Model 36, Detective Special or Model 10 snubs?? What's Your Favorite??

[Old_Cop]

Targets Guy your Cobra has been there, done that, has the t shirt and coffee cup. It looks like the guns that dicks carried when I went on the job in 1975. I'm a S&W guy, chiefs for off duty, M64 2" for plain clothes.

 

[Green Frog]

I have a Model 10-5 snub and a Baby Chief. If I need to carry concealed, I really think the better concealment outweighs the one additional round. If I didn't already have the Model 10, I don't think I would go out and buy one. in fact I'm really not too sure why I bought the one I have... I set it up with a bobbed hammer and great trigger, but I have yet to ever actually carry it after owning it for over 20 years! I won't put Baby in a corner.

Froggie

 

[VaTom]

How about the 2” model 64? That’s my favorite. I’d pick that over the DS, 10 or 36!

Retired now. When working I chose the 64 2" over a Model 60. When we went to Gloks carried a Model 23 concealed. Carry a Shield 9 or the 64 now.

 

[SA1911]

In 1974 I, along w/two other cops, engaged three armed robbers while carrying my issued Colt Detective Special and survived the incident w/one suspect dead, another under arrest and the third man arrested the following day at a hospital getting treatment for a gunshot wound. During my career I survived a total of three deadly force incidents armed w/my issued thirty-eight. I still carry my 340PD in retirement but a modern auto loader makes sense for today’s LEOs.

Thank God you're getting retirement checks. You deserve every single cent and a lot more.

 

[Kframerbluvr]

My ‘49 2” RB M&P fits my hand best and has the best DA trigger of all of my snub .38s. ‘75 Colt DS groups and fits my hand well but suffers from a barrel that is not TDC and the non serrated front sight plays heck with my old eyes.
The only snub I routinely carry is a 442-2 as a pocket gun when my back cannot tolerate a belt gun.
They all have their pluses and minuses.
I am still kicking myself for not picking up one of the surplus VA DOC 2” M64s that were issued to wardens and hardly carried.

 

[ShivasIrons]

I kind of agree with the above, "Never seen a snub I didn't like". I have settled on a J Frame, lightweight, 6 round, 32 H&R Magnum. More power than the 38, 6 rounds, lighter weight, what more could I want?



431PD and 432PD.

I have been on the lookout for one of these!

 

[Grayfox]

I own a couple of J-frame .38s and even carry one occasionally. However, I've never really liked them that much. They are just too small for me to shoot well. It'll do for close range self defense, but that's about it.

I have a 1974 3rd Issue DS which was my first legal carry gun. I love it! Easy to carry and conceal, six rounds and shoots great. Frankly, I never really cared for the earlier Colts with their exposed ejector rod hanging out in the wind there. Always seemed like a weak point to me, just begging to get bent. However, I've never heard of that being a problem. So I guess its just me. I do consider the 3rd Issue DS and later similar guns to be the ideal snub. Unfortunately, I don't carry it anymore simply because its now worth too much.

I also own a 2" Model 10 and its head and shoulders above any J-frame. Easy to carry and shoots much, much better. However, if I'm gonna carry a K-frame, I'll go with a 3" barrel. A little more barrel and sight radius along with a full length ejector rod. And its just as easy to carry as a 2". IMHO, the 3" K-frame is the perfect carry revolver.

 

[Bobbysixkiller]

Model 10 gets my vote. My 36 just doesn’t fit my hand.

 

[les.b]

Well, I gave you all "likes" because you are all correct!! Whatever gun you like best and can handle best, and which performs best for you is the "best" gun for you.

I have most of the guns that you guys talk about... But I mostly pocket carry my 340 PD. But sometimes I carry one of my Co,ts, a DS, an Agent, or the Cobra. And sometimes I carry my pre model 10, a 1949 snub M&P. Sometimes I carry my 649-1 Pro Series. And I could go on. But day to day, it's the 340 PD.

