Grant Cunningham - Gun Digests Snub Nose Revolver Concealed Carry eShort

Snubnose is most popular carry revolver, but requires dedication and practice to shoot efficiently. The snubnose revolver, often affectionately called a snubby, or simply snub, is usually defined as having a barrel of two inches or less on a small frame. There are those who would argue that definition, insisting that a three-inch barrel is still within the application envelope, and some hold that a large-framed gun with a short barrel is also a snubby. Im going to stay out of the fray by invoking the famous dictum that I cant define it, but I know it when I see it! The snubby has also been referred to by the term bellygun, a word that derisively refers to the difficulty of shooting one effectively beyond belly to belly distance. For generations the short-barreled revolver was believed to be useless beyond a few feet, a belief which is still strong in certain circles. Snubbies can be a challenge to shoot well. This control group was shot double-action with a four-inch Ruger GP100.In comparison, this group using same ammo, same target, same distance, same rate of fire was shot with short-barreled Ruger SP101.

Difference in group size illustrates change in sight radius and recoil characteristics of snubnose.

Over the years a number of shooting experts have tested snubbies in machine rests, which are devices which replace human hands with steel frames to hold and fire a pistol. They are the best way to test the precision of a gun without the variations of a humans vision and muscles. When placed in the unvarying machine rest, a snubnose quickly proves that it has the same mechanical precision of its longer-barreled brethren. If the shooter is up to it, so is the gun! What affects the results in real-world shooting isnt the gun, its the shooter. The snubbys short sight radius hides slight errors in sight alignment, resulting in decreased accuracy and precision at the target. The less acute ones eyesight, the more deviation at the target.

The crude sights of the typical snubnose, consisting of a plain blade and a simple rear notch gouged out of the frame, make it difficult to achieve good sight alignment even if the shooters eyesight is up to the task. The snubby shooter needs to understand the effects of the short radius and inferior sights. Because the sights dont give the shooter the feedback he/she might be used to with a larger revolver, its imperative that trigger control be mastered. Without an optimum visual feedback circuit, it becomes crucial to employ trigger technique that doesnt steer the gun.

One of the better ways to realize the accuracy of the snubnose is to modify the sights for sharper, more defined sight picture. Ive already mentioned the difficulties presented by the short sight radius and unrefined sights.

We cant do much about the former, but theres help for the latter. Bowen Classic Arms makes a nifty sight set for a small revolver, consisting of an enhanced rear sight and a dovetailed front sight blade. The revolver must be machined for both pieces, but the improvement in sight picture is dramatic. The rear sight is the biggest piece of the transformation. It replaces the rear notch with an elevated (yet still fixed) rear blade that has a wider, deeper notch and a non-glare face. Combined with the front sight, which is wider and taller (to match the rear) than most typical snubby blades, the result is a crisper and more precise sight picture.

Because of the machining required the installation is not a trivial procedure, but for those wanting the very best sight picture on their snubnose it is worth the effort and cost.

The snubbys short barrel and reduced weight tend to magnify muzzle flip and perceived recoil. This greatly affects the ability to make rapid followup shots. Its imperative the the snub shooter learn to control the recoil of the gun through proper fit and technique. Shooting any double action revolver with a weak target-shooting grip will give substandard results, but with the snubby its particularly noticeable. A weak grip wont aid in recoil control or shot recovery, key elements to shooting the snubby well.

The solution is the solid grip that we discussed in Chapter Five, paying particularly attention to the height of the shooting hand relative to the backstrap.

Old style splinter grips on bottom gun make snubnose difficult to shoot well compared to well-designed boot grip on top gun. Snubbies are intended for portability and concealment, and their grips reflect this emphasis on compactness. In the past all snubbies came with grips that were a poor fit for any shooters hand, leaving large gaps under the fingers that substantially reduced control and decreased comfort. (One of the most painful guns Ive ever shot was an old alloy-framed Colt Cobra with the stock grips. Maybe people were tougher back then, but even with light loads shooting the thing was excruciating.) Today most snubs are coming from the factory with grips that fit the hand darned near perfectly. There are still some guns out there being sold with the abominable splinter grips, so named because theyre nothing more than a large splinter of wood bolted onto the frame.

If you have such a snub, either replace the grips or fill in the gap behind the triggerguard with a grip adaptor. Youll have much better control over your revolver, and your hands will thank you for the additional comfort.

The abbreviated barrel of the snubnose does have a ballistic effect on the projectile. Briefly, a short barrel doesnt develop the same velocities as a longer tube. In theory this reduces the performance of the bullet on target. How much velocity loss? That depends on a number of factors.

A number of years ago I did a test using a Dan Wesson Model 15 revolver shooting a standard-pressure .38 Special 158 grain SWC bullet. The Dan Wesson has interchangeable barrels, so the variable of manufacturer is eliminated. The barrel-cylinder gap, so critical to proper velocities, is adjustable and was set to .004 inch. Out of a four-inch barrel the load traveled 785 fps, but from the two-inch snub barrel it only achieved 690 fps. In terms of percentages this is fairly consistent with the results reported by others. If the gun is used for self-defense, its a good idea to use rounds specifically designed to deliver good results from a short barrel.

Two that come to immediate mind in .38 Special are the 158 grain +P SWCHP from Federal, Winchester, or Remington, and the Speer 135gn +P Short Barrel load. Other calibers may not have specialized equivalents, necessitating some research on the shooters part.

In the last decade or so weve seen the rise of the .357 Magnum snubby. Packing that much power into a small package is a severe test of both metallurgy and engineering, and there is a price to pay in terms of recoil. Theres also a price to pay in terms of ballistic performance, because just as with Special rounds the shorter barrel results in lowered muzzle velocities. With the Magnum loads theres also a big muzzle flash and report, and this has led to a persistent myth: supposedly there is so much powder burning after the bullet exits the short barrel that velocities are reduced to no better than .38 Special.