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Most were blowbacks, because it wasn’t easy to fit the locked-breech system of the more powerful full-sized pistols into such a tiny package.Ĭhopped versions of bigger-bore semi-autos were tried with some success, like the highly-modified ASP version of the 9mm Smith & Wesson Model 39 in the 1970s, but those and other chop jobs were simply whittled-down versions of full-sized pistols. 25 ACP for many years, since those small frames limited power levels. The challenges of balancing those pressures-cartridge lengths, slide mass, slide velocity, and magazine components-all combine to keep pocket autos (true pocket autopistols, anyway) confined to calibers like the. While it’s comparatively easy to maintain mid-bore power levels in a small revolver, the situation’s much more complex in an autoloader, where so much depends on the pressures of the caliber to simply operate the action. With a revolver, you can trim the barrel, abbreviate the grip and still stick to a relatively powerful caliber, all without having to re-engineer the frame or the relationship between slide mass and spring tensions, among other considerations that come with modifying semi-autos. Underpowered loads will still function perfectly fine if necessary since the action is cycled by the operator, not the ammunition, and reliability isn’t affected in going smaller as it can be with an autopistol. While they originated much earlier, Henry Deringer made both a name for himself and an entire class of small handguns with his highly successful, single-shot percussion Philadelphia Derringer between 1852 to 1868, and the derringer label has pretty much become synonymous for any small one-, two- or four-shot pistol today.Ĭutback versions of revolvers have been popular since Samuel Colt’s time, and with a revolver’s ability to fire just about anything you can put into its chambers without malfunctioning, they can offer great reliability along with serious ballistics. Pocket guns have a long and interesting history.