The Gun Digest Book of the Revolver. Grant Cunningham

      Using a verified unloaded gun, place first joint of trigger finger on trigger.

      Work backwards, wrapping hand around grip.

      Finish by grasping the gun firmly as you would if actually shooting.

      With the finger placed properly on the trigger and the rest of the fingers curled around the grip, I check to see if the barrel lines up with the bones of the forearm. If the gun is too big for the person’s hand, the barrel will be pointing away from the centerline of the body. If the gun is too small, it will be pointing toward the centerline.

      I’ve found that it’s easier for most people to shoot a too-small gun than to operate a too-large gun. To get enough leverage to operate the trigger, a person with small hands (such as mine) must rotate the hand toward the muzzle, bringing the finger further into the trigger for proper leverage. This puts the backstrap of the revolver, which is the center of the recoil impulse, not into the palm but on the outside edge of the base of the thumb. The first bone of thumb itself, which now sits on the top of the backstrap instead of alongside it, takes the punishment of the muzzle flip. I can tell you from experience that this is a painful situation in which to be!

      If the barrel lines up with the forearm, the gun fits the shooter correctly.

      Someone with hands that are a bit big for the gun usually suffers nothing more than interference problems. The large trigger finger often contacts the thumb as it strokes the trigger backward, throwing the gun slightly off target and necessitating careful attention to the sights. Some of this is alleviated through proper trigger control (which is coming up in Chapter Five), but very large hands on very small guns are always a problem.

      That’s why, if a choice has to be made, I’ll recommend the smaller gun every time. For the best results, though, the fit should be as close to ideal as possible.

      This revolver is too big for shooter’s hand, will result in loss of control and painful recoil.

       If the goal is to shoot well, sometimes a different gun is the only answer.

      How to deal with this mismatch? The usual fix is to find grips, either smaller or larger, that will better fit the shooter. By carefully choosing the grip it’s possible to compensate for a difference between the shooter’s hand and the revolver’s size, but sometimes that’s not practical (perhaps there are concealability issues) or even possible (grips aren’t available for the revolver in question or can’t be made small enough to make a difference.)

      In those cases my recommendation is for the shooter to obtain a revolver with a different frame size, one that is more suitable for his/her hand. This isn’t always met with a welcoming attitude. We tend to get attached to our possessions, even more so if the gun was a gift or inheritance. I understand those issues, and sympathize with them more than you might think, but if the goal is to shoot well sometimes a different gun is the only answer.

      The mystery of frame sizes

      K-frame. J-frame. N-frame. D-frame. L-frame. E/l frame. To someone not intimately familiar with revolvers, talk of frame sizes seems like a foreign language.

      Frame sizes are really nothing more than a shorthand to tell us into what general size category (or ‘class’) the gun fits. Unfortunately, unlike the automobile world, they aren’t standardized to compact/subcompact categories. Every maker has their own way of referring to frame sizes, and they aren’t always compatible. This makes it difficult to judge if any given gun fits a particular set of size parameters.

      Smith & Wesson frame sizes tend to be the most universally used as reference points, and I won’t buck that trend. Let’s take a look at S&W frame nomenclature, then compare some of their competitors strictly in terms of size.

      Their smallest frame size is the J series, which historically was a five-shot revolver chambering a .38 caliber cartridge. Over the years they’ve accommodated other calibers in different capacities and made of different materials, but the frame size remains largely unchanged. When small concealment revolvers are mentioned, particularly those intended for pocket or ankle carry, the gun almost invariably meant is some variation of the J-frame.

      There have been several major variations in the J-frame lineup, referred to by the original model that had the feature set. These various model lines themselves are often used as descriptors even if the gun itself was never officially part of that line. There are the Centennials, which have internal hammers; the Bodyguards, which have shrouded, but still accessible, hammers; and the Chief’s Specials, featuring conventional external hammers. While not all J-frames were necessarily part of those lines, they’ve come to be used generically to describe the overall appearance and feature set of any given J-frame.

       Virtually all of the K-frame revolvers have been discontinued, but this class produced some of the most fondly-remembered models.

      If I say ‘Centennial,’ you know I’m talking about a concealed hammer model like the 42, 640, or 340. If I say ‘Bodyguard,’ you know it’s going to have a shrouded but cockable hammer like the Model 38 or 638. If I’m talking about the ‘Chief’s Special’ you can discern the Model 60, 36 and 637. This list is not all inclusive; there are many more, as the J-frames are among Smith & Wesson’s most popular revolvers.

      Most people use the J-frame classification generically to refer to all small five-shot revolvers, such as the Model 85 derivatives from Taurus and some of the small revolvers from Charter Arms. While such guns from other manufacturers don’t share grips or any other parts or accessories with their S&W counterparts, the term J-frame is still used to convey a general sense of size – not an actual interchangeability.

      The K-frame is the next size up in the S&W line. As this is written virtually all of the K-frame revolvers have been discontinued, but this class produced some of the most fondly-remembered models: the original Military & Police, the Models 10, 19, and 66, amongst many others. These were the medium sized, six-shot .38 Special (and later .357 Magnum) revolvers, though of course other calibers were chambered. You’ll see many medium-framed revolvers from other manufacturers referred to as K-sized, but of course only S&W produces the exact item.

      In 1981 Smith & Wesson introduced another medium frame revolver dubbed the L-frame. Slightly larger than the K-frame, but with a similar grip size, the L was designed for better durability firing hot Magnum cartridges. The K and L-frames are generally considered together as medium frames, though most holsters for the K will not quite fit the L. By far the most commonly encountered L model is the 686, which has been produced in a wide variety of barrel lengths over its lifetime. The most distinguishing feature of the L line is the heavy lugged barrel, though this is not universal over all models.

      You’ll often see the term K/L used, which simply means either a) a generic medium-framed revolver, or b) parts which fit both series of guns. There is no actual K/L frame model, and always remember that the guns are of slightly different size.

      N-frame .44 Magnum on top is much bigger, with a longer trigger reach, than compact J-frame on bottom.

      For many years the largest revolvers in the Smith & Wesson line were the N-frames. First produced in 1908 (some sources claim 1907), they were originally introduced with a new cartridge: the .44 S&W Special. Over the years the N-frame matured and was chambered in a wide variety of cartridges, from the .38 through the .45. Aside from the ever-popular Model 29 in .44 Magnum (the gun made famous in the 1971 movie “Dirty Harry”), the line also boasts the 627 eight-shot .357 Magnum and the 625 in .45ACP, two of the most popular