A few dozen miles west of Fort Worth is Granbury, Texas. It must be a great place to evoke the nostalgia and environment of 19th century firearms since Bond Arms is located there, and they like to make Derringers. Lots of them.

The all-matte-black Bond Arms Blackjack delivers a very high quality double-barrel pistol in a very compact package with two variants: .357 Magnum / .38 Special and .45 Long Colt / .410 Shotshell. The Derringer-type barrels that are one atop the other are just 3.5” long. Overall length is 5.5”.

Blackjack, the card game, was popularized in part due to the late 19-century American gold rushes. But intriguingly, it was also the moniker of General John J. (“Blackjack”) Pershing who led the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I. His name had nothing to do with cards, but the fact that he led African-American Buffalo soldiers pre-World War I. Regardless, perhaps this gun is an homage to both.

The grip is extended, so it curves down more in back and has a flat diagonal forward facing bottom. The quick pro and con of this is extra control at the expense of extra length. Even with all this, weight is just 22 ounces or 1.375 pounds. This gun is designed strictly for short-range usage and is effective from 1 to 21 feet.

Like many other manufacturers, Bond Arms makes many other barrels. What is rather unique is that the Blackjack is compatible with all of them! The corollary is also true: the Blackjack’s 3.5” barrels are compatible with any other Bond Arms pistol.

The various barrels Bond Arms makes are 2.5?, 3.0?, 3.5?, or 4.25? long. Between barrel lengths and calibers, there are nearly 40 different combinations one can mate to the Bond Arms Blackjack.

Of course, in each case, the superposed barrels make a single unit. Viewed from in front, each module makes a faceted figure 8 with flanks that are a series of horizontal and diagonal surfaces. Remove it using a 1/8” Allen wrench, put on a different barrel pair using the same, and that’s all there is to it. The firing pins line up regardless of chamber or barrel length, which is a pretty nifty trick.

The gun has an integrated front blade sight and a fixed rear one. In back is an upward thumb hammer.

The frame makes a nearly perfect 90-degree arch over the partially-lightening ported trigger. The trigger guard is a nice design touch. It has a flat forward face and then curves about 80 degrees to join the lower end of the aforementioned arch. And most interestingly, the trigger guard is removable.

Beyond the removable trigger guard, the Blackjack has a simple crossbolt safety to prevent the hammer from hitting the firing pins. It can even be locked into “on safe” or “off safe” positions using an Allen wrench. For drop safety, the hammer can’t move without the trigger being pulled.

Trigger pull is 7.25 pounds. The barrels fire in the either order as set by the user.

The grip has an elegant matte black ash. It’s textured rather than checkering. Atop the wood on either side is not the Bond Arms logo, but a dedicated Blackjack spade logo.

The Bond Arms Blackjack is Made in USA.