Colt Detective Special ("Cobra")

The Colt Detective Special ("Cobra") was a revolver first produced in 1927 as a shortened version of Colt's Police Positive Special. It was designed to be an easy and reliable concealed carry weapon. It proved very popular and over 1.5 million were produced in several models by the time production finally ended in 1986. Though originally offered in .32 caliber, the revolver was most commonly chambered for the .38 Special cartridge fed from a 6-shot cylinder and fired through a 2-inch barrel. (Some models with 3-inch barrels can also be found.) It features a fixed blade front sight and notch-style rear sights as well as a full length ejector rod. The cylinder rotates counter clockwise, as opposed to Smith & Wesson revolvers.

The first generation was only manufactured for 10 years and featured a square butt configuration. It also had an unshrouded ejector rod housing which gave it a distinct and unmistakable silouette. The round butt was first produced in 1933 and the extractor was shortened and shrouded in 1958. Later issues of this handgun had a less distinct appearance. In all, there were four generations of the Detective Special by the time production ended. There are many of these fine revolvers still in service today, though Colt no longer caters to either the concealed carry or the revolver markets.