The Colt Detective Special is a six-shot, carbon steel framed, 2-inch (5.1 cm) or 3-inch (7.6 cm) barreled, double-action revolver, and the first example of a class of firearms known as "snubnose revolvers". Made by Colt's Manufacturing Company, this model revolver, as the name "Detective Special" suggests, was intended to be a concealed weapon used by plainclothes police detectives.
A Colt Detective Special, Fourth Series (1992–1996), with rubber grips and a shrouded ejector rod
Fitz Special
A Colt Detective Special, Second Series on display
A Colt Detective Special and a Smith & Wesson Model 36 showing the differences in size between the two models.
A snubnosed revolver is a small, medium, or large frame revolver with a short barrel, generally less than 4 inches in length. Smaller such revolvers are often made with "bobbed" or "shrouded" hammers and there are also "hammerless" models ; the point is to allow the gun to be drawn with little risk of it snagging on clothing. Since the external movement of the mechanism is minimal or nil, shrouded and hammerless models may be fired from within clothing. The design of these revolvers compromises range and accuracy at a distance in favor of maneuverability and ease of carry and concealment.
A Colt Detective Special and a Smith & Wesson Model 36 snubnosed revolvers
Webley .450 "British Bull Dog" model - 1870s
.32 caliber Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless
Colt Detective Special