Best Regards, Les

 

[Doc TH]

S&W vs Colt DS

Lots of opinions here, and they all make sense. in one way or another
Like my 640, a bit weighty but easy to shoot +P or even .357 mag & no hammer spur issues. Have never been thrilled w. 2 inch barrel K frames, but the Model 13 3 inch barrel is another story...it is superb!

 

[Old cop]

Re: Post #19 my Cobra was purchased new in 1968 as my first off duty gun for $85.

 

[Mzuri]

I have a pre-10 snubby that I love but don't carry because I don't want to damage it. I have a 12 that shoots well, is light and convenient and I feel like I ought to carry it. I have a 36 that I bought because it just seems wrong not to have a J-frame, but I find it difficult to shoot effectively. Have never even handled, much less shot a DS. And as much as I love my revolvers, in practice I tend to carry an LCP to which I feel no emotional attachment at all.

 

[hanksnow]

Well here is a good comparison shot of the 3 sizes; J cobra and K. I can't say anything that hasn't already been said about them. I do agree with you on the point of just buying all of them! (purely from a historical preservation point of view) But practically speaking the ugly one next to the model 12 in the 2nd picture could be the modern version of a snubby.

 

[Kframerbluvr]

Well here is a good comparison shot of the 3 sizes; J cobra and K. I can't say anything that hasn't already been said about them. I do agree with you on the point of just buying all of them! (purely from a historical preservation point of view) But practically speaking the ugly one next to the model 12 in the 2nd picture could be the modern version of a snubby.

The Glock 26/27 does fine as a belt gun but decidedly inferior as a pocket piece. In my view, it doesn’t completely replace the snub .38.
My work revoked all permission to carry anything off duty that wasn’t a Glock many years ago. Finally got a regular CWP which enables me to carry any legal handgun when off the clock. I immediately bought a new 442-2 to pocket carry when a belt gun was not practical.

 

[rkittine]

I prefer the 36 or 60 over the DS.

Bob

 

[yep380]

When I think snubby, I think Model 36. It is, in my opinion, the quintessential snub. It's just the right weight, size and capacity. I can target shoot 100 rounds through it and not feel beat up, and I can carry it in my pocket and not feel under-gunned. As far as draw from the pocket goes, it's about training; thumb over the hammer on the draw and you're good-to-go.

I owned a Model 10 for a short period of time. Great gun, but too big for pocket carry.

I don't think there is a better looking gun than a S&W Model 36.

Here's mine, I believe it's from around '76.

 

[LJBrennan007]

I have carried J-frames for about 40 years. M60's, M36's, more recently an M38 (lightweight, shrouded hammer, LOVE that gun). BUT, they all sit in the safe since I acquired my Kimber K6S last year. I have posted here before that until you try the trigger on this gun you won't believe it possible to be as good as it is. Yeah, the gun is SLIGHTLY heavier and slightly larger than a J-frame, but is the same size as a DS (which I also have and like a lot), but it holds 6 .357 rounds. If there is one downside to this gun it is that grips and holsters are not as available as for the Smiths and Colts, but I like the stock grips anyway and getting a custom holster was not big deal. ETW holsters

 

[Der Verminator]

Alright, so I've been wondering for some time now why people always compare the Model 36 and the Detective Special instead 9f the Model 10 snub and DS? My guess is because the Model 10 is a little harder to hide than the 36 or DS.

Oh gosh.

You still haven't found the best.

 

[Gary1911A1]

I'm a Detective Special and Cobra Man myself. Just big enough to shoot better than any J Frame, but smaller than any K Frame for conceal carry. These days both are in the safe and I carry a Glock 43 in a pocket holster as rationally it makes more sense. Kind of sad though.

 

[TomkinsSP]

My SB M36 is significant to me for very personal reasons. My 2" M10-5 is a beauty, a sweet shooter, with all due respect to SA1911 it's a three double tap gun.

I am a Smith guy, so not surprisingly the Agent and DS I found in my travels have been traded away to a rabid Colt afficianado for lovely K frames.

I understand that limited supplies drive Colt prices up. And while I don't like them quite as much as Smith's, they are fine firearms. But that premium so many attach to thier value means that any others I stumble over are not likely to become family heirlooms.