Mr. Cunningham.

cut off approximately 2 3/4 inches. The original barrel was 5 inches for this model.

Mr. Eisenberg.

Would the failure to rebarrel affect the accuracy of the weapon?

Mr. Cunningham.

It should slightly, if you are firing .38 Special bullets; because they are slightly undersized in a .38 S&W barrel. On the average, .38 S&W barrels are approximately 4/1000ths larger than the normal .38 Special barrel. In this particular weapon, that holds true.

Mr. Eisenberg.

Would it affect accuracy at close range?

Mr. Cunningham.

None whatsoever. And there, again, the shortening of the barrel would affect the accuracy more than the use of .38 Special, due to the fact that your sight radius has been cut down.

Mr. Eisenberg.

That is to say, when you shorten the barrel, the length between the front and the back sights is shorter, therefore giving more room for error?

Mr. Cunningham.

Yes, sir. In other words, the movement of the front sight will cause more of a discrepancy at the target at longer ranges, due to the shorter sight radius.

Mr. Eisenberg.

Is there any functional reason for cutting the barrel down to its present short size?

Mr. Cunningham.

Sales appeal, I would say, is the main reason. Also, concealment.

Mr. Eisenberg.

In your experience, is a short barrel, cut-down barrel weapon like this usually purchased for legitimate purposes by other than police officers?

Mr. Cunningham.

Possibly a collector. Among target shooters, it is not a popular weapon, due to the short sight radius. Revolvers with 6-inch barrels are very accurate weapons. A target shooter Would not use a weapon of the short barrel type. Therefore, it is not a very popular weapon for sportsmen.

Mr. Eisenberg.

Does the cutting off of the barrel increase the possibility of concealment?

Mr. Cunningham.

It does, because it makes it handier. I carried, when I was in the field 5 years-- I carried my personally owned firearm, which had a 2-inch barrel, due to the fact that for concealment you could not see it when I wore a suit, and it was more discreet in the type of work I was doing.

The Chairman.

Can both kinds of cartridges be used interchangeably in this gun?

Mr. Cunningham.

In this particular gun, yes sir. It makes no difference.

The Chairman.

Either an S&W or S&W Special?

Mr. Cunningham.

Yes, sir; the chambers of this particular cylinder have been bored out, it appears from the very rough marks, to accommodate the for ward portion of a .38 Special cartridge. Also, when this barrel was made or the cylinder was made the chambers had a shoulder or lip that the .38 S&W cartridge case would fit up against. The bullet would go forward farther, but the cartridge case would fit up against this shoulder at the neck.
And in order to chamber a .38 Special, that forward portion had to be bored out slightly, several thousandths to accommodate the longer cartridge, which, by the way, is a very common thing on these surplus weapons. Practically all of them are being rechambered, due to the popularity of the .38 Special cartridge.

The Chairman.

I see.

Mr. Eisenberg.

Mr. Cunningham, this weapon--was this weapon sold into the United States after it had been used in England?

Mr. Cunningham.

Yes, sir.

Mr. Eisenberg.

How much sign of use does it show?

Mr. Cunningham.

It has definitely been used, there is no doubt. However, the cylinder is quite tight, and I would say that this weapon is in good operating condition.

Mr. Eisenberg.

Now, since it was sold used, are you unable to attribute any amount of use to the last user?

Mr. Cunningham.

That is right, you would not be able to tell.

Mr. Eisenberg.

Mr. Cunningham, could you explain briefly the manner in which this revolver is operated, paying particular attention to extraction and loading and reloading?