10 Tiny Frontier Pistols That Could Kill at Point-Blank Range

When we picture frontier firearms, we usually imagine full-sized Colt revolvers hanging from a gun belt. But some of the most dangerous weapons in the American West were small enough to disappear inside a coat pocket, boot, vest, or garter—and at the distances they were meant to be used, size could be dangerously misleading. In this video, we rank ten tiny frontier pistols from worst to best based on one question: when you actually needed it, did it do more good than harm? We break down unreliable pepperboxes, the Sharps four-barrel derringer, Smith & Wesson’s early cartridge revolvers, Colt pocket guns, the unusual Root sidehammer, the Baby Dragoon, the hard-hitting Cloverleaf, Remington’s famous double derringer, and finally the Philadelphia Deringer—the single-shot pistol whose name eventually became synonymous with an entire category of concealed firearms. Along the way, we explain why some pocket guns sacrificed stopping power for concealability, why others packed surprisingly large calibers into tiny frames, and how one small pistol became permanently tied to one of the most consequential moments in American history. Want more forgotten frontier weapons, unusual firearms, and the real history behind the guns of the American West? Subscribe to Forgotten Frontier Explained and turn on notifications 🔔 so you never miss a new ranking. Drop a comment below—which of these ten tiny frontier pistols would you trust most at point-blank range? 👇 #frontierpistols #derringer #wildwestweapons #pocketpistol #oldwesthistory #frontierweapons #philadelphiadering er #remingtonderringer #coltpistols #smithandwesson #americanfrontier #historyexplained