Poll..."Is a 3 inch revolver barrel a snubnose?"

[Allen-frame]

Technically it should be called a STUB nose revolver.
If you were to cut off your finger would you call it a snub?
Or a stub.
Waay back when the definition of a stub nose revolver was one with a
1" barrel. That was done by a gunsmith for ones pocket carry.
Somewhere along the line, probably in the Leftist media,
someone got it wrong and coined the phrase snub-nose,
and it stuck.
Just as the media has coined the phrase "Gunned down"
everyone knows to "gun someone down" is to hit them with
the butt of your rifle and put them down, not SHOOT them.
(Thanks to Col. Jeff Cooper for this clarification)

My definition of a stubby is a J frame with a 1 7/8ths inch barrel,
or a K frame with a 2"barrel as in model 15.
Just look at a model 15 2" and it becomes apparent.

A 2.5" OR 3" J or K frame Smith is a short barreled revolver.
The 3" N frames don't even come into play in the stubby description
because of their sheer physical size.
BUT, if one were to cut an N frames barrel off to 1",
I would definitely consider it a stub-nosed revolver.


A snub is a rejection of sorts as in to SNUB ones advances.
" I gave her my best lines, and she snubbed me."

This follows the lines of how we describe a blood type today.
There is type A, Type B, and type ZERO, a blood with no
markers in it. Somewhere along the line it became type 'O' .

We do many things to bastardize the English language and
the situation is not getting any better.

Rant over, just my opinion and a couple of facts.

Feeling pretty old today.
Allen Frame

 

[RdrBill]

I think it depends on the frame size. A 3-inch on an N-frame is a snub, on a J-frame it's not.

Yes, Plus 1
Bill@Yuma

 

[4inch357]

I think it depends on the frame size. A 3-inch on an N-frame is a snub, on a J-frame it's not.

Agreed, I was thinking the same thing as I read the comments.

 

[Hawkeye913]

One of my favorite pieces is the GP100 3". Technically, I suppose, it qualifies as a snubbie, but it sure does feel like a full-size revolver to me. In my opinion, if you can't stick it in your front pocket, it's not a snubbie.

 

[ballistic]

The frame size does have a big impact on how the revolver looks.
Here is how I see it.
N-frame: 3 inch or shorter yes. I call my 24-3 three inch my big snubbie
K-frame: 2.5 inch or shorter yes
J-frame: 2 inch or shorter yes. A three inch j-frame does not look that short.

Purely subjective, personal decision. Another example, a 3 inch Charter Arms Bulldog never looked like a sunbnose to me. More like a short barrel revolver.

 

[mtgianni]

I vote for under 3" as a snub, 3" and over is a no.

 

[cjw3]

K frame or smaller, I call under 3" a snub.

Larger frame.....snub doesn't seem to describe it. Just me, I guess.

 

[Erich]

2. Not a snub-nose.

 

[senecaap]

IMO to be a true snub, it has to be sub 3" and small/medium frame (J or K, Detective Spec., Charter, etcetc), and sporting a shorter than normal ejector. While my LH 24 does sport a 3" and a shorter ejector, I still have trouble classifying it a snub nose (I qualify it as totally bad@##!) due to the large frame size. If you want a true snub large frame revolver, look at the Fritz Specials with shortened barrels AND chopped grip frames.

 

[TDC]

The frame size does have a big impact on how the revolver looks.
Here is how I see it.
N-frame: 3 inch or shorter yes. I call my 24-3 three inch my big snubbie
K-frame: 2.5 inch or shorter yes
J-frame: 2 inch or shorter yes. A three inch j-frame does not look that short.

Purely subjective, personal decision. Another example, a 3 inch Charter Arms Bulldog never looked like a sunbnose to me. More like a short barrel revolver.

+1.... Hmmmmm. But if we go by frame size would that make a 4" X frame a rather voluptuous snubbie?

 

[Casehardn]

My vote is for anything under 3 inches.

Then again, with many things in life it might depend on the size of the guy using it. If your 6'6" and 250 lbs, a 4 inch gun may seem like a snubby.
LOL.

 

[kennyb]

yep...i have several large bore 3inchers...i would call em a snub

 

[rollin_hot]

snub

Yes without a doubt.

 

[vytoland]

two and a half inch barrel or less is a snub nose revolver.

 

[Beachcomber]

In my opinion... a snub nose revolver would be determined by the length of its barrel and the size of the revolver frame. Together the barrel length and the frame size should make for a nicely balanced, short barreled revolver that is capable of rapid deployment in close quarters.


Along those lines... To me a "snub nose" revolver is:

... a J-frame size revolver with a 2" barrel length or less.

... a K-frames size revolver with a 2-1/2" barrel length or less.

... a N-frame size revolver with a 3" barrel length or less.



---
The good thing about my opinion is that it's free! So if you don't agree with it... you didn't loose anything other than the time it took you to read it!

 

[haggis]

I think it has to do with the length of the ejector rod. If it's shorter than that on a "standard" gun, it's a snub nose. You could arbitrarily pick 4" ans a standard barrel. Or you could start with the longest barrel on a particular frame size, measure the ejector rod length, and continue through shorter barrels until the ejector length decreases significantly - that barrel length is a snubnose.

Or, pick your own criteria... you know what they say about opinions.

Buck

 

[feralmerril]

Well, maybe. When 3" barrels first started to get popular I didnt like them! It kinda was like is it fish or fowl? To tell the truth, to me a 4" model 19 looked just right. I bought the best of the best, a one of 300 from the PC center 66-3 3". It has the trilijon night sights and is ported. What made me want it was all the bells and whistels that just hollered, this is the ultimate gun fighting handgun! We left nothing off it that we could think of with that in mind! I paid the very most I ever paid for a handgun up to that time! It wasnt even NIB, but almost. I still think it looks a little stubby and almost wish it had at least another 3/4" barrel. After all, I could really carry a 4" in the holster as easy. But, I will keep her untill I get senile.

 

[Nedroe]

3" NO......

2-1/2" and under, yes.




Ned

 

[semperfi71]

Great posts and thoughts here. Thanks.

I got to thinking about this because I have downloaded a TON of S&W revolver pics from here and elsewhere. As such I had a category labeled "Snubs" which was essentially K-frames 3 inches and under and all J-Frames. Then I changed things around and went into my ".38 Special K-Frame" pics file and created a "Snubs" in there for 3 inchers and under and took the original "Snubs" and made it into "J-frames".

Of course everything not J-Frame in that category had to go into other files.

As you can see I have LOT of time on my "retired" hands. Plus I'm dizzy as heck.

Another good thing is that we have had no responses from our lady friends here and probably don't want any...I don't think us guys want to know what THEY think a SNUB is............

 

[rickyboy]

No. A snubnose is 2" or less.