Short-Barreled Revolvers: 10 Classic-Styled Sixguns for Self Defense

short-barreled revolvers cimarron lightning — Cimarron offers several versions of its Lightning model, including scaled-down variants. This particular Lightning has a 3.5-inch barrel and is chambered in .38 Special. The barrel and cylinder are blued while the frame is casehardened. It’s truly a small revolver with plenty of power.

Caliber: .38 Special
Barrel: 3.5 inches
OA Length: 8.5 inches
Weight: 28.64 ounces (empty)
Grips: Checkered or smooth walnut
Sights: Fixed
Action: SA
Finish: Blued, casehardened
Capacity: 6
MSRP: $531

short-barreled revolvers cimarron thunder — The Cimarron Thunderer’s grip is a cross between a 1877 Thunderer grip and an 1878 Colt double action on a Model P frame. Cimarron’s Mike “Texas Jack” Harvey came up with the matchup back in 1990 to create the Thunderer. Of course, Colt introduced its Lightning and Thunderer revolvers, its first double actions, in 1877. The Cimarron Thunderer is a single action, however, that features a conventionally shaped hammer spur.

Caliber: .45 Long Colt
Barrel: 3.5 inches
OA Length: 8.5 inches
Weight: 37.92 ounces (empty)
Grips: Checkered or smooth walnut
Sights: Fixed
Action: SA
Finish: Blued, casehardened
Capacity: 6
MSRP: $561

short-barreled revolvers Ruger New Vaquero Montado — The Montado is built on Ruger’s New Vaquero frame and features a short 3.75-inch barrel. The hammer spur is wide, checkered and slightly lower than the traditional Vaquero hammer spur for fast, one-handed cocking. The reverse indexing pawl makes loading and unloading easier than traditional single-action revolvers. For smoother holstering, the front edge of the cylinder is beveled.

Caliber: .357 Magnum/.38 Special
Barrel: 3.75 inches
OA Length: 9.5 inches
Weight: 35 ounces (empty)
Sights: Fixed
Action: SA
Grip: Hardwood
Finish: Stainless steel
Capacity: 6
MSRP: $876

short-barreled revolvers Taylor’s & Co. Birdshead Cattleman — All of the Cattleman revolvers from Taylor’s & Company Firearms have strong forged frames for durability, especially when shooting high round counts. The Birdshead Cattleman features a small, curved bird’s-head grip made of smooth or checkered walnut. For shooters with small hands, the bird’s-head grip allows for better control. The casehardened frame is pleasing to the eyes, as is the deep blued barrel and cylinder. Custom tuning is also available.

Caliber: .357 Magnum, .45 Colt
Barrel: 3.5 inches
OA Length: 8.5 inches
Weight: 34.56 ounces (empty)
Grips: Walnut
Sights: Fixed
Action: SA
Finish: Blued, casehardened
Capacity: 6
MSRP: $516-$549

short-barreled revolvers EMF Deluxe Sheriff — EMF’s Deluxe Sheriff, part of the company’s 1873 Great Western II line, is made of stainless steel with factory laser engraving covering three quarters of the revolver. The faux-ivory grip panels make this hideout gun pretty sharp looking. The tiny Deluxe Sheriff also features short 3-inch barrel and is made for EMF by Pietta in Italy.

Caliber: .357 Magnum, .45 Colt
Barrel: 3 inches
OA Length: 8.1 inches
Weight: 34.6 ounces (empty)
Sights: Fixed
Action: SA
Grip: Polymer ivory
Finish: Stainless steel
Capacity: 6
MSRP: $800

short-barreled revolvers EMF Pony Express — This Pony Express model from EMF’s 1873 Great Western II series was designed by Cowboy Action shooter Dave Anderson. The Pony Express was built specifically for cowboy mounted shooting and features EMF’s express-style grip, a turned-down hammer for faster cocking with one hand and a wider, setback trigger. The finish is bright stainless.

