The Trailblazer Firearms LifeCard 22 LR: A Folding Pistol Review

You In a world where firearms keep getting easier and easier to conceal, the LifeCard pistol turns everything on its head. The LifeCard is a new firearm made by a little company called TrailBlazer and is one of the oddest firearms I’ve ever seen. This is a folding gun, and it is incredibly compact when folded up. The LifeCard pistol spans about the width and length of a credit card and only a half-inch thick. This little gun unfolds into something that slightly resembles a conventional firearm.

The gun is utterly unique and impressive. It seems like something you’d see in a spy novel. The LifeCard is a single shot 22 LR firearm that’s essentially a folding derringer. The weapon itself is marketed as a self-defense firearm. They call it the last gun you’d ever leave behind. Without a doubt, it’s the most comfortable carrying firearm ever.

The LifeCard pistol doesn’t even need a holster for safe concealed carry. While the folding aspect of the gun is unique, it makes for a very simple firearm. As a gun, it’s nothing more than a single shot, single-action pistol with a break open barrel.

Overview

TrailBlazer markets the LifeCard pistol as a self-defense firearm. The phrase “The Last Gun You’d Ever Leave Behind” certainly seals that deal. In many ways, it takes no effort to carry and to conceal the firearm. However, it only fires a small single shot. As a concealed carry gun, it would never be my primary choice of self-defense firearm. It would make an interesting backup piece. In some very niche roles, it could even function for law enforcement going deep undercover.

In my mind, the purpose of the LifeCard pistol is almost a proof of concept: a look at what we can do. A weapon to open up the doors of possibility and to create something new. It’s a feat of engineering that happens to fire bullets. Why not? Plenty of these guns exist. There are pen guns, watch guns, ring guns, and others that are typically single shot and have more “cool factor” than any practical consideration.

The problem with many of these is the fact they are considered AOWs because they don’t look like firearms. This means they are subject to the NFA and the strenuous regulations that apply to these types of weapons. The LifeCard pistol escapes these regulations. Because it folds into something that looks like a gun, the weapon is not an AOW.  This feature will hopefully make it a little more successful.

LifeCard Pistol Specifications

This is a small gun, especially when folded, but just how little is it?

Closed Specs:

Length – 3.375 inches
Height 2.125 inches
Width .5 inches
Weigh – 7 ounces

That’s tiny, and the shape itself goes beyond size in terms of concealment. The credit shape means the outline is broken and the fact that it’s a gun is a well-hidden secret.

LifeCard Pistol Features

Of course, the biggest feature of the LifeCard pistol is the ability to fold it into a teeny tiny package designed for easy concealed carry. It fits in a front shirt pocket with ease, in a belt-mounted cell phone holder, or just in the front pocket. There is no outline, and because the weapon’s trigger is covered when folded, there is no need for an actual holster. That being said, TrailBlazer makes a leather and Kydex wallet for these guns to protect them from the elements and your sweat. The gun folds up small enough to fit in an Altoids tin or an empty cigarette pack.  It’s much smaller than other firearms that are also touted as perfect conceal carry calibers.

The gun doesn’t have a set of sights. Instead, it just has a trench along the top to use when aiming. It’s not a great gun beyond 10 feet, but you don’t expect it to be. Once unfolded, the portion of the LifeCard that acts as the handle has a small compartment that allows you to squeeze a few extra rounds in easily. Handy, since one round is rarely enough.

The striker can be half-cocked and locked with the provided mini Masterlock in case you need to secure the weapon against others. TrailBlazer has recently released a LifeCard 22 WMR, and you can send your LifeCard in and have it retrofitted with the 22 WMR barrel for under $150.

Beyond these few things, the gun doesn’t have a lot of features. It’s ridiculously small and simple, so I’m not sure what else I could even expect.

LifeCard Pistol Fit and Finish

Oh, how I am torn on the Fit and Finish of the LifeCard pistol. I will say from a construction standpoint, the gun is built solidly. It’s nothing but aluminum and steel. You can see the precision on every piece. You won’t find tool marks anywhere on the gun. It looks smooth and sleek. In hand, it feels rock-solid and very well made. TrailBlazer certainly put their time and effort into the design. The hard coat anodizing is perfect for the gun and strong enough to withstand years of carrying and shooting.

The striker, the trigger, and the tabs all feel top-notch, well made, well put-together and well-designed. A small viewing window in front of the striker allows you to see if the gun is loaded or not.

Where I get a bit upset is the massive amount of text and information TrailBlazer has decided to shove onto the LifeCard pistol. The barrel has a massive LIFECARD 22LR billboard across it. Beside that on the frame is the TrailBlazer logo with a Spartan helmet with wings, and Spartan helmets in the gun industry are a bit played out. Below that is their name, state, and your gun’s serial number. There is too much writing on a gun this small. I don’t like it.

