
38 centerfire cartridges its cylinder length is 1¼ inches. 22 Long Rifle rimfire and the rather anemic. It was advertised as "for easy carrying and quick access – especially adapted for use by bank employees, and others whose primary requirement is for a Revolver of small size, all around dependability and absolute safety. Colt introduced the Banker's Special Model Revolver with 2-inch barrel, a version of the Police Positive 38 series, in 1928. So-called snubnose revolvers, most often with 2-inch (or something close to that) barrels, dominated the pistols carried by law enforcement "plainclothes dicks" for a quarter century from 1930 to 1955. Today, among armed professionals they most often see service as backups to heavier, large-caliber pistols or as so-called "kit guns" to backpackers, fishermen and campers. The spate of concealed carry legislation throughout the country in recent years has increased the demand for reliable, small, lightweight, easily concealed revolvers. And, for those who care (such as government-sanctioned covert operators), no brass is left on the ground to tell any tales.ĭesigned to be an inexpensive version of the Detective Special, the Colt's Lightweight Agent had an ejector shroud added, but sales continued to spiral downward. Revolvers can be had in very small, compact envelopes. Revolvers are less ammunition-sensitive than semiautomatics.

For the novice, a revolver remains by far the best choice as there is never a chance of a round being left in the chamber after a magazine has been removed.Īnd there are usually no manual safety mechanisms that must be manipulated. Ammunition can be stored for a long, long time in a revolver's cylinder.Ī semiautomatic pistol's magazine follower spring will take a set if not periodically relieved of its ammunition load. In the incredibly rare instance that a round fails to fire, just pulling the trigger will rotate another round into the firing position.

I still frequently carry a Smith & Wesson J-frame revolver in one variant or another as backup to a larger pistol, or sometimes only that with speedloaders. They still have their aficionados and lethal applications. Double-action revolvers are a long way from moribund.
