The Neglected K-Frame

Over at Brigid's, Marko comments about Snith & Wessom K-frame revolvers:

You just don't see too many K-frames in CCW holsters anymore these days. Most folks who tote a wheelgun carry a small-frame snubbie, and most folks who carry a 30-ounce gun opt for higher capacity than a six-shooter.

The S&W K-frame revolvers were arguably the most popular handguns of the 20th century. The Military & Police model--now called the Model 10-- was extremely popular with cops and private citizens. They were the ultimate in "basic", with a bare minimum of features and controls, and a size and power perfectly suited to most people's needs and preferences. They were the Glocks of their time. I bought one a while back for our very small household battery, just because it was the Platonic ideal of the double-action revolver (a niche for which we didn't then have an example), and fit our hands nicely.

But today, they've gone badly out of fashion due to changes in the market. When Danielle and I went to the NRA convention last year, we asked at every holster booth in the seven acres of exhibitors, and not one of them was offering a holster for a K-frame. I was shocked. I knew they weren't popular any more, but none?

Danielle had a much easier time finding a shoulder holster for her snub-nosed J-frame, picking one up at a ridiculous last-hour-of-show don't-want-to-pack-it-up discount. She got it home, adjusted it for fit, holstered her snubbie... And it almost fell out. Because the holster was sized for a K-frame.

I gave her the revolver. It was probably the best thirty bucks she ever spent.