When did policemen stop carry 6 inch .38 Colt or S&W revolvers?

[Doug.38PR]

When did police departments, or policemen themselves, start opting for the 4 inch barrel .38 over the 6 inch barrel? (of course there were some out there who would opt for the 6 inch .357 or .44 magnum well into the 1990s) but I am talking about the standard .38 special revolver.

 

[roscoe]

I think they carried 4" revolvers more often than 6". Those long barrels seem cumbersome.

 

[Deanimator]

Most PDs stopped carrying 6" guns in the '40s and '50s. The LAPD was still carrying 6" K-38s in the '60s. These were shown on the series "Adam 12".

 

[ZeSpectre]

According to dad (who was a NY state trooper) the 6" got a lot less popular as lap and shoulder belt use in the cruisers became mandatory. Don't know if there's any fact to that but it was his claim.

I never carried anything longer than 4".

 

[Doug.38PR]

It seems like the trend was, in general, they went from 6 inch .38s or 4 inch to 4 inch .38s only to 9mm autos to .40 S&W autos

 

[lwrnc1963]

When cops stopped walking beats and went to patrol cars the longer barrels started riding up when they sat on the car seats, hence the switch.

 

[Confederate]

We still carry 'em here in Mayberry...sniff....


Barney

 

[GungHo]

Considering that you only get one bullet, you might want to consider a T/C in .308.

 

[The Undertoad]

Until 1996 in my city they carried 4" IIRC, S&W K-frame .38spl's.

 

[bakert]

I think also that some small cities that used 4" revolvers allowed individual officers to carry the 6" if they prefered it as some did.

 

[Croyance]

Bill Jordan mentions the squad car as being the factor in going with the 4" barrel.