Whenever "historical usage" of something becomes the subject, both context, availability of something at different times and then perhaps geographical locations need to be taken into consideration. Even the prevailing biases, prejudices and societal influences of the time.
I remember seeing Colt D's and some Charter Arms appearing in the hands of private citizens and cops on the West Coast after I turned 18 at the beginning of the 70's, but the S&W J-frame was the hands-down favorite when I entered LE in the beginning of the 80's. Saw more of them at my agency than I ever saw Colt snubs (and my agency had issued Pythons for some years, so Colts weren't exactly unknown to the folks), and in other agencies, small, medium & large. Saw them at meetings and conferences on the hips of folks from all over. They filled the gun shop displays of all the stores I enjoyed visiting (although there was always a couple Colts of one model or another).
Although my first DA revolver was a Colt Police, when it came time to start buying my own snub revolvers for off-duty, they were S&W J's and Ruger Security/Speed-Sixes.
Fast-forward to modern times, and even in the last couple of Street Tactics and FBI LEOKA classes I attended not quite 2 years ago, the venerable 5-shot S&W .38 was mentioned more than I expected as having saved the lives of cops as back-up weapons. They're still serving in the role of secondary?back-up and even off-duty weapons, although larger duty-size, compact and even subcompact pistols are considered a better choice for many of today's shooters ... and one of the reasons for that is that today's shooters in LE just aren't revolver shooters.
Shooting a DA revolver is usually harder for many folks than shooting a similar size pistol. The flip side of that, however, is that folks who developed and mastered their handgun shooting skills using DA revolvers are often better rounded shooters when it comes to handguns.
Awkward grip frames, bulky not-exactly-anatomically-shaped wooden grip stocks, long/heavy DA trigger strokes, limited capacity, old-style blade sights ... and probably the recoil of a .357 Magnum cartridge. Mastering a Magnum revolver can seem daunting to today's shooters ... although granted, there wasn't a shortage of cops restricted to the "Non-Magnum" .38 Spl and .38 Spl +P loads of earlier years, often due to the political considerations of not being seen to arm the cops with MAGNUM handguns.
Is a J-frame (or other 5-shot snub) something any particular cop or private citizen should consider carrying as a lawful concealed weapon? Depends on the person.
Are there arguably "better" choices for everyone? Sure.
Are there "better" choices which may be left at home in a safe due to size, weight and necessary carry method? Yep.
My generation of cop is rapidly aging into and beyond retirement, and the numbers of the previous generation are dwindling faster. Funny thing I've noticed in recent years, though. Of the many firearms instructors of my acquaintance of my generation, and those remaining of the generation who taught me (in retirement, although some still teaching), the venerable J-frame is still found in the pockets of a
significant number of them. Sure, there's lighter weight models, and even lasers to be found, but the little 5-shot .38's are still seeing service.
I've noticed a number of older J's being brought to the range for the first time in many years, too. A few of them have required some service and repair, both from a couple decades of neglect (cop neglect is often abuse
), as well as some problems resulting from the hit or miss assembly & fitting of the 60's & 70's vintage S&W's (BTDT), but
more of the older J's are seeing the light of day for the first time in years.
Why? It seems that while some aging shooters may normally prefer a larger (size, weight & caliber) handgun for off-duty or retirement, they've realized that in today's world (with news of today's events) they may not always be ready or willing to lug around larger handguns (after a career of having had to do so) ... and they're once again remembering the advantages of the snubs from back when they were originally chosen as an alternative to carrying around their Python or K-frame on their own time. I'm not going to question their choices to dust off the little snubs ...
and dust off their previous revolver skills ... to pick something with which they can routinely arm themselves when the big guns stay at home.
The last older shooter I saw following this trend has been carrying a 6906 for many years, but he apparently realized that he was increasingly leaving it at home when he didn't want to wear a belt holster. He asked one of the other instructors for some advice about choosing a lighter weight aluminum model, and after trying one, he picked up a 642-2. He brought to the range and spent some time using it and refreshing his many years of earlier service revolver years. Now he can pocket-holster an Airweight, which he found to virtually disappear in his pocket, and he was very pleased with how he experienced the return of his revolver shooting skills on a normal course-of-fire.
Will they work for everyone? Of course not. No gun usually will.
A younger (early 40's) instructor who's never carried a service revolver tried an Airweight for a couple years, but being a long time S&W 3rd gen and Glock shooter, as well as a M&P pistol shooter for a few years, he finally returned to carrying one or another little .380, G26, M&P 9c, and now a Shield 9. Likes them all and shoots them well enough (and he's just acquired his first 1911, and is discovering
that venue
).
Different strokes.
Denigrating the choices of others, or arguing about "logical" advantages & disadvantages of one type of small handgun or another often doesn't take into consideration the "human" part of the whole equation.
At the end of the day, and when actually being forced to use a handgun, it's what's at hand that's going to be present to be used, and even then ... it's just a handgun.
It's the mindset, skillset, experience & training of the guy/gal using the handgun that's probably going to determine how things turn out. That, and luck.
Not worth arguing about or trying to proselytize and "convert" other folks to someone's favorite idea.
Argue less. Train & practice more.