Heizer Defense DoubleTap .45 Pistol
Heizer Defense, a new gun maker from St. Louis, Missouri, has developed a nifty derringer type pistol. The Heizer Defense DoubleTap is chambered in .45 ACP and has two barrels in an over/under configuration. The frame is made of titanium and the trigger is double action. A thumb latch automatically opens and ejects the chambered rounds or empty cases. Ported barrels, to reduce recoil at the expense of making a noisy short barrel gun even more noisy, two round storage in the grip and snag-free design are nice touches.
The company could have gone the cheaper polymer route, but instead with Titanium which makes me think they are positioning this as a premium-priced weapon.
A facinating little hand cannon.
Shooting it in either 9mm or .45ACP would be truly punishing on the hand. Even the barrel porting, though it would help, would not help enough I think. But as it is meant to be a final fall back weapon to save your life, a sore hand would be the least of your worries at such a moment.
Think about it, guns of this size are not intended for aimed fire at some badguy hiding behind a car and trying to sneak shots at you. These guns are for shoving it in the bad guy’s belly and pulling the trigger in a moment of utter desperation to save your life.
I’d love to have one as a back-up piece to my usual back-up. But then I’d be carrying three handguns.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that
But here’s the problem – PRICE!
One of these DoubleTap guns is equal to, perhaps more, than the Ruger SR9 and Kel-Tec P3AT I already carry. At that high a price I suspect sales will be limited to folks who have a special fondness for derringers.
Doubt I’ll buy one, at least not new. Could be worth watching the used market in a couple of years though.
just isn”t enough gun!,,,,,and if anyone has fired the 22mag mini revolvers they are hard to aim and hold onto as well,,,,,be smart and carry enough gun to deal with any situation,,,,what might look like a quick draw and fire might develop into a real shoot out,,,,,you need both control and xtra back up shots which this double tap just doesn’t have,,,you could purchase two snub nose 38 +P revolvers for less money and have one for pocket and one for ankle holster,,,,,airweights at that,,,,if you really value life (yours) then carry enough gun to keep livin!!!
I have several .45′s and carry a different one often. Having a very small, very light gun like the Doubletap would be great as a backup if all has failed with the bigger gun I am carrying. Sure, we all need to know if it will be reliable! At it’s listed weight it would be better than a Bond weighing a lot more. Having the additional two rounds as further backup would be fine in my opinion! I would not expect a reloading time-out but if I am in a gun fight and have expended the rounds from my XP I would be glad to have an additional 4 rounds to maybe save my life! I don’t know if I would like the ported barrels but would have to decide that after I had the opportunity to find out more information! If it keeps it from hurting my hands then I would be all for it!
As far as a website being under construction, everything has to be built and it can take some time to get it right – I certainly don’t find any reason to doubt the hardware just because the website is not completely finished. At least they have gotten some information out – I saw an ad in the American Rifleman NRA magazine and was glad to have gotten a heads up on this little gun!
One poster said the guy producing would put out junk just to make a buck – to me that sounds like someone with more information and maybe a grudge against the producer. I have no such information and will judge the firearm on the reviews that will likely come out from the many people that do that kind of thing without any prejudice!
Though they’re not yet available I just got the price quote from my distributor if I want to backorder.
The titanium .45 with ported barrells is $655 and the aluminum version is $455.
Bear in mind these are dealer prices from a distributor so retail will be even higher.
I would definetley call those premium prices.
I think Doc, hollowpoint is referring to the brother of this engineer who designed this pistol. He’s the one who stole designs from him and was in trouble before. Also, it sounds like sour grapes from someone who lost their job for the usual reasons.
There is a need for a good design like this that doesn’t weigh two pounds. Lets wait and see what the final production model is like and judge it then. If this gun has replacable barrels, then a 22 or 22 mag for training and famaliarization would be a great option too.
