Three inch barrel revolvers, a weakness ?

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I'm glad someone recognized that. :)

Aarond

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When you listen to them in a modern sense, it's incredible how tight those ladies were in beat and harmony.

I had a Laverne once, or at least a classic blued, pencil-barrelled bulldog. Lost it in a divorce.

Have a modern Boomer Bulldog now, sort of Patty's louder cousin.

I think they are great guns. And the current iteration of Charter has great CS. I was an idiot with the Boomer and didn't examine it at the gun store. The exposed ejection rod was bent. The Company said it could never leave the factory that way due to their inspection process, but they fixed it anyway, including shipping. I think somebody did something stupid with it somewhere along the shipping chain, maybe even at the GS. It shoots great now.
 
I like that you have an RG too. Their late-production revolvers are not bad, or least not as bad as people assume. I have a 4 inch RG 38 Special like yours, but not as clean, and I screwed up the trigger by removing the sideplate and losing a spring. NOBODY works on RGs, and even if they did, it's not worth the cost. :(
Aside from the frame being a soft metal and the finish being thin and flaky, they are not really a bad design. Had they been made from slightly higher grade materials they would not have the reputation that they have, and as you mentioned the later guns were MUCH better than the early guns which are rumored to be an adaptation of a blank gun into an actual gun.

The one in my picture was my grandmas gun. She carried it in an oversized cigarette clutch hanging off of her walking cane for as long as I can remember. Parts for RG guns are easy to find, so if you wanted to get yours back into shape then it’s not too big of a deal. You won’t get a gunsmith to agree to it, but you can do it at home. Springs are not the easiest thing to fight, but that is a easy enough challenge to overcome in an afternoon.
 
I'd like to have a Boomer but with a front sight and no ports in the barrel - but that would make it a 2" and not a 3". But then, having both 2" and a 3", it would still be pertainant to this thread :D
 
You need a 2 3/4" Security Six to complete the set.

When it comes to the "draw from concealment, and place the first shot in the vital zone from 15 yards, in under two seconds drill", I seem to do best with my 2.75" Security Six in .357, even with full power loads. Love that revolver, although it kind of has a "chunky" look to it. !!!!
 
For some reason the "DE" is not registering in my brain. However, they are flat base, 180 grain wad-cutters. (double ended? not.) I load them to 800fps.
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Yup, I meant double-ended wad cutters. I love them for target work in .32 and some .38's. In the older .38's with oversize barrels I prefer the hollow-base wadcutters. The skirt expands to the groove nicely.

Made the mistake a long time ago of loading some HBWC's into a .38S&W too deep and ran the pressure up too high. I tried them out in my Enfield Mk. VI. It was only 1.6gr. of Bullseye but I seated them like Specials - flush. Oops. One shot was all it took. I cracked it open, felt the extractor straining, dug what was left of the bullet shank out of the cylinder gap and put it all away. No damage to the revolver or me thank goodness but I learned a valuable lesson about seating wadcutters in short cartridges.
 
Same deal with reloading the 7.62X38mm Nagant. You seat the bullet so deep, (below the case mouth, as you know) but because the case is long, one does not realize how small the space for the powder really is. So pressures can be pretty high with very small charges of Unique or Bullseye. I never had any overloads when I first started reloading that cartridge, but I sure got top velocities right off the bat, with what I figured were good "starting" loads. !!!
 
Aside from the frame being a soft metal and the finish being thin and flaky, they are not really a bad design. Had they been made from slightly higher grade materials they would not have the reputation that they have, and as you mentioned the later guns were MUCH better than the early guns which are rumored to be an adaptation of a blank gun into an actual gun.

The one in my picture was my grandmas gun. She carried it in an oversized cigarette clutch hanging off of her walking cane for as long as I can remember. Parts for RG guns are easy to find, so if you wanted to get yours back into shape then it’s not too big of a deal. You won’t get a gunsmith to agree to it, but you can do it at home. Springs are not the easiest thing to fight, but that is a easy enough challenge to overcome in an afternoon.

Thanks, WestKentucky. The problem is not just getting a new spring, the problem is that I lost the original on my umpteenth try on getting it back into the right place and then getting the sideplate back on. I also lost my enthusiasm for trying to do that any more. Maybe I will try to sell it for $25 at a gunshow, along with a Numrich parts diagram showing what spring is missing.

You described it well - a decent design (if you don't take the sideplate off, and now that I think of it, why did I?) made from cheap materials. All right if you want an OK gun that doesn't cost much and long-term durability doesn't matter.
 
Same deal with reloading the 7.62X38mm Nagant. You seat the bullet so deep, (below the case mouth, as you know) but because the case is long, one does not realize how small the space for the powder really is. So pressures can be pretty high with very small charges of Unique or Bullseye. I never had any overloads when I first started reloading that cartridge, but I sure got top velocities right off the bat, with what I figured were good "starting" loads. !!!
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Brilliant design for military use. Sealing the gap - so simple yet so complex. Sheer genius. Great design for a regular military fed by a reliable supply chain.
 
