Revolver newbie here, what are all the frames?

[TreeSquid]

I was weaned on semi-autos mostly, but I've been seeing a lot of attractive revolvers lately, and would like to know more about them. I see a lot of talk about various letter frames. N-frame, J-frame, K-frame, L-frame, and maybe even a couple more. I haven't the slightest idea what this stuff means, since my knowledge is more oriented to stuff like "subcompact single-stack with internal rails and a decocker" and the like
Help me diversify my gun knowledge! A revolver is definitely in my future, so I feel I should get more educated about them. Thanks a lot!

 

[Tamara]

J-frame: Small pocket revolvers. 5-shot .38/.357s and 6-shot .22/.32s.

K-frame: Lighter-frame mid-size guns. Mostly 6-shot .38/.357s. Some .22 target guns.

L-frame: Heavier-frame mid-size guns. 6- and 7-shot .357s, also 5-shot .44 Specials.

N-frame: Large-frame revolvers, in .38 (old), .357, .40, 10mm, .41, .44 (Special and Magnum), and .45 (ACP and Colt). 6-shot guns, except some newer .357s, which are 8-shooters.

X-frame: Soon-to-be-released .500 Magnum stomper. Freakin' huge.


There are other various frame sizes for certain no-count brand-X companies like Rossi, EAA, Taurus, Ruger, and Colt, but we won't worry about them right now...

 

[Mike Irwin]

A rundown I wrote a couple of years ago in response to a question on The Firing Line...

Here's the rundown on S&W letter frame sizes:

I frame - The original hand ejector frame, introduced around 1896. These were chambered in .22, .32 Long (a VERY few were chambered in .32 S&W, and bring SERIOUS collector prices), and .38 S&W.

An improved I-frame introduced S&W's first use of coil springs only a few years before the introduction of the J-frame.

J-frame - After WW II, the company wanted to chamber the .38 Spl. cartridge in a small gun suitable for police undercover use. The I-frame was too small to take this chambering, so the J-frame was introduced in the 1950s.

The J-frame has been chambered in .22, .32 Long, .32 H&R Mag., .38 Spl., and in a slightly enlarged version in the past few years, .357 Mag.

K-frame - The "classic" S&W .38 revolver, introduced around 1899, and over the years chambered in .22, .32 Long & Mag., .32-20, .38, .357, and a very few test guns for the Army in .30 Carbine.

L-frame - As police began to transition to the .357 Mag. for both training and carry (as opposed to training with .38 Spl. and carrying the .357 Mag.) the drawbacks of the K-frame became apparent in that they would, given a stead diet of Mag. ammo, begin to shoot loose.

The L-frame was introduced in the early 1980s to counteract that by beefing up the frame size and weight of the gun, but retaining the K-frames grip dimensions. Grips are interchangable between the K and L frames. The L-frame is almost exclusively .357 Mag. territory, although they have been produced in .38 Spl. on contract (mainly for South American police forces). The 696 in .44 Spl. is also an L-frame.

M-frame - The smallest Hand Ejector ever built, and in production from 1902 to about 1922. These were the original "LadySmith" branded guns. They were 7-shot .22s, and came in three separate models. All three are HIGHLY collectible, and bring serious prices.

N-frame - The largest of S&W's revolvers. These have been chambered in .22 Jet/Long Rifle, .38 Spl., .38-44 Heavy Duty (the original +P .38 Spl. round), .357 Mag., .41 Mag., .44 Mag., .45 ACP, .45 Long Colt, .45 S&W, .44 Russian, .44 Special, several other calibers mainly for Canadian and European consumption, and a few dozen test guns in .30 Carbine for the Army.

 

[Standing Wolf]

That's the Smith & Wesson side. A kind soul at thefiringline.com posted the following account of Colt revolver frames:

AA - King Cobra (new action)
D - Detective Special, Cobra, Agent, Commando,
Diamondback, Police Positive, Viper
DA - Double Action .45
E - Army Special, Officers Model Match, Officers Model Target,
Official Police (old)
F - Reproduction percussion revolvers as a group
G - .22 Peacemaker, .22 New Frontier
I - Python, Trooper (old), .357 Magnum
J - Lawman Mk III and V, Official Police Mk III, Peacekeeper,
Metropolitan Mk III, Trooper Mk III and V, King Cobra
K - Frontier Scout 1962 (new)
MM - Anaconda
O - Government Model
P - Single Action Army
Q - .22 Frontier Scout, .22 Buntline Scout (old)
S - Postwar Woodsman
SF-VI - Detective Special, 1993 model
V - Short action version of the D frame

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

Standing Wolf,

What are the variations from frame to frame? Is there a logical sequence like the S&W?

Guy B. Meredith

 

[Standing Wolf]

Hello, Guy!

What are the variations from frame to frame? Is there a logical sequence like the S&W?

I'm not an expert on revolver frames, but can assure you there's no "logical sequence" to anything from Colt! I'd be surprised to learn the company even stamped serial numbers in sequential order. I personally prefer Colt revolvers to Smith & Wessons, but the history of Colt revolvers is convoluted upon convoluted upon convoluted. The company seems to have thrived on exceptions.

Truth to tell, I'm not convinced there's a "logical sequence" to Smith & Wesson's frame designations, either.

If I were a firearms manufacturer, I'd start with the model 1, then make the model 2, then the model 3, and so forth—but what would I know?

 

[Mike Irwin]

"If I were a firearms manufacturer, I'd start with the model 1, then make the model 2, then the model 3, and so forth..."

Smith & Wesson did that with it's break-top revolvers.

The hand ejectors are/were, for the most part, logically laid out in frame sizes, with the exception of the M-frame...

As they originally were laid out...

I - small

J - a little larger

K - larger still

L - a little larger than the K in certain areas

N - largest

M - smallest

Why the M was tacked on at the tail end of the list, instead of being the H is beyond me.


S&W adopted the lettering system because numbers were already in use for the breaktops, and they apparently wanted to move to a new system with the hand ejectors.

What many people didn't realize until the 1950s, though, was that the hand ejectors HAD frame designations. They were for the most part used inside the company, while the guns each had model names.

 

[Tamara]

They're leaving an awful lot of room for interim frame sizes with their newest designator, too...