Hi there! Please, I need your help: A friend of mine, a hunter, but only with minor knowledge about handguns, wants a short barrel magnum
revolver as insurance against wounded boars.
It must be a 2 inch model (even a 3 inch barrel is to long for him!) and so he can get a 2 inch Colt Lawman in 357 Magnum.
Here in Germany the price of about 200$ seems to be a little bit low,
because a Smith will be double in price.
I must confess, I never heard about a 2 inch Colt Lawman- therefor my
question to you:
Did Colt ever made (officially) such a gun- or has someone tinkered with
this gun and sawed off the barrel?
Would this gun be a bargain for the 200 bucks?
I am a proud owner of a Colt Gold Cup, but my wheel gun is a Smith.
Thanks for all replies!

Ulrik,

The Colt Lawman Mk III did come with a standard 2 inch barrell, and has the general appearance of a detective special on steroids. I reckon $200 is a great price, if the weapon doesn't have any issues.

In my youth, I had three different makes of revolvers, Colt, Smith, and Taurus, with Colt being my favorite. I have owned several of each brand, and many of the Colt's and Tauri had issues that I could not overcome. The 2" Lawman that I owned was one such weapon, as sometimes, with certain brands of ammo, it would literally just sieze up. Although it had many attributes, I am one that beleives in serviceability above all else, and this gun was traded in short order. I'm sure not all Colts are like this, but I have had other maintenence issues with Colt Diamondbacks, Troopers, Police positives, Det Specials, Cobra's and the aforementioned Lawman, which was probably the worst of the lot.

If I knew then what I know now, I am pretty sure I could have fixed some of these issues in house, but with the exception of my Wife's Colt Cobra, I am Coltless at this time. All the things I have to worry with, I am not going to worry about a pistol going "bang" when I want it to.

I would have your buddy check it our pretty closely, especially the lockwork, before he carried it in harms way.

Good luck.

Steve

I would really suggest looking into one of the Taurus Titaniums. I believe they come in 2", if not other makes of Taurus do. While I am a huge Ruger fan, Ruger's tend to be heavier than the few Taurus's I've shot. I've never had a problem with the MKIII, but I may have just lucked out.

Yes, Colt made a 2" Lawman...it's a larger gun than the short barrel indicates. Lockwork doens't match the traditional Colt lock work of a Detective Special or a Python; inside it looks more like a Dan Wesson than anything else.

At the time, hard-core Colt fans were not happy to find something besides the lockwork Colt used for 100years, but the new lockwork was designed for minimal hand fitting and was cheaper to produce (otherwise, it would have cost as much as a Python).

They had a good reputaion for service, with one excption: the hammers sometimesw broke in half. Sounds drastic, and it is if it happens under fire, but the likely hood is about the same as it is with Dan Wessons (which also sometimes snap a hammer).

As one poster mentioned, he had a problem with one tieing up. Probably a heat/expansion issue (early S&W L-frames had the same problem).

If I already onwed one that prooved reliable, wouldn't trade it away...if I were loking to buy a snub, would proably pass.

Hallo! Thank you very much for your replies at cyberspeed!
They are VERY helpful for my hunting friend to come to a decision.
Indeed, I too have learned a little bit more about Colt's production history!
Though I am a proud owner of a 8 years old polished and blued Gold Cup,
with it's nearly 100 years of gun history (meaning the 1911), I must
confess, that my wheelgun is a S&W 686, 4 inch, and I think, my own decision for this (wheel) gun was ok.
I will now print your replies and give them to my hunting friend.
I think, he will also be glad about them!
Thank you and good bye!

For a bear insurance .357 Magnum, I'd suggest a short shroud 3" Ruger GP-100. Very rugged, it will hold up under as much magnum practice as your friend can handle. And, if he runs out of ammo during a bear attack, he can beat the beast to death with a stout hunk of Ruger. ;)

Hi BillLester!
Of course, the Ruger is stout. But the hunter wants a 2 incher!
Also the price of the Colt appealed to him.
I also don't know, why he wants a super short Magnum gun-
even a 3 inch is to long (for him)!
I think, alot of the energy is blown into the air, a 4 inch barrel or longer
would be much better.
This longer gun, worn under his hunting coat in a cross draw holster,
would allow a fast pull.
Perhaps I will be able to convince him of a longer handgun. By the way-
I am (though not a hunter) absolutely not sure , that a 357 Magnum
is enough gun against a wounded boar, I hear from other hunters, that a
44 Mag is a better insurance stopping a raging boar in his tracks.

ulrik,

I think a lot depends on the individual circumstances of an attack. If you can see the bear coming for you, you'd probably have a better chance in defending yourself with a heavier cartridge like the .44 Magnum. But from everything I've read/heard, bear attacks usually occur without much warning at very close distances. It seems that quite often you don't know you've been attacked until the bruin is literally on top of you. At that point your best chance of survival are shots into the mouth, eyes, ears, etc at contact distance. In that case, I don't think the .357 is at any significant disadvantage with deep penetrating ammunition.

For a short-range pig/bear load, try a 180gr. cast bullet, loaded to max with H110 or WW296.

You will get an unbelievable muzzle blast, but it's probably better than having the doctor sew up your hide, or worse.

I've carried a .357 on many a hog hunt, without an second thoughts, although it was a 6.5" Ruger Blackhawk.

Oh fine! More replies! Thank you all! Well- I must say, here in Germany, the biggest dangerous animal for a hunter is a wounded boar, a wild pig,
no bear, but no hunter is amused, after having had an attack of this
animal. If not pulling his gun lightning fast, the hunter's only chance is climbing up a tree, fast as an ape- no joke!
But to hear from you from the real (hunting) life, is very interesting for me too, "only" beeing a western buff and sporting shot:
the good ol' 357 mag seems to be indeed a universal caliber!
I am therefore glad, having choosed my Smith 686 long years ago!
Thank you and I am feeling fine to be here in this forum!

ulrik,

I must apologize. I read "boar" as "bear." To tell the truth, I thought a German hunter asking about bear defense was unusual. Oh well, looks like the problem was me!

Even more now, I think a .357 will do just fine for defense against wounded boar. (There, I finally got it right! ;) ) Your personal choice of a S&W Model 686 would be exceptionally hard to improve upon. Glad to have you here.