Read this article. The snub nose .38 is a fine weapon for close range fighting and easy concealment.
here is the link. I cut and pasted the article itself below
http://www.gunsandammomag.com/classics/ct0507/index.html
fromGuns & Ammo
July 2005
Colt Detective Special
Colt Detective Special
Beloved by generations of plainclothesmen, this classy little six-shooter is the epitome of the .38 snubbie.
By Steve Comus
Seldom has a gun's name been more suited to its role than Colt's legendary Detective Special.
It may be common to find older Colt Detective Special revolvers that show a lot of carry wear, but relatively few have been shot a whole lot. Convenient carry was the reason this model existed. In fact, the six-shot Detective Special is little more than a Colt Police Positive with a short barrel and non-snag grip size/design. The Police Positive and the Detective Special even shared serial numbers after 1927.
My fondness for snubnose Colt revolvers dates back slightly more than 50 years, to a time when the very last thing I needed or even could have used much was a short-barreled pocket revolver. But there was something about those snubbie Colts at the time that simply mystified me. Although my dream gun then was the Colt Cobra, that infatuation had more to do with the name than the real difference between the Detective Special and the Cobra (the Detective Special has a steel frame; the Cobra, aluminum).
Although I never have been a serious Colt collector, I've had occasion to own and shoot scores of them. My Detective Special is among them. This particular specimen has spent most of its life in a dresser drawer. It hasn't been shot or even carried that much. And that's fine; therapeutically, the peace of mind it has afforded by just sitting around has more than justified its price to me and everyone who has owned it since it was made in 1963.
The date of manufacture makes this specific revolver a member of what is known as the "Second Series" of Detective Specials. This refers to the serial-number series used. The First Series went from 1927 through 1946 (a square butt was standard through 1933), the Second Series from 1947 to 1972 (plastic grips from 1947 to 1954 and wood grips after). The Third Series started in 1973 and continued until 1986, and the Fourth Series started in 1993 and continued until 1995.
The author's 1963-vintage Detective Special (top) features an unshrouded ejector rod as opposed to the shrouded rods of later models (below).
A couple of notes about the look of the Detective Special over the years: A shrouded ejector rod became the norm with the Third Series, and the Fourth Series had an alloy frame. The Fourth Series also included what was known as the Bobbed Detective Special, which featured a bobbed hammer and was double-action-only. Grip design and materials varied through the years, with wraparound wood grips beginning with the Third Series and plastic/composition grips in and out of the line in the Second Series and then back with the Fourth Series.
Other variations included barrel lengths and chamberings. Most Detective Specials have 2-inch barrels and are chambered in .38 Special. But there are exceptions. For example, the Second Series was available in .38 Special, .32 New Police and .38 New Police, and although most had 2-inch barrels, a small number sported 3-inch tubes. Both nickel and blue finishes were available in the first three series, and there was a hard-chrome option in addition to blue/black in the Fourth Series. Fixed sights have been standard throughout.
The full six: The Detective Special (left) features a six-shot cylinder as opposed to the five-shot cylinder of Smith & Wesson J-frames (right).
Outwardly, there isn't much to distinguish the very early Detective Specials from ones made decades later. Certainly, the newer models with the barrel shroud for the ejector rod changed the profile enough to make for a different appearance. Being an offshoot of the Police Positive line, the Detective Special incorporated what is known as the Colt Positive Safety Lock mechanism that was designed to preclude accidental discharge. The system incorporates a solid-steel bar 1/10 of an inch thick that rests between the hammer and frame, except when the trigger is pulled.
It's noteworthy that the Detective Special continued as a standard offering as late as the 1990s. One might suppose that much of its staying power in later years had more to do with the inertia of being there than anything else. Although the civilian market for the Detective Special continued, the law enforcement market for them was clearly evaporating during the 1980s as semiautos gained ascendancy.
