Defender

[mojjax]

I was wondering what company made this and what year it might be ? The only marking I can find is DEFENDER . It's a 5-shot . Paid $35.00 at a barn sale .

mojjax

 

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[PBK]

This pistol is attributed to the Iver Johnson firm, est. 1871.

Some "Defender" listings cite a date of 1889.

Inexpensive spur-trigger pocket pistols like this one are sometimes referred to as "suicide specials."

 

[Skrimpy]

This pistol is attributed to the Iver Johnson firm, est. 1871.

Inexpensive spur-trigger pocket pistols like this one are sometimes referred to as "suicide specials."

Is that because they tend to jam?

 

[PBK]

Inexpensive spur-trigger pocket pistols like this one are sometimes referred to as "suicide specials."
Is that because they tend to jam?

It's just a generic term, similar to "Saturday Night Special," for small, inexpensive handguns made in the late 1800's and early 1900's. However, according to Flayderman the term itself did not become common until after WWII.

 

[Gypsy Heart]

these are considered brand name revolvers and were manufactured to be sold by large mail order companies. the majority of the the defender/defender 89s were sold by the j.p. lovell co. of boston. there is no way to date these revolvers other than the era of manufacture because there are no factory records available. one of the improvement in the defender 89 was the barrel of the 22 rimfire model was rifled and not a smoothbore like so many of the time. all the defenders & defender 89 were manufactured for black powder cartridge pressures and are not safe with modern smokeless loads and this includes modern 22 bb caps.


The spur trigger pistol (sometimes called a "suicide gun" because the user often accidentally shot himself when trying to get it out of his pocket). Iver Johnson made your .22 caliber revolver, sometimes marketing it as "Defender," "Eagle" or "Tycoon." Inexpensive firearms such as these were mass produced by many gun makers in the latter part of the 19th century. Even in good condition, your gun is worth less than $75.

Johnson Bye was formed in 1871 by Iver Johnson and Martin Bye, to manufacture cheap revolvers. Johnson Bye manufactured firearms until 1883 when Bye sold his holdings to Johnson which resulted in the Iver Johnson Arms Co..

Iver Johnson has been making revolvers since 1871. Many of the older models can bevery misleading, as the Iver Johnson brand may not appear on the gun at all. Instead, models such as US Revolver Co., American Bulldog, Defender, Secret Service Special, Boston Bulldog, Tycoon, and British Bulldog may be stamped on the gun. Serial numbers may appear variously on the trigger guard, the butt, the top strap (on top break PR’s where the cylinder is removed),
and under the left grip, usually with a letter prefix that will positively identify the gun. An owl at the top of the grip usually identifies an Iver Johnson, but grips can be switched.

 

[PBK]

http://oldguns.net/faq.htm#Suicide_Specials_

 

[Skrimpy]

Inexpensive spur-trigger pocket pistols like this one are sometimes referred to as "suicide specials."
Is that because they tend to jam?

It's just a generic term, similar to "Saturday Night Special," for small, inexpensive handguns made in the late 1800's and early 1900's. However, according to Flayderman the term itself did not become common until after WWII.

Yeah those are the ones. I have heard that "Saturday Night Specials" were sometimes called "Suicide Specials" because they were small and poorly made and thus tended to misfire, backfire, jam, explode in the users hand, etc. ultimately resulting in injury or death by the gun or attacker that the gun was used to fend off...but then again this could be an urban myth.