What makes a "snubby" ?

[twistedracer]

Do we automatically classify our revolvers as snubbies at 3" or less or do we also factor in frame size?

 

[iLikeOldGunsIlikeNewGuns]

I don't know the 'official' answer, but I love the look of a 3" or less N-frame! I consider them "Monster-snubbies"

 

[stmry]

I would categorize it as 2.5" or less. 3" is short, but not snub. I have been known to not know what I'm talking about though.

 

[twistedracer]

I agree, my 3" N frame looks like one big snubby. But my 3" L frame just doesn't seem to.

 

[mike from st pete]

Snubby

Less than 2 inch barrel.
Anything else, over 2 inch is just short barreled. I prefer 3 inch for a "combat" revolver. Especially if 357MAG.

 

[Andy Taylor]

Some do and some don't.
Is a 3" J frame a snubby?
Is a 3" K/L frame a snubby?
Is a 3" N frame a snubby?

Well I have, and carry, a 3" Ruger SP101 that I do not consider a snubby. However I also have a 3" M625 that I do consider a snubby. I know some people consider the 3.5" M27 to be a snubby.

I know that others have different thoughts on those same guns.

 

[twistedracer]

Well my 642 is a definite snubby being less than 2". But if you watered it, and gave it plenty of sunshine, proportionally a 3" N frame should qualify.

 

[USAF385]

3" is too long for snubby in my opinion.. but I'd consider it the be the cutoff. Nothing over 3". I have an Astra .44 Mag with a 2 3/4" barrel and a model 60 with a 3" barrel... I don't consider those a snub. The Astra sort of looks like one, but when I factor in the over all length... it just doesn't do it for me.

 

[G.T. Smith]

When I was a kid in the 50's, we called them, "stub" nosed revolvers. Probably because the barrel looked more like a "stub", than an actual barrel. I consider my 1 7/8" M37 to be a snub or stub. I guess if you were used to a 8 3/8" revolver, a 3" would seem pretty darn short. Kinda like driving a VW beetle for a few years, the getting behind the wheel of a '67 Buick Electra 225.
Pray for our country,
Gordon

 

[Stu454]

The larger the frame the longer the barrel can be and still qualify as a snub, IMO.

e.g.: a 3" or less N frame, 2.5" or less L or K frame, and of course the 1 7/8" J frames.

 

[twistedracer]

Stu454 I'm with you on that. It's all about proportion.

 

[moosedog]

Traditionally the term "snub nosed revolvers" applied to revolvers that were 2 inch or less, from the 1930s on up.
S&Ws actual 2 incher was 1 7/8th inch. Close enough.

 

[fyimo]

I consider 2.5 or less in barrel length to be what I consider a snub nose and I certainly don't consider my 3.5 inch barreled Model 27-2 to be a snub nose.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

2.5" or less qualifies as a snub for me.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

continued...

and sometimes 2 5/8"

 

[7shooter]

" The Snubby Revolver " ( page 15 of the second edition 2007 ) by Ed Lovette defined the snubby revolver as " ... any five- or six shot double-action revolver of caliber .38 Special or greater, with a barrel no longer than 2 1/2 inches and weighing 30 ounces or less. "

Excellent book .

 

[SgtSam]

Compared to my Savage 25-06 rifle, my 8-3/8" M27 looks like a snubby! Just kidding!

The snubby/stubby question (what is a it) has never formally been established that I could ever find. So, I think I have to go with the "traditional" view point; 2" or shorter.

I don't think you can add caliber, as the subject is mainly the size of the barrel, and secondarily the bulk of the gun. A snubby is supposed to small and easily worn or dumped in a pocket. Any 2" 5 or 6 shot revolver of J or K frame proportions would most likely qualify. L frame size is borderline.

Sorry, but N frame size is just too bulky to qualify. Not that they aren't practical, or useful, or whatever you might call them. They are short barreled "big" guns. Would you call a sawed off shotgun a snubby. I've seen them sawed off to about 6" of barrel past the end of the shell, with the stock shorted to the end of the pistol grip. Definitely a "short" shotgun, some might even call it a snubby shotgun. But it's just a short one (illegal as well, but not when I held it, a long time ago).

Of course, this is just my opinion, and a few others that I know, but it doesn't make it "law". It certainly is entertaining to jawbone about it though.

Just my $0.02 worth of gasoline to add to this fire!

 

[CigarGuy]

Good thread. Thanks for asking. I've always wondered..

 

[twistedracer]

Just more logs on the fire. I'm 5'7" 160 lbs the 3" nframe is quite large on me. No someone 6'3" 250 lbs could probably drop it in his pocket.

 

[senecaap]

Its proportional to size. To me my 3" 24 and a 2.5" 19 look identical, just scaled down for size.
N frame: 3"
K&L Frame: 2.5" is pushing the boundary but still snub.
J frame: sub 2"

For an N frame the 3.5" 27 are what I would classify as a "Combat" length, as is a K frame 3". A 3" J is just an odd duck.