The Colt Agent was a great little gun with a short butt that made it a little more concealable than the Cobra. This includes both round- and square-butt guns with 2- and 3-inch barrels. It has been made in many variations over the years. A little later, the Chiefs Special Airweight became known as the Model 37. 38 Special stresses and were discontinued. In the long run, these proved to be unsuitable for. Some of the first of those guns, 3,777 to be exact, were produced with aluminum cylinders to match their light frames and yokes. Almost as soon as they came out with the first steel version, they also produced a controversial aluminum frame gun that drew immediate interest from S&W fans. The first gun on this frame was the legendary Chiefs Special and it was an instant success. 38 Specials, they called the result a J-frame. 38 S&W and stretched the cylinder and frame to take. But when they took their diminutive I-frame. In the late 1940s, they had a small or lightweight hideout revolver. Meanwhile, farther up/down the Connecticut River, the designers at S&W were also hard at work. A few years later, Colt followed with a short butt version of the Cobra revolver, calling it the Agent. 38 Special, but made with an aluminum frame and crane. This was a version of the pre-war Detective Special, essentially a Police Positive Special in. It was well accepted by American shooters and Colt followed quickly with the Cobra revolver. Then Colt changed everything with the development of an aluminum material called “Coltalloy” and the world of guns was never the same afterwards.Ĭolt’s first lightweight gun was the legendary Commander, a shortened and much lighter version of the 1911 Government model in. In 1949, there were no light guns because the use of aluminum alloys was yet to be tried. In those days, more and more handgunners wanted easy to carry small guns and that criteria equated to light guns. There were few models made, but there were several sizes of revolvers built by the two giants of the industry: Colt Manufacturing and S&W. Sixty years ago, the American handgun industry was recovering from the frantic production efforts of World War II. Today, they are making them smaller, flatter, more powerful and user friendly, but above all, they are making them lighter. This is particularly true in the field of concealment pistols and revolvers. That’s not all of it since there are many makers and they’re all hard at work designing and building the best possible combat handgun. Ruger competes with Taurus-and everyone else. Heckler & Koch takes on Sig Sauer-and everyone else. Glock competes with Smith & Wesson-and everyone else. We have become accustomed to battles between the various handgun manufacturers.