LifeCard Pistol Ergonomics

The gun is very simple in terms of how it handles and functions, as well as how it feels in hand. The grip is a straight rectangle. No palm swell, no groove, just a piece of metal. It really works for this gun and does not pose an issue with a single shot 22 LR. The grip is long enough to fill the hand, and you can get your hand up super high on it to help with recoil.

The striker has to be manually cocked between every shot, but this takes no great feat of strength to do. The striker itself is textured with a large scalloped square that makes it easy to grab and pull.

How the LifeCard Pistol Works

Consider this a special section for the LifeCard. A lot of people are likely curious about the process of unfolding and firing the gun. So starting from the folded position, we are going to push the sliding latch on the grip forward. This will allow the gun to unfold. You have to unfold it all the way until you feel and hear a slight click.

To open the barrel, you pull the latch right below the barrel rearward. This unlocks the barrel and allows you to open it. Insert a round into the open chamber and close the barrel. Pull the striker rearward, and you are ready to fire. In this position, you cannot fold the gun or open the barrel.

Pull the trigger and the gun fires. Now you may notice the trigger has a small forward portion poking down. The gun can’t fold with the striker completely forward. Pull it back a hair into a pseudo-half-cocked position so the gun can fold, and the barrel can open once more.

On the Range

Oh boy, what can we expect from a folding 22 LR with a short barrel and effectively no sights? Not a whole lot, at least in the accuracy department. This certainly isn’t a pistol made to be used beyond ten yards, and that’s on a man-sized target. The group I had covered the target’s chest as well as his stomach and the occasional pelvis shot with ten rounds.  The gun is minute of “bad guy” accurate, but let’s be real: do we expect more? It’s designed to be a close-quarters, basically last-ditch weapon.

Recoil wasn’t much either. 22 LR never is, but my first shot gave me a little thump that was surprising. I mean it is a 22 LR in a 7-ounce platform, so you’ll get a little something to contend with. Hardly harsh or painful. I could shoot a hundred rounds and never complain. Speaking of, this gun does take forever to shoot. Ejecting the shells is a bit of a hassle. There is barely any room to grip the rim and remove the round. I got tired of trying and just started using a cleaning rod to eject the brass.

The gun is fun to shoot in a novelty kind of way. After the rounds go through it, the gun loses its appeal. Ten rounds take a good chunk of time to get through when it comes to loading, cocking, firing, and ejecting every round.

Admittedly, the trigger is pretty good. It’s a little heavy, but the pull is short and concise. It’s better than it needs to be but is a benefit of the single-action design. The best part of this gun is trying to be accurate with it. Like many things, the gun is a lot more fun with a group of friends trying to outdo each other.

Rating Each Category

Looks: 4 out of 5

In the looks category, the LifeCard pistol gets a four solely for how cool it looks folded and unfolded. The finish is great, and the gun seems futuristic and James Bond-like, but that large logo and writing is a vast ugly mark on such a cool weapon. Scrub those markings and I’d give it a 5 out of 5.

Ergonomics: 4 out of 5

The tabs that release the grip and barrel could be a bit bigger, and that’s my only ergonomic complaint. The gun is never a challenge to handle, and it’s hard to be picky about such a small little gun that’s great for women or beginners. It’s intuitive to unfold and fold, and it’s well designed.

Accuracy: 1 out of 5

I mean, what’s to say? The gun itself isn’t very accurate, and the lack of sights contributes significantly to that. Factor in the fact you are not going to get an excellent isosceles grip, and you have a gun whose primary mission is concealment, not accuracy.

Reliability: 4 out of 5

As such a simple gun, there is no failure to eject or extract. Both of those are on you. The weapon could fail to fire, but that would be an issue with rimfire ammo. Over the hundred and fifty rounds I’ve put through it, I’ve had a handful of FTFs. Typically it will fire on the second strike anyway.

Customization: 1 out of 5

You can pay and send the gun away to swap the barrel… and that’s it. No lights, no lasers, no upgrades outside of a .22 WMR barrel and some wallet holster things.

Price: 1 out of 5

The LifeCard pistol is an expensive little gun. The MSRP is $399, and the cheapest I’ve found them for is $299. Three hundred dollars can buy you a SCCY 9mm with a 10 round magazine. The NAA mini-revolvers in 22LR can be found for 199 and offer five shots and the same small profile. You are certainly paying a premium for such a novelty of a gun.

Parting Shots

I’d have a hard time recommending this gun to anyone who isn’t a hardcore gun nerd. If you can’t appreciate the design and folding feature, then this gun isn’t for you. It’s not a good defensive pistol, and if you have just a little discipline and a good holster, a bigger gun is easy to carry. It’s a cool gun, a novelty, and really one-of-a-kind.

If that kind of cool appeals to you, then buy it. It does what it promises and isn’t a piece of junk with a gimmick. The gun does work and works well for what it is.