CACO obviously believes he knows what he’s talking about, but sadly doesn’t. I harbor no ill will toward my former employer, and believe it or not “CACO” I wish him the best of luck on this new venture. I didn’t “lose” my job with the owner of this company for any reason obvious or otherwise. I quit. I’m well aquainted wih this gentleman and his brother, so there is no confusion on my part. My main concern is a design that offers no advantage over current offerings. I have a .45 ACP that weighs little more than this weapon, is easily concealed, and with or without the two spare mags I have offers substantially more backup firepower. As far as this design is concerned; What’s good about it? It offers two hopefully quick shots and then you have a titanium rock, unless your adversary or god forbid more than one adversary allows you to take a reload “timeout”. At least with the Judge you can use buckshot.
I worked for this man for many many long years. Trust me, if he can make money on some cheap junk, regardless of quality, reliability,or who’s idea he is stealing, he will. He thinks of patents as trophies, whether they’re original,or just minor changes to someone else’s idea. He has never made a firearm in his life until now, and even though he is a “so called” engineer, I wouldn’t trust my life to a gun he supposedly designed, unless there was absolutely no alternative. There are many! This is why I moved on.
By the way, the titanium probably came from leftover offall from the last aircraft parts contract they lost.
To paraphrase Tam: The less people know about guns, the more they want a derringer.
It’s as heavy as a Kahr PM9, and is pretty much exactly the same size (it’s little more than twenty thousandths thinner). With a pistol, multiple shots are greatly desired over caliber (because handgun wounds are wildly variable shot-to-shot, due to a number of factors). The Kahr carries 3-4 times as much ammunition, which more than makes up for the fact that the Doubletap is in “Fotay Faive”.
And when the price tag comes out, my cynicism tells me it won’t be much less expensive, either.
Kudos to the Heizer design team!
I see that that Heizer Firearms page has been updated somewhat and now includes the specs for this gun…
DoubleTap™ Specifications:
Caliber: .45 ACP, 9MM
Weight: 14 oz Titanium (empty)
Width: .665 inches
Length: 5.5 inches
Height: 3.9 inches
Barrel: 3.0 inches
Frame: Titanium or Aluminum
MSRP: TBD
Thanks for pointing that out, I would have missed it otherwise. So, wow. That’s rather portly. Absolutely no way I’m buying one. I was expecting an OAL closer to 4.75-5″, no wonder I thought the barrel was well under 3″ at first.
That size makes it a little pointless. My Kahr MK40 is the EXACT same length, the EXACT same height if you don’t include the sights (which it has, unlike this thing), and only a little thicker, 1″ across the slide and grips. I still manage to pocket carry it with no problem. Okay, the loaded weight is about double the Heizer’s loaded weight, but with triple the shots, each one more powerful even though they’re narrower, I see no problem with that.
So… if you want a gun that’s the exact same size and weight with more shots, get a Kahr PM9 (I kind of don’t like the polymer .40s). If you want cheaper but larger than a Kahr, get a Kel-Tec P11 or PF9. Way smaller, same capacity, more powerful, get an Am Derringer DA38 in .40 or .357 magnum. Way smaller repeater, get any of the micro .380s.
Seems like they’ve eliminated a lot of their potential competitiveness with the bulky design. Would it’ve been that hard to make the internal strikers/hammer more compact, move the barrels “back” to be flush with the trigger guard, and reduce the huge space between the barrels and trigger?
Now I just had an idea to make it even smaller. Instead of ammo storage, have an extendable grip. Chop it down to a middle-finger-only length, add on a grip safety (or just a grip-deployer, if you don’t like passive safeties), and make it so a grip extension pops out when the grip safety is depressed. The grip should be designed to be safely (but painfully) usable even if the extension malfunctions, obviously.
Anyway, yeah, just too bulky for what it is, especially since it wouldn’t fit in my back pocket!
Good point about the .40 call Kahrs.
Just… Yeah… What’s the point of this again?
*cal.
This could perfectly fit a gap I have in the area of concealed carry.
When dressed up in a stylish suit or slacks I can’t get away with carrying my Ruger LCP, this might enable me to carry even then. If it’s reasonably accurate while also being as lightweight and small as it appears I’d be happy to pay a premium for it.
I understand the argument for only using one CCW all the time which you should create your entire wardrobe around – that isn’t happening for me. So having options to fit what I’m wearing that day, from an XD .45 through down to this little two shot is ideal to ensure I carry all the time instead of just when I can get away with the .45 XD or 1911.
