Whiterook808
Member
The only solution to this dilemma is to buy BOTH!!
Colt Detective Special vs S&W Chief Special (Model 36)?
- Thread starter gfenech21
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mcb
Member
LOL come shoot a USPSA match with me and I will pay the match fees. Who ever looses, Colt vs S&W picks up the beers after the match. Never been beat buy a Colt yet.No, the cylinder release on the Smith goes the wrong way. That will get you killed on the streets.
jar
Contributing Member
And some cylinders rotate discwise while other rotate widdershins.No, the cylinder release on the Smith goes the wrong way. That will get you killed on the streets.
P5 Guy
Member
If I were to be limited to carrying a revolver, it would be a S&W revolver.
Otherwise I'll be carrying a GLOCK26.
Otherwise I'll be carrying a GLOCK26.
22-rimfire
Member
If I were intending to carry the gun regularly, I would get neither and go with an airweight Smith. I like Colts and I have a Detective Special which I like. I reach for a gun to carry and almost always go with the airweight. But in the woods or out in the country, I would carry the Detective Special. I'm not too worried about parts availability. If it breaks, life goes on.... no big thing.
BobWright
Member
First of all, I'm going to be wearing a uniform of the US Army, I'm going to be in a trouble spot on the globe, and I'll be in a company of Infantry soldiers. Since that is all in the past, not likely to happen.
As to possible urban combat, not likely I will. I have enough sense to know possible trouble spots in my city, and avoid them. Those who knowingly enter such areas are open to question the claim of "self defense." Its sort of "urban savvy."
Bob Wright
Vern Humphrey
Member
I carry a pistol for defensive purposes, not for match competition. In my whole life, I've only had to shoot two men with a handgun, and both times it was with a Colt.LOL come shoot a USPSA match with me and I will pay the match fees. Who ever looses, Colt vs S&W picks up the beers after the match. Never been beat buy a Colt yet.
NIGHTLORD40K
Member
The Smith is a little easier to carry and the Colt is a little more comfortable/accurate for most shooters. Both are good.
John Joseph
Member
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Either will treat you well if you do your part!
Just to stir the pot, how do you intend to carry?
With the DS, I used a Bianchi No 3, IIRC. With the current Centennial a Bianchi #152 pocket.
Some holsters/carry positions are more comfortable and accessible than others and that should be a consideration when selecting any Roscoe
Just to stir the pot, how do you intend to carry?
With the DS, I used a Bianchi No 3, IIRC. With the current Centennial a Bianchi #152 pocket.
Some holsters/carry positions are more comfortable and accessible than others and that should be a consideration when selecting any Roscoe
mcb
Member
I carry my revolvers for defensive purposes too, and competition purposes, and hunting purposes and general utility purposes. The same revolver that is my woods gun is my IDPA revolver. The same revolver I competed with in USPSA for several years was also my hunting revolver for several years.
I have shot a few snakes, a handful of armadillos, two deer, heaps and heaps of cardboard targets and steel plates and thankfully no humans with my S&W revolvers.
I think if you actually try to run a revolver fast and reload a revolver fast, for whatever purpose, most find the S&W cylinder release more intuitive, ergonomic, and faster. YMMV
J-Bar
Member
Handle both.
The typical Colt trigger is a bit more sharply curved than the S&W, making the tip of the Colt trigger dig into my trigger finger. The S&W fits better, so I carry a J frame.
The typical Colt trigger is a bit more sharply curved than the S&W, making the tip of the Colt trigger dig into my trigger finger. The S&W fits better, so I carry a J frame.
SwampWolf
Member
mcb
Member
As I said later in the thread a more fair comparison is the Colt Detective vs a Model 10 Snubnose. The J-frame is a significantly smaller revolver. Those two revolvers Colt Detective and Model 10 are both 6-shot revolvers of nearly the same size (they can share speedloaders) and I will take a Model 10 over a Colt anytime.
SwampWolf
Member
The K-frame Smith may be a fairer comparison to the Detective Special than the J-frame is but it is interesting to note that when comparing the J-frame, Airweight Smith (the lightweight version of the Chiefs Special, identical in every other respect in terms of size), the Airweight is an appropriate comparison to the Colt Cobra (the lightweight version of the Detective Special, identical in every other respect in terms of size)) in terms of their sizes and weights, the two revolvers weighing the same but the Cobra carrying an extra round while having a cylinder that is only 1/10th of an inch wider (1.397 vs 1.305).
mcb
Member
Except they don't make the aluminum cobra anymore (the new cobras are stainless steel frames).
You can also get a J-frame with a titanium cylinder and get the weight down below 12 oz, below 11 oz if you can find a 342PD.
...and the cylinder release still goes the wrong way on a Colt.
The unapologetic S&W fanboy
mcb
SwampWolf
Member
Never said they were. A really apt comparison might include the Smith Model 12-of course, they don't make them either.
As far as I'm concerned, way too much is made of which direction a cylinder release goes. Nothing wrong with favoring one type or another, of course, but maybe I've shot so many different firearms over such a long period of time that I've learned to adapt to the directions cylinder releases (I own and shoot Colt, Ruger and Smith & Wesson revolvers) or the locations and configurations of safeties for that matter.
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