aremanyofuswholikethe3-inch.357
Magnumsascarryguns,astheyhave
producedquiteavarietyoverthelast
threedecades.Withoutnamingthem
all,twothatIespeciallylikearethe
Model 19 CarryCompandtheModel
586 LComp.Compensatingthesegunsdoeshave
abeneficialinfluenceonmuzzleflip,
allowingfasterfollow-upshots.Inthe
caseofthe 586 LComp,thelarger
cylinderbulgealsograntsaseven-round
magazinecapacity. Especiallyinstates
thatlimitthecapacityofthehandgun,a
compactseven-roundSmith&Wesson
revolverbecomesespeciallyappealing.Therewasalsoa3-inchModel 66 F
Compthatperformswell.Versionsof
the 581 and 681 with3-inchbarrels,
somecompensated,havebeenavail-
ableforthosewhopreferfixedsightson
acarrygun.SomeofthePerformance
Centerandothercompensatedguns
comewithAhrendsgrips.Theseareex-
cellentfordoubleactionshootingwitha
.357Magnumshort-barreledrevolver.Finally,S&Wproducedastandardver-
sionofthe 686 witha2.5-inchbarrel.
Thisisdefinitelyaholstergunbecause
it’sheavy,buttheshorterbarrelletsit
clearleatherwell.Thoughtheyhave
becomehardtofind,the3-inchbarreled686 produced for the U.S. Customs Ser-
vice circa 1988 is an excellent carry gun.The Customs Service ordered more
4-inch versions than 3-inch versions,
which I believe were for investigators.
Some have wooden grips and some
have Pachmayr grips, the latter defi-
nitely more comfortable to shoot. I got
mine from the widow of a friend who
had been a deputy U.S. Marshal and a
local police captain. If you ever get a
chance to purchase one of the 3-inch
ones, grab it!POCKET MAGNUMS
There are also some .357 Magnum
revolvers that qualify as true snub
pocket guns. The one with which I have
the most experience is the S&W 360PD.
Though weighing only 11.4 ounces,
it may be fired with full power .357The S&W Model 19 with a 2.5-inch barrel could actually be carried in
an ankle holster or a jacket pocket. This Class C engraved version
with carved ivory grips has been a “dress-up” carry gun of the author.Thompson has
found that the
3-inch K or L frame
.357 Magnum
revolver carries well
on the belt, offers
better accuracy,
recoils a bit less,
and allows full
extraction of cases.
Shown is his limited
production S&W
3-inch Model 66. It
is equipped with a
Magna-Trigger safe-
ty that only allows it
to be fired when the
ring shown behind
the trigger guard is
on his hand.S&W’s 3-inch Model
66 Ladysmith is an
excellent 3-inch .357
Magnum.38 CONCEALED CARRY HANDGUNS • FALL 2019