Hey guys! We all know the 4" bbl was standard on service revolvers for decades, but there were also departments and individuals who chose 6" bbl'd guns. This was pretty common back in the 20's-30's-40's era, but after a while you mostly saw 4" guns in the holsters of police officers etc.

However, even up until the switch to semi-auto pistols, there were units and individual officers who had 6" barreled revolvers. I've read in some places guns as large as Colt Pythons with 6" full-lug barrels, and S&W 586/686 with full-lug 6" bbls were used. I am wondering why they would have choose the larger gun over the smaller 4" guns. Also, do you know of any PD or individual officer who has a 6" revolver as there duty gun?

I love 6" guns myself, but I've often wondered if they would be at home in an officer's holster if they were willing to deal with the extra length and weight. What do think about this?

Thanks!

"Back in the day" I carried a 4" model 19. The 4" was the better barrel length for riding in the patrol car. There were a couple of officers who carried 6" revolvers who chose a swivel holster so they could swivel the holster forward and lay the gun flat on the car seat so you did not have the gun butt sticking up under your arm pit. The drawback was the holster would flop around if you had to get out of thecar and run or chase someone and the nickname for the swivel holster became "the nut buster".

Now - that said, also shooting PPC at the time the caviet was you had to shoot your "duty weapon". I would occassionally carry my 6" model 14 so I could claim it as a duty weapon and shoot it in PPC matches. I used a Don Hume border patrol holster for carry and match shooting.

When I did my original 120 at MSHP HQ in 1986, there were half a dozen officers carrying 6" barrels on various makes and models. One big ole' boy from a rural sheriff's department was carrying an 8". Can't remember the make. Most of the rest of us carried 4" barrels, me a 66-2 which I was able to buy when we transitioned to Glock.

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

My Dad carried a 6"Colt New Service in .357 magnum......w/ the swivel holster mentioned...1939- mid/late 60s......early years on an Indian Motorcycle....I seem to recall that the holster had a snap on each side of the swivel to lock it in a vertical position.....


I think the idea was to get the full power out of the original .357magnum round 158gr. going at about 1500fps.......to punch through car bodies and windshields......

By 1970 they had pretty much switched to 4" guns shooting the hot new Super-Vel or the "new" FBI load 158gr SWCHPs.

We've had many officers carrying 6-inch revolvers over the years. I've been on since 1979, and at various times I've personally used 6" versions of the 66, 28, and 686 in crossdraw holsters. At least one of our police chiefs carried a 6" Model 14 (I made a crossdraw holster for him when he was my lieutenant,) and two friends that retired in the last 5 years were still carrying 6's in crossdraws up to their last day.

I worked some banquets for the Fairmont
Hotel in Dallas while attending college in the early-mid 80s. I believe the M-66 was DPD issue and several of the bigger officers who worked the banquets packed 6".

I've seen LAPD officers in the past carrying 6" Model 14s. I know CHP had a Model 68 built for them, a 6" .38 clone of a 66.

My first S&W was a model 19, 6" I purchased when I was 18. Several years later it became my first duty gun, serving me for about 2 years before we transitioned to the 4" model 66. I don't remember the holster I used but it wasn't a swivel, and riding in the car never presented a problem at all. For the life of me I can't remember who I sold that revolver to but I sure would love to have it back.

I was on the job in a very large department and the mandated duty weapon was 4". 6" revolvers were not allowed.

Bob

6 inch guns are easier to shoot more accurately since they have a longer sight radius. They were easy to carry on horse/foot patrol.

Cops started using 4 inch barrels when they found that a 6 inch barrel in a car seat pushed the grips into the lower ribs. Some departments started using swivel holsters to alleviate this.

Ive known cops who stuck with the 6 inch barrel either because of the comfort level they had with the gun, or because they were on the police shooting team, and shot the 6 inch gun during competition because of the aforementioned sight radius. They figured it was better to carry the gun they shot competition with.

On a lot of smaller dept.s in my area it was carry what you could afford. I started in 1977 and had to supply my own handgun and gear. There was a mix of barrel lengths because of personal preferences. It wasn't until 1981 that we were issued dept. handgun and gear. A model 59 and Safariland leather. I carried a Model 28-2 6 inch in a Bianchi breakfront with .357 ammunition. Heavy for vehicle patrol and exhausting for an 8 hour foot patrol. When I could afford it I experimented with a 28 4 inch and a model 39-2. I kept going back to the 6 inch because I qualified higher with it each time. When I was hired by a neighboring county in 1985 they issued 6 and 4 inch 686's. Detectives could request 2 1/2 inch 686's. You could request to carry a personal firearm after you passed probation. Several of the real old timers carried Model 27 3 1/2 in Berns Martin holsters. Those guys had 25-35 years with the Sheriff's dept..

I carried a 6 1/2" S&W Mod 29, and later a 6 1/2" Mod 25-2, and a 6" Mod 25-2 as duty guns for many years. The Mod 25's were in 45 ACP.

Out of a six inch tube even the .38 special produces some potent numbers. A six inch .357 Magnum is pretty close to the ideal balance between carry and power. The introduction of the M58 in 4" in .41 Magnum was designed to offer the officer a step up in power from a shorter barrel.
From a shooting standpoint a 6" is the better "pointer" and this is unfortunately a secondary or tertiary consideration these days...it's all about the snubbie, shortie, super-compact(ie).
If a swivel holster makes it possible to carry a 6" revolver as comfortably as a 4" (in a car) then that would be my choice in revolvers.
Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it), a GREAT alternative for "power carry" is the Glock 20SF with 16 rounds of *****-busting 10mm at 750-800+ lb-ft of KE...no swivel holster needed.

That's true!

I carried a 4" revolver on the job a long time ago. That was the requirement. Now I shoot "Steel Matches" with a revolver & I only see 4" revolvers in competition. Other lengths are allowed but 4" seems to be quicker for the short shot. I have found the 6" barrel to be more accurate for the longer shots but most applications for police use, the 4" would serve better & more comfortable sitting in a patrol car for hours.

Our issued weapon was the four inch M15 & personal weapons were simply not permitted. Command officers (lieutenants & higher) & detectives were issued either a two inch M10 or one of the older Colt Detective Specials (as a newbie detective I got the old Colt).

I do remember the swivel holsters which were comfortable in the car but would beat the hell out of you when chasing someone on foot. Eventually the swivels were replaced with the Boarder Patrol style.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

I know for sure these guys carried 6" revolvers:

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US Army '72-'95