LIFECARD-.22-LR Pistol Online / Alsace

LIFECARD-.22-LR Pistol Online / Alsace

The LifeCard is a single-shot, .22 LR handgun that employs a single-action, striker-fired system similar to that of the World War II-era, .45 ACP Liberator designed for the OSS. Depending on your generational perspective, the LifeCard is about the size of either a cellular hotspot device or an oversize Zippo lighter.

Trailblazer advertises that it is the size of a stack of credit cards and while that is true, that stack will be about 17 cards thick when the LifeCard is folded into its smallest dimensions.

Still, the gun’s small size and nondescript shape make it easy to hide. Even if it does print through a pocket, you are far more likely to be asked about your hotspot than your pistol.

LIFECARD-.22-LR Pistol Online / Alsace

But, carrying this little hideout gun discreetly is the easy part of the equation. Actually getting it into operation quickly and smoothly is another story all together. The LifeCard’s manual explains its simple operation clearly, but there is a big difference between being uncomplicated—which it is—and being easy to operate quickly—which it is not.

LIFECARD-.22-LR Pistol Online / Alsace

The manual also stresses that the LifeCard should never be carried with a live cartridge in the chamber. That knocks this firearm out of the backup gun category in my opinion, relegating it to more of a backpack, survival kit or tackle-box status, where the relatively slow process of loading and getting the LifeCard into operation is less of an issue.

LIFECARD-.22-LR Pistol Online / Alsace

Loading and firing the LifeCard is pretty much a two-handed affair. The handgun’s striker mechanism—which the company calls the bolt—must be in the half-cock position for the gun to be folded, unfolded, loaded or unloaded. You begin the unfolding process by first grasping a small, spring-loaded latch on both sides of the bottom half of the LifeCard.

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