards no problem, just a slight sight adjustment between barrels. I have though about buying another barrel for in in 38/357.

Had the engraving done at one of the state shoots and added buffalo horn grips.

That's a good question.  I would say .357 magnum just because I think it would give you the most power possible out of the short barrel, especially using the "short barrel" specific ammunition.  I don't think they make a .44 magnum version.  The 9mm is really only a viable self defense caliber when it's pushed fast.  That's not possible in a barrel this short.  The other end of the spectrum is the tried and true "big slow bullet" method where something like a .45 Colt or .45 acp pushed as fast as you could manage in such a short barrel.  Of course you have to meet the expansion limit of whatever bullet too which is difficult with barrels this short.  I'd love to see a bunch of different calibers tested in ballistics gel for expansion out the Bond Arms derringer just to see what expansion, if any, is possible.

Might be the perfect platform for fluted lightweight bullets like the Inceptor ARX.  The light bullets will go much faster than standard versions out of the Bond Arms and the fluted design means no hollowpoints to expand.  That would make a fascinating video.

This is mine, it's the Bond Arms Bond Girl Mini .357 magnum.  I call it the "Noisy Cricket" (movie reference).  It definitely has a noticeable recoil with normal .357 magnum ammo but it's not terrible.  You wouldn't want to shoot a box full though (or even a half a box) lol.  For me, my hand has had enough after about 8 or 10 rounds.

 We had it at an indoor range one day and there was this small group of big guys from the local university there.  They were taking turns shooting what I think was a .44 magnum revolver one of them had brought along.   They started watching my sister and I shooting the Noisy Cricket so I asked if they wanted to shoot it and they said "no way, not a chance" lol.  The little derringer just looks painful when you see it being fired but it just looks worse than it is.  It definitely stings your hand but it's not terrible.  With hotter .357 mag ammo I agree it would not be fun at all.

I think the appeal of the Bond is that it gives you a large caliber in a smaller size. And if you only have 2 shots (realistically probably 1 shot in anger) it should be as good as possible.

Given the barrel length, 'big n slow' is the answer. A .45 LC Full Wadcutter would be a solid choice.

I bought a Roughneck in 9mm.  Got a extra .357/.38 bbl for it and between the two I like the .357/38 bbl better.  Recoil is more pronounced(but not crazy) over the 9mm but imo the benefits outweigh the negatives.  The .357/.38 bbl also has a "extractor" of sorts which aids getting the cases out while the 9mm does not.

If you get a roughneck be sure to take the trigger guard off.  It makes it way easier to shoot the gun and looks a lot better.

10mm

How do you like the Roughneck? I've seen a few places that said they're just a little too rough to be worth it

I like it.  For what it is the roughneck is a good value imo, the fit is still very nice for being a "value" line.  I've only shot maybe 150rds of 9mm and 200 of .357/.38 but it has gone bang every time I pulled the trigger.  I guess if I have one gripe is the fact that it has a crossbolt safety on it, which i find pretty useless.  But i think everything they make has it.

I believe there is a set screw that holds the detent for the safety. Since I didn't carry mine, used it fit cowboy action shooting I centered the safety so it was off and lock it in place. Up to you if you want to carry it that way.

I got my Rowdy .45 colt / .410 bore because I thought it was a cool little gun, and would be great to drop in a pocket when around the farm for snakes and such. Unfortunately because of the ammo shortage I haven’t been able to find any .410 for it. I fired some Hornady “cowboy” .45 colt loads at the lid of a 55 gal drum and they bounced off (these mild loads chrono’d at 497 FPS out of this gun), so some further short barrel load development is in order. . It’s a neat, well built little gun and I’m looking forward to playing around with more loads in the future.