

In 1957, S&W went to a number system for designating guns. In a stroke of marketing genius, S&W named the gun the Chiefs Special and thus it has remained ever since. It was introduced at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) conference held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in October 1950. Smith & Wesson lengthened the cylinder and frame of the I-frame, and beefed it up a bit. The demand was great for a snubby that was small like the Terrier but able to handle the. It was very popular because it was so small and light, but it was not strong enough to handle the more powerful. The I-frame was a 5-shot hand ejector double action revolver. 38/32 (.38 S&W) Terrier I-frame revolver. The Chiefs Special J-frame was developed from the very popular. Whether or not we would declare it the archetypal snubby would come down a matter of personal taste, but the Chiefs Special is certainly the leading contender for that designation. In its essential notes, it is copied by Ruger, Taurus and Charter Arms. The Colt Detective Special is gone but not forgotten, as is the S&W Model 10 Military & Police snubnose, but the diminutive J-frame snubnose remains one of the most popular personal defense handguns in the world. I would be willing to suggest that it is the most influential compact revolver design of the 20th Century. 38 Special revolver produced by Smith & Wesson. The Chiefs Special was the first 5-shot J-frame.


38 Special snubby that honor goes to the Colt Detective Special in 1927. The Chiefs Special, which later came to be known as the Smith & Wesson Model 36 was not the first production.
