Colt Detective Special

The Colt Detective Special is a carbon steel framed double-action short-barreled revolver, and is an example of a class of firearms known to gun enthusiasts as "snubnosed", "snubbies", or "belly guns". As the name "Detective Special" suggests, this model revolver was used as a concealed weapon by plainclothes police detectives.

Introduced in 1927, the Detective Special was one of the first short-barreled revolvers produced with a modern swing-out frame. It was designed from the outset to be chambered for higher-powered cartridges such as the .38 Special, considered to be a powerful caliber for a concealable pocket revolver of the day.