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Snub Nose .38 Revolver
Perhaps it’s my
generation, but the revolver has faded in popularity over the past few
decades. Having a total of five or six
rounds goes against everything we have been taught about self defense
guns. We are supposed to find a quality
polymer frame, striker fired semiautomatic with a higher
capacity, but as I’ve
matured I’ve learned how often my generation can learn from our elders.
The snub nose .38 revolver dominated the market for decades
for
undercover officers, plain clothes officers and armed citizens. Watch any police movie from the 70’s or 60’s
and you’re guaranteed to see cops with the snub nose
.38. The Colt Detective Special and the Smith and
Wesson Airweight are
legendary, but they have fallen out of popularity. 
Last summer, I was reminded of one of the most important
reliability factors about the snub nose: it works even at contact
distances. Push the muzzle of a
semiautomatic against a target and it may likely
malfunction, but a revolver is
going to work. Grit, grime, pocket lint
and other foreign debris can stop a semiautomatic from
working, but it probably
won’t even give a revolver a hiccup.
Reliability is the calling card for the revolver.
Concealability is perhaps what endears the snub nose to me
so much. When I’m off duty I don’t like
wearing all the “tactical” clothing.
You’re going to find me in hooded sweatshirts and jeans in the winter
and jeans and a
t-shirt in the summer. My
motorcycle is my most prized possession and my true passion in
life but it is
hard to hide the semiautomatic on my hip when my shirt is flapping in the
breeze. Appendix inside the
waistband
carry is fairly difficult for me as I’m riding as the gun tends to push me
right in the guts. I discovered I can
slip my
.38 (which is a Ruger LCR) into a small leather holster that in turn
slips into my right front pocket and no one else even knows it’s there. The holster blends the lines and the
snubby
doesn’t have much bulk which makes it very difficult to detect and very comfortable
to carry.
It’s true the .38 isn’t the most powerful round on the
market, but it also isn’t the least effective.
The
.38 has been used effectively for decades upon decades and was used
with great
lethality by Jim Cirillo and the Stake Out Squad in New York. It’s hard to argue with their results. With the average distance of a police
shooting being a matter of a few feet, the revolver is surprisingly fast and
accurate even if the double action trigger takes some getting used to.
The snub nose revolver may be old fashioned and may seem outdated
to some. There aren’t as many
“
tacticool” accessories available for the revolver, but I would be glad to trade
all the cool points for something that works when I need to. Plus, the revolver is fast, accurate,
lightweight and easy to conceal.
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