Which snubby?

Not that I know anything, but I really like the S&W Model 49 I got. So much so I'd like a stainless 649 in .38sp or .357, but it's already pretty jumpy in .38.

Charter .44 special. Don’t have to worry about getting a lot of velocity out of a snub barrel in order to be effective.

Great Scot said:

Charter .44 special. Don’t have to worry about getting a lot of velocity out of a snub barrel in order to be effective.
View attachment 977141

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that's an O.G. boomer with a useable front sight.

Academy Sports has the Taurus 856 Stainless for $299.
I recently bought one after handling a friends.
It’s superlative!
It’s basically an S&W triple-lock action in a Colt “D” frame. Execution is perfect. Timing is perfect. Trigger pulls in da and sa perfect. Accuracy is phenomenal.
It shoots POA/POI with 148gr-158gr ammo.
HKS speed loaders for Colt Detective Spcl fit perfectly.
All the Smith’s and Charters I’ve had required either trigger jobs, or sights altered or barrels bent in a vise and hit with a lead mallet to make them shoot like this little Taurus “out of the box”.
Only thing I’ve done to it is dry fire, and shoot it!
Yesterday afternoon, I was bouncing 12ga shotgun wads on the 25yd berm. Load was Lee 148gr TLWC (6-cav molds) over 3.0gr of HP38. Chrono’d at 650fps from 2”bbl. surprised me. I expected 5XX...

Thanks for the report Goose. I just put several of these on my watch list on GB. I didn't know about the 856 until a few days ago. How did the gun get past me? No Academy's near me have one in stock. What a surprise. But they are definitely on my radar.

Snubby s are a horrible choice.
Definitely Not 44
Get a 3 inch 357 and accuracy and powerwill be Soooo much better.
Perhaps LCR 3" any S&W or Ruger
Spring for the king cobra!

Huntolive said:

Snubby s are a horrible choice.
Definitely Not 44
Get a 3 inch 357 and accuracy and powerwill be Soooo much better.
Perhaps LCR 3" any S&W or Ruger
Spring for the king cobra!

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I Disagree. I can’t carry a 3 inch revolver comfortably in my pocket. And the recoil and blast from a .44 special snub is a lot less than that of a .357. And as stated earlier, you don’t need velocity to get effectiveness out of a .44 special. I will agree that a 3 inch revolver is probably superior as a belt gun. But if I’m carrying a revolver on my belt, why not carry a 4 inch K-frame?

Huntolive said:

Snubby s are a horrible choice.
Definitely Not 44
Get a 3 inch 357 and accuracy and powerwill be Soooo much better.
Perhaps LCR 3" any S&W or Ruger
Spring for the king cobra!

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I also respectfully disagree.
With practice a snubbie is a very viable handgun.
I had a 3” S&W 60 Pro. That extra 1/2 - 1 inch helped a little in sighting the gun but that extra length also limited carry options.

Pat Riot said:

I also respectfully disagree.
With practice a snubbie is a very viable handgun.
I had a 3” S&W 60 Pro. That extra 1/2 - 1 inch helped a little in sighting the gun but that extra length also limited carry options.

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Been carrying a 60-15 3" for a couple of days now in a IWB snap holster and concealed OWB in a pancake holster with zero issue. I'm a small guy at 5"7 180lb.

I have carried a LCR in 357, S&W 640 Pro, and Taurus Model 85 many times over the years. I assumed it would be harder to carry or conceal extra half inch +/- of barrel, but it's not.

Styx said:

Been carrying a 60-15 3" for a couple of days now in a IWB snap holster and concealed OWB in a pancake holster with zero issue. I'm a small guy at 5"7 180lb.

I have carried a LCR in 357, S&W 640 Pro, and Taurus Model 85 many times over the years. I assumed it would be harder to carry or conceal extra half inch +/- of barrel, but it's not.

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In a holster, no biggie. In a pocket with pocket holster? That's a bit harder. I should have been clearer in my earlier comment.
I actually preferred carrying my 60 Pro in a OWB holster over pocket carrying my 442. In warmer weather that became difficult to conceal, sometimes.

Huntolive said:

Snubby s are a horrible choice.
Definitely Not 44
Get a 3 inch 357 and accuracy and powerwill be Soooo much better.
Perhaps LCR 3" any S&W or Ruger
Spring for the king cobra!

