“I am SO excited! My wife told me she wants to finally get her CCW License. She is going to be taking her class sometime in February. Today she went to a gun show with me. This was the first gun show she has ever attended with me and I was thrilled to have her along. She has narrowed HER choice down to two firearms. Her first choice is a ‘Pink Lady’ .38 spl made by Charter Arms.” You’ll see this same story repeated ’round the net: gun guy buys wife a brightly colored Charter Arms snubbie for personal defense. What you won’t see is what happens next. To quote the late Warren Zevon, it ain’t that pretty at all . . .
.38 Special
.38 Special Comparison: 1st Place – Smith & Wesson Model 36
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBbm6ury5Tk Sometimes picking a winner is easy. Like now. Even though our third-place Taurus Model 85 and our second-place Colt Cobra were both worthy challengers, the classic Smith & Wesson Model 36 proved to be the best .38 Special of the bunch, easily capturing first prize in our inaugural TTAG revolver comparison. In fact, only … Read more
Saturday Morning Post: 38 Special
With a name like “38 Special” you gotta figure that’s reason enough to feature them on the audio portion of TTAG Weekend. Oh, and if you’re in the Shreveport/Bossier City Microplex, they’re playing Diamond Jacks’ Casino on May 29.
.38 Special Comparison: 2nd Place – Colt Cobra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwkq2WU1qaQ
From the economical choice (Taurus Model 85) to the upscale player. Part II of our .38 Special comparison focuses on a revolver known far and wide for its tough looks, buttery action, premium price and a name that’s the envy of malt liquor companies everywhere: The Colt Cobra .38 Special.
.38 Special Comparison: 3rd Place – Taurus Model 85
It just so happens that three extremely-representative samples of these guns live in the nightstands of people in my family. My dad (who used to serve warrants as a part-time constable) owns probably the newest of these – the very-mainstream Taurus Model 85. My mom (a former Justice of the Peace who issued the warrants dad served) owns the original-and-even-more-ubiquitous Smith & Wesson Model 36. And last but not least, my 82-year-old grandmother packs in her pajama drawer one of the most premium small .38s ever produced – the iconic Colt Cobra, a derivative of the famous Colt Detective Special.
EDITORIAL: Revolvers Rule!
Let’s face facts: semi-automatic pistols are cool and revolvers are for stogy old farts and nerds. Case in point, who gets all the chicks: Riggs (Beretta 9mm) or Murtaugh (S&W .357 Magnum)? Magnum (Colt Government Model .45 APC) or Higgins (.455 Webley MK VI)? Axel Foley (9mm Browning Hi-Power) or Billy Rosewood (Colt Detective Special, .38 Special)? True, nobody wants to look like Barney Fife when they are trying to stare down hardened home-invaders. But it’s too bad that the wheel gun gets no respect because in the real world double action revolvers are the best choice for self-defense for most people most of the time.