Would shooting a .45 this size often enough to feel comfortable with my proficiency to use it as a self defense weapon be fun? Not likely. Will I whine about it? Nope. It will be a self defense gun, not a “fun gun”. It’s just pain, get over it.
I thought it WAS HO HO HO! That’s funny!
Isn’t there a guy with one of the few .45 Downsizer WSPs that were actually made, who’s said that he regularly makes bets with people at the range, his $20 vs. their $5, that they will be unwilling to fire 2 shots within 60 seconds of each other, and that he’s bought himself a LOT of beer with that bet money? Or some kind of story like that. And those things weigh 11 ounces.
Anyway, I’d say the American Derringer DA38 (or one of the old BTJs if you can find one) has the market cornered on tiny 2-shots that’ll murdelize your hand. http://www.amderringer.com/das.html
It’s a little bigger, but I’d have a LOT more confidence in a couple shots of .40 from a 3.3″ barrel, than a couple .45s from a… what is that, a 2.25″ or 2.5″ barrel? And ported, to boot? 3.3″ is enough that a .40 will EASILY be in the velocity envelope it’s designed to work at. With modern ammo, “a .45 can’t shrink” is not a realistic reason to prefer a .45 over a .40, when you’re looking at barrels under 3.5″.
Now, if Heizer decides to produce one in .40 S&W and/or 9mm, with a slightly longer 3″ barrel (polygonal rifling would be nice), and switches to aluminum or polymer or whatever they have to, to get the price in the $350-$400 range, and does something about those “Santa Claus” grips (I really think they look more like “HO HO HO” than “HD HD HD”, at least from a distance), then I’d take them completely seriously. 2 shots of .40 from a real barrel, vs. 7 shots of .380, in the same size and weight gun. That’s worth thinking about. Much more reliable gun and much more reliable hollowpoints, probably the same real world “firepower,” but it’d be the least fun gun in the world to practice with.
Wait a minute, I think the Heizer might actually be bigger than the DA38, and the barrels could be a bit over 3″ (though still ported, yuck). It’s really hard to tell. Going to have to wait for them to release some specs. Most of what I just said still stands, though. Make it use a 35,000 PSI cartridge, get rid of the ports, and make it $400 or less, and I’d seriously consider one.
I think I’d probably prefer a steel frame for recoil reduction, instead of ported barrels.
Should have remade the COPS 357 in Ti instead.
Shades of the Intratec TEC-38, a double action .38 Special derringer produced in the mid 1980′s.
Whoa, better watch out for the support hand thumb. If it’s as small as I think it is, the typical thumbs forward semi-auto hold would result in some gas port nastiness. But, you have to watch that too with snubbies’ cylinder gap.
Good point about the off thumb. The ports are an unnecessary liability. Many people shoot little 2 shooters with their social finger, while laying the trigger finger along the barrel, try that with this and you’d have problems for sure. If any are ever actually produced I think the best this thing can hope for is a small asterisk in some Blue Book 30 years from now.
Übercool deep concealment BUG!
Dimensions? Weight? Price?
St Lois Missouri Earth. I guess this is what Jane Fonda’s Character will be carying if they ever remake Barbarella
Or maybe flat dark earth? But it looks like a blackened finish
Interesting, but everything in their web site is “UNDER CONSTRUCTION” not exactly the best way to say potential costumers you’re serious about your products.
The gun’s proper marketing will begin in November. The website will be up in time for the NASGW Show in Reno, Nevada, according to what looks like a press release posted on Laura Burgess Marketing’s blog.
Anyway, this is an awesome little design. Also notice the ‘witness hole’ cutout at the breech. No apparent safeties either, very nifty stuff. Really hope the titanium doesn’t make the price too outrageous.
Didn’t Vasquez have one of these in her boot?
Vasquez had a Smith Model 39 with ivory grips in a chest holster.
Apologies… I wasn’t wearing my reading glasses and thought this was a Taurus. Sorry…Age sucks.
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^^^ they are built to last.
Is the frame marked “St Louis, MO USA Earth”?
I guess that’s thinking ahead…….
Well, being made of Titanium, I guess they expect them to be around for a while!
Good catch!
This thing is up against premium derringers like those from Bond Arms. Good luck to em.