Is a 44MAG to big in a snubby?

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Hammer

Single-Sixer
Joined
Oct 1, 2006
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231
.

More commonly carry a full-size Gov't 1911 as my concealed gun, but the 44 S&W snubbies work too. Little difficult to get a full 1300 fps from Keith's in the 2 or 3-inch models.

Don't recommend the N-frame Smith for ankle holsters.

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yankee7809

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Jan 17, 2005
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Powell,TN,USA
I'm really wanting a 3" 624 or 629 snubby but they are just hard as the dickins to find when you have the change to let go of for one.
I agree however that a 1911 seems easier to pack then a 3" "N" frame. Just the bulker wider revolver frame, I guess.
 

Sonnytoo

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florida
I like a .357-sized gun, perhaps a j-mag frame, or a sp01. I have larger guns, snubs in L-frame and N-frame. They're too large for me to carry concealed easily. They're large and they're heavy. Not what I want to haul around with me every day. I usually carry a 640-1 smith .357, but I like Rugers also. I had a Sp101; didn't feel it carried easily like the Smith.
Sonnytoo
 

medicdave

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Feb 19, 2009
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Maine
N-frames are to big for me to everyday conceal comfortably. I usually pocket carry a 640-1, or belt carry a Smith 696. Why not a L frame 44 special? The 696's are a little hard to find, but the new 396 nightguards aren't. No reason to carry a N frame for 44 specials unless you really like the gun. My 696 is VERY controlable and if I need more than five shots from either the 640 or the 696, I really shouldn't have been there in the first place.
 

Bucks Owin

Hunter
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Mar 22, 2004
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51st state of Jefferson
Cholo":ygqd1nh5 said:
What do you shoot now with accuracy? You have tried and can shoot a .44 mag snubbie with accuracy...right? No sense making a lot of racket when the safest place to be is what we're shooting at... :wink:
:lol: See avatar for my view on barrel length! JMO, but I regard hellblaster cartridges in derringer length barrels as being mostly noise and flash. (and recoil!) :roll: I like some sight radius and velocity and prefer "hand rifles" compared to most folks I guess. 5.5" is my "short" sixgun and 7.5+" floats my boatjust fine... :oops: Just me, Dennis (BTW, I'm not talking a "social sixgun" here. Those can be short, altho' a 6" M19 works for me :wink: )
 

OldNavy

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Dec 30, 2005
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151
Location
Pensacola, FL, USA
Both my daughter and I have .44 Mag Alaskans. She uses hers as a "purse" gun loaded with 200 Gr. lead flat point Cowboy Loads. Her purse has an over-the-shoulder strap to handle the weight and has plenty of room for the Alakan, reloads, and other necessities.
My chosen mode of concealed carry is in an inside the waistband holster. The problem with IWB carry with a six-shot .44 is the cylinder width and weight of the steel frame. With an outside the waistband holster, these two issues are much less. Until I get it figured out, my most common carry is a 3" or 4" Ruger GP100 (.357 Mag--since you can not longer make a caliber assumption) with the full sized old style factory grips.
 

Driftwood Johnson

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Land of the Pilgrims
Howdy

The whole point of concealed carry is concealment. Have you ever tried to conceal a large frame revolver, even if it has a short barrel?

Here is a photo that may help you understand the differences in sizes of the three principal frame sizes for S&W revolvers. At the top is a Model 27, the original large frame 357 Magnum revolver, built on S&W's N frame. A short barreled S&W 44 or 45 will be on the same frame, the barrel will just be shorter. The middle gun is a classic 4" S&W Model 10, built on the K frame. This is the standard size S&W uses for 38 Special revolvers and many 357 Magnum revolvers are now built on this frame size too. At the bottom is a J frame Model 36, also known as the Chief's Special. The Model 36 is built on a frame originally intended for 32 caliber revolvers, so the cylinder is not big enough for six 38 caliber chambers, it is only a five shot gun. S&W currently catalogs a whole bunch of revolvers built on the J frame and chambered for 357 Mag, but frankly, a J frame gun is much too small and lightweight for this cowboy to want to fire 357 Mags out of it. 38s are fine, but not 357 in a J frame for this cowboy.


3_frames.jpg


My choice for a good concealed carry gun is my Model 36. Five 38 Specials should be enough in a tight spot.

Model36.jpg


The Colt Detective Special is a slightly larger gun than the S&W Model 36, its cylinder is large enough for six 38 Special rounds. Unfortunately, it has been out of production for a long time.

IMG_0563.jpg
 

Snake45

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Driftwood Johnson":3sbgsa1t said:
Here is a photo that may help you understand the differences in sizes of the three principal frame sizes for S&W revolvers.
Outstanding! And yet even that wonderful photo doesn't convey the difference in "fatness" between the N, K, and J cylinders. :wink:

An N Smith is one thick puppy!
 

wapari

Bearcat
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Oct 10, 2008
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OBX North Carolina
Big gun=Big trouble. You not only have to worry about your target, you have to worry about what's behind your target. And what if you miss? You can "do the job" but also hurt people in the next house. I believe it's called collateral damage. In the woods it's a different story. The gun size for carry does not matter. Nothing less than a .357 or .45 is my guess.
 

Wild Bill '67

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Feb 13, 2006
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Central Illinois
Snake45":2lxahdbc said:
Driftwood Johnson":2lxahdbc said:
Here is a photo that may help you understand the differences in sizes of the three principal frame sizes for S&W revolvers.
Outstanding! And yet even that wonderful photo doesn't convey the difference in "fatness" between the N, K, and J cylinders. :wink:

An N Smith is one thick puppy!

Exactly.

The "N" frame S&W or one of its counterparts leaves a fairly distinctive outline due to the thickness of the cylinder regardless of barrel length. A full size 1911 leaves less of a signature than a snubbie N frame unless you are talking wearing a shoulder rig.

Thickness is one advantage that the big bore autos in 40, 10mm and 45s have over their 41, 44 mag / spec and 45 wheelgun rivals.

S&W did market a limited variety of 44 special 5 shot snubbies on their "L" frame. That could be a viable compromise.
 
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