Chunky Snubbies: Fish nor Fowl or Sliced Bread?

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I have an old model 19 2” and a 69 2 3/4”, I love them both. The short bbl doesn’t dig in the truck seat and push the gun up when I’m in a vehicle.
 
Reinz said:
I got this new about 20 years years ago. I’ve have yet to see another one in the wild since.
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Well if you ever want to sell it....

just let know and I’ll give you the info for my FFL!
 
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Reinz

That’s why I said that they are not defective, so people wouldn’t think I was bashing them. But after thinking about it more I can see your concern; that maybe I was inferring that all others are defective - which I’m Not.
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I had a Detective Special that was done to perfection but I did have one of the Colt Agents with the matte blued finish (if you can call it that), with mismatched parts poorly fitted, cheap wood grips, and a cylinder that wouldn't go all the way around without binding up. This was as close to a "defective special" that I ever got!
 
bannockburn said:
Reinz



I had a Detective Special that was done to perfection but I did have one of the Colt Agents with the matte blued finish (if you can call it that), with mismatched parts poorly fitted, cheap wood grips, and a cylinder that wouldn't go all the way around without binding up. This was as close to a "defective special" that I ever got!
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I remember when those Colt Agent revolvers came out in the 80s. They looked really junky to me. Later down the road Colt gave the name, Agent to a small 1911. They didn’t look nearly as bad as older revolvers did, but they did look like they were lacking.
 
Reinz

I bought the Agent thinking "Hey it's a Colt, they've been making guns for nearly 150 years so they must know what they're doing right?" The fact that I got it for such a low price should have been a warning sign but I wasn't really paying attention at the time. All I was thinking at the time was it was a fairly inexpensive 6 shot snubby and it's a Colt!

Kept it around for awhile then traded it in on a real chunky snubby: a Ruger Speed Six!

I also had one of the mini 1911s, a Colt New Agent (the model with the XS Big Dot Night Sights), and while it was of much higher quality than the other Agent I had it didn't really fit in with the rest of my CCW rotation and I ended up selling it.
 
My chunkiest of snubs is now mercifully gone; A Ruger Alaskan .454. GOOOOOOOOOD riddance!

This one is currently the most fitting of the moniker in my safe.
I saw it on a pal's table at a gun show and really, REALLY wanted it on sight. Then, I picked it up and HAD to have it.

To this day, simply holding it makes me smile and shooting it earns at least wide-open grins every time.

I put a lanyard-loop and full hammer back on it long ago as I was using it for a snake&coyote gun and like the anachronistic look so much that they have remained.

Points like my index finger, smooth as a custom-shop gun and must have some pretty cool stories to tell from being a re-patriated "Cash & Carry" gun for the Brits and ultimately being shortened, bobbed and having the trigger guard sloped then, ending up in Belgium where the original U.S. buyer got it though he says he might have picked it up at a skeet range in England too. Too long ago to recall for him as he got it as a pilot in the early Cold War days in England.

She's not *chunky*.... She's just big-boned, petite!

Todd.
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Fiv3r said:
I usually like to pop on the smallest grips I can conceal on a carry revolver, but I think I may have changed my tune with these Pachmayr Renegade grips.
View attachment 886693

Slightly thicker than the stock rubber, they offer a full hand hold on the gun yet being smooth finished, my shirt doesn't stick to it so the revolver actually conceals better.

I tried a compact rubber Pachmayr grip early in the week, and they are just substandard. Plus, I'm not sure how much I would shoot full .357 with an exposed back strap. The Renegade grips fully cover the frame of the gun and fit about 97% well. There is a small gap about the width of two pieces of paper toward the hammer, but I dont think it will cause any issues.

