3 inch barrel revolvers.

Legionnaire

Nice polishing job with your Ruger GP100! Sort of reminds me of a certain stainless Speed Six I use to have.

Im pretty sure the reason we see more 2" and 4" is that most who own 3" hold on tightly. I have a 3" 65 and I would love to have a 3" fixed sighted model 60.

Really love my1880 Webley Bulldog w/it's 3"barrel! In .380cf. Similar to the 38 short Colt.120grn bullet over 10grn FFFg BP. 650 fps.

My favorite carry gun is my 3" 686+. It's very comfortable to wear all day long, and walking around with seven .357 Magnums in it, I don't feel undergunned. I fear no man.

My favorite "Big Bore" 3incher. Rossi 720 in 44 Special.

This is my only 3" revolver. It is one of the Victoria police traded from Australia that Bud's had a couple of years ago. When I went to pick it up the 4" gun called to me. I thought it was interesting the 3" was a square butt, but the 4" is round.

Years ago when I was paying attention to gun magazines I noticed that cast bullet velocities in 38 special out of snub noses exceeded those of similar jacked loads about 50 fps. Those out of a 3" barrel exceeded 2" barrel also by another 50fps. Based on all this a cast boolit out of 3" should exceed one out of a 2" by 100fps. Other tests showed that a +p load was often only about 50 fps faster than a normal load. I have noticed that I can shove a 3" J frame in a holster in my back pocket and just not notice it. The gun slides out and leaves the holster there WHEN I PULL IT. It stays there all day if I don't pull it. A 2" will do the same. For prowling in the woods 2 snake loads followed by 3 cast SWC loads seems to work.

Elkins45

Two interesting variations on the typical Model 10 offering. I like them both. Thanks for sharing.

I have a few 3 inch revolvers. A rossi .38 spl. which I really like and a S&W model 36 in nickel and one blued. And I have a 3 inch barrel ss Ruger GP100 .357. Out of these the GP100 gets the most usage. I prefer the 3 inch barrel to the snub nose, feels more balanced.

My only 3" revolver is the blued GP-100. Good revolver overall. I am still waiting for a 3" Ruger LCR in 22LR with rear sights. Think it would make a great little woods gun.

Two 3 inchers are both S&Ws a 696 and a 60-4.
Three inch barrels seem to be most desirable so why don't the gun makers, make more of them?

I currently have a 19, 66, 686 and a 625 45acp in 3". Once had a 629 but sold it.

The 3" guns have a nice feel and balance well.

I always carry a Model 637 in my left hand pocket If have to go to some place I don't go normally

go I add my Model 60 SS .357 w/3 inch barrel. I really like this Model 60.

I would love to find a 3" K-frame Model 64 or 65. I currently have the 3" J-frames model 60-4 in .38 Special and Model 63-5, 8-shot .22lr and I love 'em both.

I think any 3" revolver is a good investment. They tend to hold their value well compared to 2" and 4" versions of the same gun.

springer99 said:

Something' s just right about a 3" Smith.

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Unless it's a 44 Magnum. Dang! Better men than I. Beautiful gun.

I really like a 3 " barrel on a revolver. I have a 36-1, a 60-4 and a 13-4.
The 60-4 has a 9mm cylinder from a S&W 940 installed in it making for a real nice shootin, fast reloading,(moonclips) handful of a gun that is very accurate with the adjustable sights.
My grail is a 3" model 12 or a 3" 10-5 round butt, they are both the standard weight barrel.

I own only one revolver with a 3" tube. This is my light weight (one pound) hiking "kit gun".

The 3" barrel points easier and give a bit more velocity to the +P rounds over a snubbie...

Edmo

SP 101, 36, 2 3/4 Security Six, and a Charter Bulldog are my favorites in theory but a flat auto packs better for me.

edmo01 said:

I own only one revolver with a 3" tube. This is my light weight (one pound) hiking "kit gun".

The 3" barrel points easier and give a bit more velocity to the +P rounds over a snubbie...

Edmo

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That is a very nice kit gun, Edmo. Do you have any shot shells for it? I used to pick some up at gun shows now and then.

For many years I wondered why S&W didn't make a 38 Special version of the 22 Kit Gun (or maybe they would have called it a "38 Special Regulation Police Target"). Now, of course, there are a number of similar guns on the market.

I tried buying a used 4-inch Astra Cadix in 38 Special with adjustable sights, but it was a flop - the cylinder would not advance properly when firing DA or SA. Fortunately it failed to advance far enough to fire at all, instead of spitting lead all over the place. But now I have a gun nobody wants to work on and which I can't honestly sell. And the local cops haven't done a gun buy-back for what seems like decades.

This time of year when I can wear a coat, I carry a 3 inch 686+.
-mike

I love 3-inch .357s, but why would the manufacturers make these very heavy under-lugged guns with that short of barrels?

This is my Ruger Speed-Six 3-incher. Born a .38Spc, I had it re-throated to .357. It's as small and lightweight as a S&W 66 snub, but as strong as 686! And I think it's better balanced than Deaf's snubbie Ruger GP. If I could get an even lighter barrel, that would be better (but I'm not complaining).

Too bad Ruger stopped making it!



I also like my 3-inch Rossi .38 even better than my 2-inch S&W 60. Every time I look at those little S&Ws, I think of Maxwell Smart. That gun was always getting shot out of his hand but was never any worse for wear. Uh...sorry about that, Chief!

I have a blued, three-inch S&W Model 13-3 with Bianchi Lightning grips that was my primary "soft-clothes" and concealed carry gun for many years. (There are pictures of it somewhere on this board. The rationale, I heard, for the 3-inch heavy barrel was that it balanced like a 4 inch tapered barrel in a K-frame which has IMHO the best balance of any double action revolver. The Model 13-3 has been replaced as my off-duty carry by the Model 12-2 in my avatar simply due to the weight. It is still my "traveling" gun.

I have a SS finish SW 632, comp'ed in 327 Magnum. This is a 3 inch model with a hammer. The J's fit my hand so much better than bigger SW guns. If I had to belt carry a revolver for urban SD, this would be my gun.