Yet for the purposes for which it was intended, the Detective Special is close to perfect. It remains as useful now as it was the day it was introduced. It is, after all, a handgun for police officers (and civilians) whose primary mission does not involve the daily use of a handgun but who need to have one close at hand at all times. With the increased interest in civilian concealed carry handguns, the Colt Detective Special should be seriously considered by anyone who wants the luxury of carrying a loaded firearm that is in no way cocked while carried, yet will deliver the goods instantly, with nothing more than a double-action pull of the trigger.
The author's Second Series model features checkered walnut grips and a round-butt configuration.
Although snubbies earn or lose their stripes based upon how conveniently they carry, they still are, of course, firearms and must be able to perform when called upon to do so. The Detective Special comes through with flying colors on the shooting front as well. Although it's not a revolver that one would expect to deliver tiny groups at ranges of 25 yards or beyond, if you do your part, it's not uncommon to achieve rather impressive groups from a Detective Special.
Realistically, however, it's an "up-close and personal" handgun that serves its purpose well if it draws smoothly, points quickly and can hit a torso-size target at distances from the end of the barrel to 20 feet or so. In other words, the Detective Special is a defensive--as opposed to an offensive--proposition.
The Detective Special is the perfect marriage of size and weight (21 ounces with an overall length of 63?4 inches), balance and mechanical timing. All of these factors combine to make the Detective Special easy to use effectively when pointed instinctively and fired in the double-action mode. And speaking of DA mode, Colt once offered an optional hammer shroud that could be installed on the Detective Special. It was essentially a metal hood over the hammer that made the gun even more snag-resistant when drawing from pocket or concealed holster.
Trigger-pull dynamics are critical for any handgun and are magnified when the piece happens to be very short; even a tiny misalignment becomes major the farther out one gets from the muzzle.
With its 6 3/4-inch overall length and 21-ounce weight, the Detective Special provides a controllable size-to-power ratio.
In shooting my Detective Special, I was struck with what a masterful job the Colt factory did. Everything about it is smooth and responsive. And the group size is almost identical whether the handgun is shot in the SA or DA mode.
The author regularly achieves impressive rapid-fire, short-range groups with his Detective Special.
I've been able to get three-inch center-mass double-action groups with it firing as fast as I can return the sights to the proper point of aim. And that's fast.
Many shooters seem to think that just because a handgun has a short barrel, it's inherently inaccurate. Quite the contrary. The short handgun more often than not is more accurate than the pilot flying it. Such has certainly been the case with me and the Detective Special.
Another thing to keep in mind is that .38 revolvers can be controlled by most shooters; they don't buck and snort enough to cause any adverse problems.
The Detective Special, as its name implies, may have been intended primarily as the primary firearm carried daily by plainclothes investigators and other non-front-line law enforcement officers. Throughout its history, however, it also has been used as a backup piece. For example, if one wanted to retain the Colt theme, it's totally correct to pair a Detective Special with a Python or Trooper for combined carry.
The short sight radius of the Detective Special requires the shooter to really bear down on his sight picture. This does not mean that shorter barrels are inherently less accurate than longer ones.
Contemporary wisdom often discounts .38 revolvers like the Detective Special as being too wimpy. OK, a .45 ACP the .38 Special is not. But with proper bullets the .38 Special--even loaded to original nominal velocities--can and will get the job done, especially at close quarters. It's somewhat baffling that two applicable concepts seem to be lost in the fray. They are bullet placement and successive-shot delivery. The Detective Special holds six rounds, and they are all available for instant delivery as quickly as the shooter can pull the trigger.
Such repeated hammering, assuming reasonably placed shots, should be sufficient, especially considering that all it has to buy the shooter is a few more feet of exit room or a second or two of reaction time from the other direction. Or, put another way, for most social situations, if that won't do it at five to 10 feet, it probably won't get done with anything much less than a 12 gauge.
Again, keep in mind that the Detective Special was never intended as a mainline carry gun, nor was it intended to bowl over hordes of drug-crazed Vikings. Rather, it is a handgun that is there to help its owner get out of a bad situation. And that it does magnificently.
For many civilians who now have concealed carry permits, the Detective Special is something worth considering. There is nothing to worry about at the last minute, like taking off a safety. Just pull out the Detective Special, point it, and pull the trigger. It doesn't get simpler than that.