WHAAAAAATT?? No love for longbarrels?? That's a bald-faced lie, perpetrated by the Womens' Snubnose Shooting Society because the 8+" barrels wouldn't fit in a typical sized purse....

Here are a few of my friends - you could call the older ones a little "long in the tube". These get regular trips to the woods to stretch their legs at 50+ yards. Of course, the 10 5/8" M29's are my CCW's : ) It just takes a while to cross-draw 'em out of my dual ankle holsters. But even though they're a little porky in the weight dep't, I've never kicked em out of bed for eating crackers....Besides, when you run out of ammo they make fantastic billy clubs, too....Don't try that with a Model 36.

The first time you ring a steel gong at 100 yds with a 29-3 silhouette, or any 8 3/8", it just sticks with you, along with the stupid new permanent grin on your face. It's like this...."KA-POW!!!!.....wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it...."Bonnnngg!!!" And then you realize you can ring that gong again...and again....and it wasn't just a lucky shot or a fluke. Yeah they're just that spooky accurate and shootable.

My very first S&W revolver ever was an 8 3/8" 27-2 I bought brand new, long ago. I was just a young kid with very little firearms knowledge, but the insanely sweet bluing and glossy figured grips were simply mesmerizing, and the tapered barrel made it handle beautifully despite the long barrel. I couldn't deny that I was hopelessly in lust, and it followed me home for somewhere around $400. The very first 9 rounds of 357 magnum out of that gun went into a ragged clover leaf at 20 yards at a local indoor range. When I brought the target back I stared at it in amazement with my jaw on the floor. My buddy in the lane next to me was spraying 4" patterns at 8 yards out of his beat up model 37. I developed a huge appreciation for the longbarrels, and after several outdoor shoots, I just began to collect as many minty ones as I came across. The less desirable others think they are, the more for me, I say!

Guns with different barrel lenths are simply different tools for different jobs. If you have no use for a longbarrel, then maybe you need a new hobby or two, and an excuse to get some new tools.... : )

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