I picked up my Smith & Wesson Model 12 .38 Special in 1999 after reading an article by the late Walt Rauch on a customized one that looked really cool. I knew I wanted to have one made up for me! Like most such plans, it fell by the wayside in the face of family, work, and finances. I kept it around though, because I liked the way it handled and I shot it a lot. I qualified for my Kentucky CCW license with it, and even attended an Advanced Defensive Handgun course with John Farnam of Defense Training, International, being the only revolver shooter in the class.
The 2” medium frame guns seem to have fallen from favor in the tidal wave of small, featherweight revolvers and compact semi-autos that are the rage for concealed carry these days. The model 12, and other guns like it, does offer some advantages over the lightweight pocket guns.
The S&W model 12 was offered from 1952 to 1986, with the first models offered made completely of aluminum alloy. It was found in short order that the alloy cylinders wouldn’t hold up to firing even standard pressure .38 Special loads, and were changed to steel in 1954. The all-alloy guns, commonly called the ‘Aircrewman’ model, are highly collectible nowadays.
It was offered with 2” or 4” barrels, in blue or nickel finish, and with a square or round butt like the old mainstay of the Smith & Wesson line, the Model 10 service revolver. Mine is the blue 2” model. With the round butt and 2” barrel, it weighs 19 ounces unloaded. In contrast, my J-frame Model 642 Airweight .38 Special with its Barami Hip Grip weighs 15 ounces but comes with a smaller grip, sights that are harder to see, and one less round. The Model 12 came with the original skinny grips. I tried several different grips on it until I finally settled on just adding a Tyler T-Grip adaptor to it. Gee, can we say ‘simple?’
The trigger is narrow and serrated, which goes against the current thought that revolver triggers ‘must be smooth and rounded for shooting comfort.’ Nope, I like the serrations; I like knowing my finger isn’t going to move or slide around, and the serrations naturally fall into the first joint of my trigger finger. Coincidentally, I have the same kind of trigger on my Model 19 .357 Magnum, as well. The fixed rear sight notch and serrated front sight ramp are the same ones used on the full-size Model 10 heavy barrel service revolver, so there’s no surprise there.
Ammo Choices
Since they aren’t made anymore, and I don’t think I can replace the frame anytime soon, I refrain from shooting any +P loadings through it. I have in the past, but I have a good supply of the Federal 125gr Nyclad Hollowpoint, which was designed expressly for the short-barreled.38s, I have no reason to beat up the gun like that.
In my part of the country, I can find the Hornady Critical Defense 110gr Flextip jacketed hollowpoint round pretty easily, and it is one of the first choices of people I talk to. However, there are a lot of knowledgeable folks who have gravitated towards the full wadcutter round for personal protection, the thinking being that while the hollowpoint bullet may or may not expand from the short barrel, the full wadcutter will cut a clean hole through your adversary. I didn’t have any on hand, so they will be the subject of another article.
My reloads for practice and training are standard pressure, being a 158gr lead bullet and 4 grains of Winchester 231. Both loads were easy to shoot out of the short-barreled K-frame and were more than accurate enough for what it was going to be used for.
In shooting for this article, I stretched things out to 15 yards to see what the full-framed gun would do. Yes, the short barrel can make things difficult at times, but it was a lot easier than shooting a J-frame at that distance, and the K-frame-sized grip gave me more leverage for shooting double action, something lacking in the smaller guns. Besides, not all self-defense shootings are ‘up close and personal,’ and knowing my gun is going to be accurate at a greater distance is a comfort to me.
The S&W Model 12 as a Carry Gun
It served as my concealed carry gun for a while, and I toted it around in an old Bianchi 3S Pistol Pocket IWB holster. Even in the heat of a hot Alabama summer, the finish held up fine. I shot it every week, and the only sign is the ring around the cylinder. If the hammer were bobbed off, it might make a pretty good pocket gun. It may sound crazy, but no less an authority than Elmer Keith thought enough of the snubby K-frame to talk about it as a pocket gun in his book ‘Sixguns’ back in 1955. In those days though, men’s fashions were a bit different, pants were a bit roomier, and coats were almost always worn. Elmer figured that if you were going to use a holster, you could just as easily carry a bigger gun, and use this one as backup.
To my way of thinking, if you are a fan of the K-frame guns, such as the Model 10, Model 15, Model 19, Model 66, etc., and use one on a regular basis, then having one of these as a concealed carry gun makes a lot of sense. Most folks are more apt to carry the shorter, lighter gun anyway.
Along those same lines, the speedloader for the six-shot K-frames will also work with the Colt D-frame revolvers, such as the Detective Special, Cobra, and Agent. This was a hot setup when police officers still mainly carried revolvers, as one could use the same loader and ammo in the primary or backup gun. It is still a viable technique today.
The concept of a medium frame, short-barreled, lightweight revolver was revitalized by Smith & Wesson with their Night Guard series, and lately, there has been a resurgence of interest in snubby revolvers. The Model 12 is an outstanding revolver in its own right, and they are still available on the used market. Check one out, and I think you’ll find it useful.
