The all important sixth shot

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Depends on how big the pocket is and how big the hole in the barrel. S&W made a 6 shot .32, but its smallest 6 shot .38 Special was a K frame with a 2-inch barrel. At present, I believe S&W uses its medium frame (L) frame for all its 6 shot .38/.357 revolvers.

Ruger makes a six shot .357 but it is a bit larger than the Colt DS/Cobra.

The question reminds me of a customer at the shop where I worked. To the chagrin of my boss ("don't argue, sell the %&^%* what he wants") I sometimes let my smart mouth get away from me. The man said he preferred the small Colt to the S&W because the S&W held only 5 rounds, and asked "What if there are six of them?" He kept saying that until I finally asked, "What if there are seven of them?" He didn't say anything for about two minutes, then bought the Colt.

Jim
 
Howdy

The S&W J frame is only large enough accommodate five 38 caliber chambers. Even though the cylinder is longer than the old five shot Top Break Smiths, guns such as the five shot Model 36 (also known as the Chief's Special) are roughly the same size as the old five shot 38 caliber Top Break pocket pistols.

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The Model 36 with a 1 7/8" barrel fits quite comfortably in a pants pocket.

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The Colt Detective Special had a slightly larger diameter cylinder to accommodate six 38 Special cartridges. It was built on the same size frame as the Colt Police Positive Special. Since the cylinder is larger in diameter to accommodate six cartridges, it is a bit bulkier in a pocket, but it will still fit reasonably comfortably into a pants pocket.


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In order to accommodate six 38 caliber cartridges in a Smith one had to jump up to the K frame. The cylinder is slightly larger in diameter than the Colt Detective Special cylinder, so the gun is a bit bulkier. Even with a 2" barrel, a standard K frame square butt makes the gun really too big to comfortably carry in a pants pocket.


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I keep meaning to take a photo comparing the sizes of all these revolvers, gotta do that one of these days.


The old standard, the Model 10, as well as most of the other six shot 38 caliber Smiths are still built on the K frame.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Category4_750001_750051_757769_-1_757767_757751_image#http%3A%2F%2Fwww.smith-wesson.com%2Fwebapp%2Fwcs%2Fstores%2Fservlet%2FCategoryOnlyResultsDisplayView%3FpageSize%3D16%26pageView%3Dimage%26catalogId%3D750051%26top_category%3D757751%26parent_category_rn%3D757767%26beginIndex%3D16%26categoryId%3D757769%26categoryId%3D757769%26langId%3D-1%26storeId%3D750001%26filterResults%3D%26useFilter%3D%26identifier%3D1360210235962
 
Nice picks of snubbies

Another Colt snub in the Colt DS "Family" was the Cobra

NOte: I've read some of these Colt .38 Special should not use +P ammo.

R-
 
Since the OP didn't mention caliber, consider the new guns chambered for .327 Federal, that's one way to pick up the extra round.
 
Driftwood, those are some neat old guns. Thanks for showing them off. Too bad those Colts are out of production.

I didn't know about the Taurus/Rossi/Charter offerings. I have my concerns about their quality though.

I mentioned the .38 specifically because I have no interest in going any smaller than that. .327 Federal Magnum had some possibilities, but it seems to be dying out.
 
I carry either a Colt Cobra or an Agent. The cylinder of the 6 shot Colt is 1/10" inch larger than the J frame 5 shot Smith. It's not enough more bulk for you or anyone else to notice. Buy a Colt.:)
 
The 'all important' shot is the FIRST shot.

As for six shot snubbies...

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A few of mine. Missing is my Colt DS, Cobra, and Bankers.

Deaf
 
Sergei Mosin said:
I didn't know about the Taurus/Rossi/Charter offerings. I have my concerns about their quality though.

I mentioned the .38 specifically because I have no interest in going any smaller than that. .327 Federal Magnum had some possibilities, but it seems to be dying out.
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I agree with your concerns with the Taurus and Rossi revolvers but the Charter Arms revolvers are a different story. For a good long while Charter Arms; quality was questionable at best, especially during the Charter Arms 2000 days. Now that Charter Arms is back in it's original hands and the Ecker family is again part of Charter Arms their quality and innovation is back. It's a good company and back on the right track. (IMO of course)
 
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The crossbar safety was invented at Charter Arms and given to the rest of the industry

The "cross bar safety", actually the transfer bar safety-ignition system was invented by Iver Johnson in the early 1900's as the "Hammer the Hammer" safety feature.

The modern version was introduced by Colt Firearms on the 1969 Mark III series.
 
Charter Arms makes the Police Undercover which is a 6 round 20oz J frame size revolver. It's a very good revolver IMO.
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The Police Undercover is on my "to get" list.

I have the Mag Pug .357 (5-shot .357, but same exact size), but would much rather have a 6-shooter .38 made on the same frame, since .38 is really all I normally shoot through my Pug. In addition, the Police Undercover doesn't have the ported barrel of the Mag Pug. I'm not too keen on that ported barrel because it spits powder back at me, especially when shooting .357.
 
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Detective Special is about as good as it gets for .38 Special in the pocket for me. Cobra or Agent would be lighter, but I've never owned or shot one so I can't really comment on them. This K-Frame S&W Model 12 is actually lighter than the Detective Special, but larger enough that it won't fit completely in many pockets but some slacks with a lot of room and in the inside pocket of two of my jackets. Although I don't own a J-Frame, I can't say that the difference between 5 or 6 six shots alone would cause me much concern.
 

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The 12 is not a pocket gun unless you are Dwayne "the Rock" and you are wearing cargo pants.

The 12 is, however, a fantastic carry revolver that shoots as well as its steel model 10 counterpart; I love mine. The narrow grip frame actually works better with a J-sized Tyler t adaptor than the same company's K-sized t-grip. It's one of the most concealable K frames.

But it's no J.
 
S&W use to make guns with the 32 Winchester 32-20 round (up until the 1930's) which was more powerful then the 38.sp but everyone wanted the 38 for some odd reason and why we have it today and not the 32 Winchester.
 
Ruger makes a six shot .357 but it is a bit larger than the Colt DS/Cobra.
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A bit larger than the DS/Cobra? I'd say the GP-100 or the Speed/Service Six's are more than a "bit" larger. The "six" series guns are roughly K frame size, and the GP's are about the size of an L frame.

If you're thinking of the SP-101 which is pretty close in size to the DS/Cobra... that's a 5 shot.
 
DS pocket carries very nicely. I find Mod 10 a bit bulky and heavy for pocket carry. 642 carries nicely, but 5 shots and snappy recoil. Cobra is light, but the alloy is of dubious durability.
 
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