Caliber: .357 Magnum, .45 Colt
Barrel: 3.5 inches
OA Length: 8.1 inches
Weight: 34.6 ounces (empty)
Grips: Walnut
Sights: Fixed
Action: SA
Finish: Stainless steel
Capacity: 6
MSRP: $779-$820

short-barreled revolvers Ruger New Vaquero Birdshead — The Vaquero Birdshead is a Talo exclusive that combines Ruger’s Ruger Vaquero Montado with a 3.75-inch barrel and a wide checkered hammer spur with Ruger’s bird’s-head grip style. Like the Montado, the Birdshead model has a reverse indexing pawl for easy loading, and the front edge of the cylinder is beveled for simplified holstering. And this .45 can share ammo with your 1911.

Caliber: .45 ACP
Barrel: 3.8 inches
OA Length: 9 inches
Weight: 37 ounces (empty)
Grips: Laminate
Sights: Fixed
Action: SA
Finish: Stainless steel
Capacity: 6
MSRP: $570

short-barreled revolvers Taylor’s & Company Runnin’ Iron — Originally designed for the sport of mounted shooting by Wild West entertainers Denny Chapman and Deke Rivers, this forged-framed six-shooter is lightweight and well balanced, featuring a low and wide hammer spur and a wide trigger. This pistol can fire standard cowboy loads as well as blackpowder blanks. Custom tuning is also available.

Caliber: .45 Colt
Barrel: 3.5 inches
OA Length: 9 inches
Weight: 34.56 ounces (empty)
Grips: Walnut
Sights: Fixed
Action: SA
Finish: Stainless, blued or Black Rock
Capacity: 6
MSRP: $579-$899

short-barreled revolvers Uberti 1873 Cattleman El Patrón CMS — As the “CMS” in its name implies, this El Patrón model is customized for Cowboy Mounted Action Shooting with a short barrel for quick draws and a low hammer spur profile for easier cocking with one hand. The action is tuned and uses Wolff springs. The sights are big and wide for easier aiming downrange.

Caliber: .357 Magnum, .45 Colt
Barrel: 3.5 inches
OA Length: 9 inches
Weight: 34.6 ounces (empty)
Grips: Walnut
Sights: Fixed
Action: SA
Finish: Stainless or blued/casehardened
Capacity: 6
MSRP: $639-$779

short-barreled revolvers Uberti 1875 No. 3 Top Break 2nd Model — By any other name, the No. 3 Top Break is commonly known as the Schofield. This revolver was originally manufactured by Smith & Wesson and rivaled Colt’s Single Action Army. Uberti has recreated a hideout model of the Schofield with a 3.5-inch barrel and a forged frame. The break-top action uses an automatic cartridge extractor that ejects empty cases quickly.

Caliber: .45 Colt
Barrel: 3.5 inches
OA Length: 9 inches
Weight: 36 ounces (empty)
Grips: Walnut
Sights: Fixed
Action: SA
Finish: Nickel-plated or blued/case hardened
Capacity: 6
MSRP: $1,079

A hideout six-shooter in the Old West usually meant a short-barreled pistol that was easy to carry discreetly yet able to be brought quickly into play from across a card table or across a room. Bankers and shopkeepers kept them hidden just in case, and lawmen and outlaws used these hideout guns as backups. The shorter barrel on these revolvers made them more concealable yet, because they were based off of full-sized pistols, they were still chambered in powerful calibers. There were no compromises with these discreet pistols. Originally, Colt’s Sheriff’s Models had short barrels and no ejector rods; Colt Shopkeeper’s Models had short barrels and ejector rods. Today, Mounted Cowboy Action shooters who need a quick-drawing gun that can easily be cocked one-handed favor modern reproductions of short-barreled revolvers. Some of these models incorporate a bird’s-head grip, making the gun more concealable and easier to shoot for those shooters with smaller hands. They are also chambered in powerful calibers, making them excellent self-defense guns. Without further ado, here are some of the best.

RELATED STORY: Semi-Autos Vs. Revolvers – Massad Ayoob Sets The Record Straight

To learn more about the short-barreled revolvers featured in the gallery above, please visit the following sites.

Cimarron
http://www.cimarron-firearms.com

Ruger
http://www.ruger.com

Taylor’s & Co.
http://www.taylorsfirearms.com

EMF
http://www.emf-company.com

Uberti
http://www.uberti.com

This article was originally published in ‘Complete Book of Revolvers’ #189. For information on how to subscribe, please email subscriptions@outdoorgroupmags.com or call 1-800-284-5668.

Didn't find what you were looking for?