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I agree that revolvers with three or more inches of barrel are generally the “better” weapon, but, in its niche, a revolver with about two inches of barrel length, can be so much more versatile than a comparable revolver with a three-inch barrel. That niche could be a pocket, in one’s trousers, jacket, or vest. It could be a pouch or other container that is made for another purpose, enabling a snubby to hide in plain sight. It could be a compartment or cubby-hole very near one’s person. If one has hands of sufficiently large size, a 2” snubby can be discreetly palmed.

A now-departed friend, Anthony, with a serious military and counter-intelligence/counter-terrorist experience, used the term “roving gun,” rather than “back-up gun,” for a weapon that can be concealed in different places, while one’s larger “primary” weapon is carried consistently, in one place. A ~2” snubby can “rove” better than a ~3” or longer weapon. The bitter weather, now in progress, in much of North America, as I type this, making multiple layers of clothing necessary, is a perfect time to have and use a “roving gun,” in addition to the “primary” weapon, even if one normally just totes the one primary weapon. (There are plenty of other reasons that I have tended to carry two*, since the Eighties.)

I say this as the happy owner of several 3” revolvers, as well as several in the 1-7/8” to 2.25” range, plus, of course, quite a few in the duty/service size category.

*My original reason, for toting two handguns, dates to my beginning as a police officer, working street patrol, in 1984. Being left-handed, but right-armed, drawing a large, heavy, N-/L-Frame from the right hip felt natural, and learning long-stroke double-action shooting seems natural enough, for each of my hands.
Houston, Texas, seemed to be trying to compete with Detroit, Michigan, for the title of murder capital of the USA. Patrolling alone, in a vehicle, my right hip was more accessible than my left hip, so, “primary” at 0300 made sense, while a second gun, such as my S&W Model 60 snubby, with its 1-7/8” barrel, positioned for ambidextrous access, made plenty of sense. I mostly trained right-handed, with the bigger gun, and mostly lefty with Gun Junior.

GooseGestapo said:

Academy Sports has the Taurus 856 Stainless for $299.
I recently bought one after handling a friends.
It’s superlative!
It’s basically an S&W triple-lock action in a Colt “D” frame. Execution is perfect. Timing is perfect. Trigger pulls in da and sa perfect. Accuracy is phenomenal.
It shoots POA/POI with 148gr-158gr ammo.
HKS speed loaders for Colt Detective Spcl fit perfectly.
All the Smith’s and Charters I’ve had required either trigger jobs, or sights altered or barrels bent in a vise and hit with a lead mallet to make them shoot like this little Taurus “out of the box”.
Only thing I’ve done to it is dry fire, and shoot it!
Yesterday afternoon, I was bouncing 12ga shotgun wads on the 25yd berm. Load was Lee 148gr TLWC (6-cav molds) over 3.0gr of HP38. Chrono’d at 650fps from 2”bbl. surprised me. I expected 5XX...

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S&W, Ruger, and Kimber could secretly sell revolvers they manufactured under the Taurus branding, and people would automatically bash or not recommend them sight unseen and knowing nothing at all about them. Ruger, Smith, etc could sell Taurus pistols under their branding, and these same people would rave about them. Personally, I beleive Taurus QC has greatly improved all while S&W QC has dropped off big time.

If I was the OP, I'd get the new Taurus 856 Defender 3"! Is the best bang for the buck and is a better revolver than new Smiths and Rugers in the same price range. No one can convince me otherwise.



They come in stainless frames that's only approx 23 oz, or aluminum UltraLite frames thats only appox 17 oz. Can be had in a plain stainless, Cerakote, or durable black nitride finish (simular to Glocks, M&Ps, etc). Ships with Hogue rubberized, VZ G10, or Altamont wooden grips. Comes with a pinned tritium front night sight. Has a decent trigger. Unlike most others in it's class and price range, it holds 6 rounds of 38 Special instead of 5. They also fit most S&W Jframe holsters to boot. I beleive they're selling under $400. The MSRP is $389 is memory serves me correctly. The lower teir aluminum frame Smiths that use to be $330ish, but are now selling for close to $500 aren't better in my strong humbleopinion.

