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While participation in SG² is open to all revolver enthusiasts, regardless of barrel length, we thought it would be fun to discuss what people consider a snub gun, also known as a snubby revolver.
Back when revolvers ruled the roost, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department posted the ten top-scoring shooters in the quarterly "qualifications" by category of gun. Revolvers were divided into 4" or longer and less than four inches.
There's probably no argument that the quintessential American snub gun is a revolver with a nominally 2" barrel. "Nominally" because such barrels range from the 1.875" barrels on guns such as S&W's Chief Special to 2.25" on Ruger's shorter SP101s.
Some people argue for including barrel lengths up to 2.5 inches. This may be based on the fact that S&W's introduction of the 2.5" Model 19 and subsequent 2.5" Model 66 resulted in acceptance of that barrel length as a snub gun in PPC competition. For whatever it's worth:
Back when the privately operated National Law Enforcement Training Center was developing its system of handgun retention, it was noted that, while a 2" barrel pretty much denied a disarmer any practical leverage, the extra half inch was enough to shift the equation.
In the mid 1970's, FBI briefly issued S&W Model 10 revolvers with 2.5" barrels. They were unpopular with agents because of the short throw of the extractor rod and because, with their short sight radius, it was difficult to get a sharp sight picture with them in low light. They were subsequently replaced with 3" Model 13 revolvers, which remained the standard duty guns until the transition to autoloaders.
A few years ago, S&W offered some of their J-frame revolvers with 2.5" barrels. They must not have been very popular as they seem to have been dropped from the lineup.
Whoever wrote the article for Wikipedia describes a snubnosed revolver as having "a short barrel, which is generally 3 inches or less in length.'" On the revolverguy.com blog, Mike Wood, making an analogy to pistol terminology, has argued that medium and large frame revolvers with 3" barrels are more accurately described as "compact service revolvers". As noted above, the last revolver issued by the FBI had a 3" barrel. Starting in 1987, up to the transition to autoloaders, NYPD recruits were encouraged to break from the tradition of carrying a 4" revolver in uniform and a 2” revolver off duty or in plainclothes. They were offered, as an alternative to encourage carry of the same gun on or off duty - a choice between a 3" S&W Model 10 or a 2.75" Ruger Speed Six – nominally a 3" gun.
And there are undoubtedly a few people who consider S&W's original, N-frame .357 Magnum revolver with the shortest barrel length of 3.5" to be a snubby.
What say you?
Share your thoughts with us at snubgunstudygroup@protonmail.com and learn more about getting involved here.
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