I'm kinda glad I gave them a try. Amazon had a set that were "used" in as much as the package had been opened which I got for half price. Fair deal, I think.
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I bought a set of Renegade grips for my 686 and found them to be way to fat for my hand size. They were fine grips but you need fairly large paws for them to be comfortable
 
I've long considered 3" to be the perfect barrel length for a carry revolver; a little ballistic advantage, a little longer sight radius, conceals notably easier OWB than a 4" because of standard garment lengths on my body. Also a 4" gun is a bit more likely to dig the nose of the holster into the seat of a vehicle (and consequently cause the butt to dig into my side.) Lately my carry gun of choice has been my custom 3" model 1902 .38 Special- not exactly chunky, but it will do the job.
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The old Taurus Falcon is often called a K-frame clone, but it's actually chunkier when compared side-by-side with a K-frame. I set this one up as a 2-3/4", reshaped the square butt for better concealability. New front sight, trigger job, relieved the trigger guard on the right for better access, antler grips, and fitted a BK grip adapter. Good gun, but I found I just like the S&W above better; likely this'll go to my kid or get swapped off.
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This one is chunky as hell, and I love it. It's a ball to shoot and a good conversation piece- I call it 'The Pug.' Pietta 1858 Remington, shortened to 2-1/2 inches, custom loading lever mod to retain the cylinder pin, new front sight, bird-head grip and a bespoke 5-shot .45 Colt Conversion. I don't carry it though; reloads are catastrophically slow.
Kl5hPHq.jpg
 
Michael Tinker Pearce said:
I've long considered 3" to be the perfect barrel length for a carry revolver; a little ballistic advantage, a little longer sight radius, conceals notably easier OWB than a 4" because of standard garment lengths on my body. Also a 4" gun is a bit more likely to dig the nose of the holster into the seat of a vehicle (and consequently cause the butt to dig into my side.) Lately my carry gun of choice has been my custom 3" model 1902 .38 Special- not exactly chunky, but it will do the job.
View attachment 887158

The old Taurus Falcon is often called a K-frame clone, but it's actually chunkier when compared side-by-side with a K-frame. I set this one up as a 2-3/4", reshaped the square butt for better concealability. New front sight, trigger job, relieved the trigger guard on the right for better access, antler grips, and fitted a BK grip adapter. Good gun, but I found I just like the S&W above better; likely this'll go to my kid or get swapped off.
View attachment 887159
This one is chunky as hell, and I love it. It's a ball to shoot and a good conversation piece- I call it 'The Pug.' Pietta 1858 Remington, shortened to 2-1/2 inches, custom loading lever mod to retain the cylinder pin, new front sight, bird-head grip and a bespoke 5-shot .45 Colt Conversion. I don't carry it though; reloads are catastrophically slow.
View attachment 887160
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Wow. I would classify those as definitely chunky by some definition. That Falcon is awesome with awesome grips.
 
Jonesy814 said:
I bought a set of Renegade grips for my 686 and found them to be way to fat for my hand size. They were fine grips but you need fairly large paws for them to be comfortable
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They are chunky for sure. I dont have overly large hands at all, but some grips work for me despite this. I can shoot a 92fs really well despite the huge grip. The Renegade grips sorta work the same for me.

One thing I have decided to do with this gun is to just embrace the size. Oversize cylinder to fit 7 rounds, good size grip to get a good purchase. She's a bit hippy, but I love her curves.
 
All I have that qualifies currently is a 3" GP-100 with some Altamont snakeskin-patterned grips. I am very pleased with it so far.


There are some awesome pictures in this thread. This is the kind of thread that makes you log in so you can see the pics. Thanks, everyone.
 
This one is chunky- an Astra Police .38 surplussed from the Valenca police in Spain. About L-frame sized, the gun is very well made and has a number of innovative features, like the cylinder that can be swapped out with the push of a button, or the user-adjustable trigger. The one had the hammer bobbed when I got it, and the grip frame had been bubba'd in an attempt to make it a round-butt. I made a new grip for it out of century-old pre-blight American Chestnut. The crack have been fully stabilized, and the grip and mass of the gun easily tames the heaviest of loads; according to a fellow that worked at Astra the difference between the .38 Special and .357 cylinders was how deep they bored the chambers, so I am comfortable shooting even .38/44 loads in this gun. The gun is very accurate and the trigger is genuinely excellent. Interesting that the Spanish police chose a 3" barrel for a holstered duty weapon.
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I bought this gun with the idea of converting it to a .41 Special, but liked it so well I just put the new grips on and left it as-is. Was my nightstand gun for a couple of years. I'd love to find a .357 Cylinder for it; I've considered rechambering the current cylinder, but find myself reluctant to do so. BTW, FN sold a version of this gun called The Barracuda, available in .38, .357 or 9mm; it's the only revolver they have ever sold.
 
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