I says this as someone who is a S&W revolver guy, who owns a Ruger LCR (they are NOT going to be in your price range in tbe current market), and who just purchased a Colt King Cobra. In your price range, for the money, etc, I'd pick up the 856 Defender. If I had double your budget, I'd get a S&W 640 Pro, S&W Model 60, S&W 340(PD), Colt Cobra, or Kimber K6s. All of which are selling for $750-$1000.

Pat Riot said:

In a holster, no biggie. In a pocket with pocket holster? That's a bit harder. I should have been clearer in my earlier comment.
I actually preferred carrying my 60 Pro in a OWB holster over pocket carrying my 442. In warmer weather that became difficult to conceal, sometimes.

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I hate pocket carry (personally preference). I guess that would be the only thing that would be off the table with a 3" Jframe.

WisBorn said:

I would like to thank everyone for their votes and comments.
Watching the thread the past two weeks and reading the posts has been interesting.
The poll has broken down into four groups.
1) Charter Arms Bulldog 44 special (slight lead)
2) S&W J frames
3) Ruger LCR'S
4) The Taurus and Charter Arms 38 & 357s

Each of the groups have held close to 25% of the votes.

That said the Charter Arms 44 special and a new or new to me J Frame are going to find there way into my carry guns. The J frame may have to be a external hammer 357. This would be a little more versatile. I have and carry a 442 as my primary carry. The Charter Arms Bulldog is much lighter than my 415 41 mag making it a nice carry option in a fun cartridge.

Thanks again for your responses and votes. Now we just need the shortages of firearms and ammunition to end to find a few revolvers.

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I never owned or seen a Charter Arms revolver at a LGS used or new. I might have to check those out to see what all the fuss is about.

Rexster said:

“roving gun,”

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I hope you don't mind if I borrow that term? I like it. And it fits the use of the gun.

I don't like the term SHTF rifle. I prefer "Emergency Rifle".

ThomasT said:

I hope you don't mind if I borrow that term? I like it. And it fits the use of the gun.

I don't like the term SHTF rifle. I prefer "Emergency Rifle".

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I certainly don’t own “roving gun,” so, go ahead. Anthony never seemed selfish about anyone else using the term.

“Emergency rifle” sounds good to me.

LCRx magnum frame 327. Lighter than a steel Smith magnum frame but still manageable for pocket carry. Six shots instead of five. Throttle controls factory-wise of ammo power scale from 32 S&W to the 327 mag.

The 32 H&R magnum is my favorite in my old age. I have probably shot several pickup loads of factory/reloaded 38's over the past 40 years. But in a lighter weight snub format, the 32 H&R is now my choice and i believe the ideal caliber for me in a snub.

I own the LCRs in 327 and 357. The triggers are outstanding right out of the box and the sight regulation is excellent...

the LCR magnum 357 is my 2nd choice. And the ammo there for me is the 38.
The biggest advantage for me with the 38 is the mountain of brass i have on hand for reloading.

Always wanted a Charter 44.....but nowadays i honestly believe I am too old for such with anything beyond cowboy loads.

TTv2 said:

Until .32 NAA becomes more common, the .32 and .380 ACP are the only two options for micro semi auto pistols and between those two options I can shoot .32 ACP far better than I can .380 and while .380 hollow points have come a long way, they're still questionable.

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I'm not even sure why there's a need for a "new" .380 or .32 hollow point design with the new hydraulic expansion designs that make larger-than-caliber wound cavities and still won't over-penetrate, even at lower impact velocities.

GeoDudeFlorida said:

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I'm not even sure why there's a need for a "new" .380 or .32 hollow point design with the new hydraulic expansion designs that make larger-than-caliber wound cavities and still won't over-penetrate, even at lower impact velocities.

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Because we don't really know how effective that design is. The hollow point has decades of real world use and is a known quantity.

WisBorn said:

Just a little update!
I found a decent priced Taurus 605 today to ease the itch a little. The little j frames were priced to high and the Rugers I found were higher priced than the Smith and Wessons.
Charter Arms Bulldog is next on the list when I find one.
View attachment 985462

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Good choice. I have a Taurus M85 and 942 that have been great especially for the price I paid.

And why is Colt not on the list ?

It doesn't get better than this.