Does Anyone Else Like Three-Inch Revolvers?
- Thread starter Tallball
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Biblethumpncop
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Custom 10-8 that gets worn frequently in the fall, winter and early spring. Cold bluing on the barrel and the worn spots on this old cop gun. The beat up stocks were refinished by yours truly and add to the character as much as the Tyler T-grip adapter (which came on it) adds to its charm.
P5 Guy
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3 inch top and bottom top is a 696 and the bottom is a 60-4
The middle on is a 686-4 from the Performance Center with a 2.5 inch ported barrel.
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johnjohn
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Never owned a 3 incher till I bought my SP101. I like it well enough.
shootstraight57
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Had the opportunity to purchase this one and I did!
shoebox1.1
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jobu07
Contributing Member
I have often found myself bidding on the occasional 3" model 36. I don't think I have any 3" revolvers, I'll have to fix that...
A 31 3"!!! Always liked them. Never had one.
Cocked & Locked
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Mark_Mark
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what’s that metal grip thing on the bottom gun? they still make them?
hemiram
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Terrible picture, I was just about to retire my phone, mostly due to the flash refusing to fire most of the time unless you rebooted it. That got very old. I was on GB looking for a 3" .357 and found it, and bought it instantly, a Taurus 658, which is a 3" non-ported 608. My only revolver, except for a couple of .22LR's, that has more than 6 rounds capacity. Shoots great, and seems very well made compared to my first gun ever, a Taurus 83, which was the worst gun I've ever owned in my almost 46 years of gun ownership.
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Tallball
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@Mark_Mark , you sure have that Model 36 looking nice! 
I can't do much more with mine, short of refinishing it. I cleaned it up a little bit better after this pic, but there are places with 10% finish and there's not much to do about that. Still a nice shooter, though.
I can't do much more with mine, short of refinishing it. I cleaned it up a little bit better after this pic, but there are places with 10% finish and there's not much to do about that. Still a nice shooter, though.
Mark_Mark
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I picked up my 3” 36 for $500! not kidding. It hardly had a mark on the cylinder. Not a mark on the blueing, giving it a 98%. Bore was factory shinny. I bought that gun from my local honey hole quicker than you could blink. I’m planning to shoot the living daylights out of it.@Mark_Mark , you sure have that Model 36 looking nice!
I can't do much more with mine, short of refinishing it. I cleaned it up a little bit better after this pic, but there are places with 10% finish and there's not much to do about that. Still a nice shooter, though.
Good thing about your 36 is.. not afraid to shoot and carry that little honey. I personally like wear on my blue gun! They do have a 3” GP100 in Blue at a big box store, hoping to get enough to buy that in a month or 2!
Cocked & Locked
Member
That thing is a Tyler T-grip. Retro doo-dad that fills in that open space making the pistol for some more comfortable to shoot.
This one is on a 3.5” S&W 27-2. They are made of aluminum. BK grip adapters are similar and made of plastic. I’m not sure if the Tyler T’s are still made. Used ones on EBay at times.
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Mark_Mark
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they still make & sell them. $35-$50 - good price too
Oninotaki
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- Aug 3, 2022
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I really like mine. Although I probably should have got it in black.
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fastbolt
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Personally, I think that a 3-inch wheelgun is close to perfection for a 'working/DEC" belt gun. Sure, I really like my several shorter J's, because I do a lot of pocket-holster carry in my retirement, but the 3-inch snubs have great balance, and sometimes that extra inch make help promote expansion of older JHP designs.
My remaining pair of 3-inch snubs. A nickeled M36 and a M65. Back when I was carrying an issued early 686, I found that the 3-inch 36 could shoot as well as the heavier 4-inch .357, even at longer distances (and with the plain fixed sights).
My remaining pair of 3-inch snubs. A nickeled M36 and a M65. Back when I was carrying an issued early 686, I found that the 3-inch 36 could shoot as well as the heavier 4-inch .357, even at longer distances (and with the plain fixed sights).
Monster Zero
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Say what?I had two-inchers and four-inchers for ages, then a few sixes. I'd read that people really like their three-inchers, and after I got one, I understood why. The're so nice and light and easy to point. I seem to shoot them about as well as a 4". After I got my first three-inch 38 special a couple of years ago, I somehow ended up with two "matched sets"...
The two on the left are both Taurus Model 82's. The top one is an ex police revolver from 2000: It has a full lug, solid upper barrel piece, hammer spur, and surprisingly large grips (the trigger is excellent). The bottom one is from 1992 (I'm assuming it's a commercial model): it has no lug, the flat piece on top of the barrel has a trough that lightens it, I've removed the hammer spur, and it has small boot grips. They're both very good shooters. It's fun to have two versions of the exact same revolver that feel so different. The boot grip one feels waaaay smaller, even though the frames are exactly the same.
The two on the right are both "j-frames". The one on top is a Taurus Model 85. It 's stainless with a full lug. The one on bottom is a S&W Model 36 from 1965 that I've been fixing up - it has a "pencil barrel" with no lug. I put nearly identical larger grips on them. They both fit my hands decently that way - I can get most of my pinky on the grip.
I took the police turn-in and old Model 36 to the range with me yesterday and enjoyed shooting them both. I can shoot a nice 3" K-frame about as well as a 4", and had fun doing that. The old Smith was fun, too. This was its second range trip since the 1970's or so, and it's starting to feel smoother. Other than a few fliers, I was hitting a 4" x 4" diamond with every shot at seven yards with either revolver, which is pretty good for my aging eyes and mediocre shooting skills.
Do you like three-inch revolvers? Why or why not? (It would be fun to hear some "why nots".) What kind do you have? Do you have a favorite? Do you have a good three-inch revolver story? And here's the big question: Do you have pictures of your three-inch revolver(s)?
Yes, 3" is the sweet spot IMO.