And they must have saved lots of money on powder!!! Perhaps that was the genius. I sure like mine, but it's most accurate with the .32acp cylinder in it, and is an excellent grouse gun/small game gun in that configuration. A couple of grouse can testify to that. Oh wait, they was dinner. I have not succeeded in developing a more accurate 7.62X38mm load, than what it will do with over-the-counter .32acp/7.65 Browning loads. ???
 
Iirc, I have a single 3" revolver: a Rossi M720.

Buuuuut I just ordered and put a deposit on a Cimmaron Thunderer with a 3.5" octagonal barrel in 45LC from the LGS.

Stock Photo
image629337-6f856f29e3aa2d50ada612e2132891ed.jpg

As a side note, they had some interesting rifles... An '03 Springfield and a Lee-Enfield. I think a mark iv smle. Not very educated about them. Both were in original military furniture. They also have a Bren MG on the top shelf (NFS).
 
Oh I like that. I could see carrying that, if one practiced with it a lot. Of course, anything one carries should be practiced with a lot. !!! The 03A3 Springfield is a beautiful, accurate rifle. I'd not pass that up, if you don't already have one, and it's in decent condition. I have my father-in-law's 03A3, in original, and very nice condition. He used to get his elk with it, and we have a pic of him with a big old muley buck, and that rifle. Also have the rack, from said muley.
 
Thanks, WestKentucky. The problem is not just getting a new spring, the problem is that I lost the original on my umpteenth try on getting it back into the right place and then getting the sideplate back on. I also lost my enthusiasm for trying to do that any more. Maybe I will try to sell it for $25 at a gunshow, along with a Numrich parts diagram showing what spring is missing.

You described it well - a decent design (if you don't take the sideplate off, and now that I think of it, why did I?) made from cheap materials. All right if you want an OK gun that doesn't cost much and long-term durability doesn't matter.
If you decide to do that then I And others here would probably appreciate a shot at it assuming the hassle and cost of shipping is not prohibitive.
 
This is my Rossi M88 w/3-inch barrel and my S&W 60. Notice how close the resemblance:

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And with square Pachmayr grips, which are incredibly comfortable. It's my house gun, a M60 clone with a 3-inch barrel.

Rossi_M88_2.jpg
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And my 3-inch Speed-Six:

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I wish Ruger hadn't put so much steel around the barrel. I would have preferred a skinny tube to cut back on weight. Still, it points and feels great!
 
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I want a 3" LCRX in 327 FM. Would only use 32 H&R in it but they would never make those.

I waited and waited for a 3” barrel LCRx in 327. Finally decided the only way Ruger would make them is if I bought the 2” barrel version. That didn’t work though.......
 
Oh I like that. I could see carrying that, if one practiced with it a lot. Of course, anything one carries should be practiced with a lot. !!! The 03A3 Springfield is a beautiful, accurate rifle. I'd not pass that up, if you don't already have one, and it's in decent condition. I have my father-in-law's 03A3, in original, and very nice condition. He used to get his elk with it, and we have a pic of him with a big old muley buck, and that rifle. Also have the rack, from said muley.

Wood was dry looking but complete. I think they wanted 700 for it and 450 for the enfield. At first i thought the '03 was a Garand until i saw the bolt.

As for the Cimmaron, i too think it would be a neat carry piece.
 
I gave my wife a 3" adjustable sighted Model 36. I called it the "Trail Masterpiece".

You must also be a fan of gunwriter Terry Murbach. I have an article written by him where he had a 3" model 36 and had a GS add a taller front sight and J-Frame adjustable rear sight and he named it the "Trail Masterpiece". I also traded emails with Terry up until he passed away. He was a funny guy. He even invited me to visit him in S.Dakota. I regret not going.

And the Trail Masterpiece is the reason I own this 3" model 36-6. I bought it off GB several years ago and it is a great trail gun. It works great with my slightly hotter 38 wadcutter loads. From what I have learned S&W only made 615 of these guns and the rubber grip is what they shipped with. I only have the gun and not the box and docs.

The other gun is a model 30-1 in 32 Long. Its a sweet low recoil shooter that shoots right to the fixed sights. Its in almost new condition with no wear to speak of.

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This is my Rossi M88 w/3-inch barrel and my S&W 60. Notice how close the resemblance:

View attachment 960295

And with square Pachmayr grips, which are incredibly comfortable. It's my house gun, a M60 clone with a 3-inch barrel.
I don't know if it's true or not, but I was told many years ago that Rossi purchased S&W's older tooling and patterns at some point.
 
A few of my favorites that were not buried so deep in the vault I couldn't get to them...

AFewThreeInchRevolvers.jpg
from top center: Rossi .32, Rossi .38Spl, Taurus .44Spl., Uberti/Remington .32C&B, Rossi Mod. 581 .38Spl, S&W Mod. 36 38Spl.

AThreeInchColtDS.jpg Post-War Colt DS - the original grips are tucked away in a safe place.

AFewMoreThreeInchRevolvers.jpg
from top left, Rossi Mod. 720 .44Spl, Pedersoli dueling pistol .44C&B, Heritage Rough Rider .22LR/WMRF
 
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