Category: All About Guns
John hopes the “Modelo de Tres Candado” will shoot a
little better when he tries bigger bullets.
For more than 100 years Colt and Smith & Wesson competed with each other to see who could come up with the most modern model first. Of course, Colt had started in 1836 with the first truly workable revolver, the percussion Paterson. In 1857, S&W introduced the Model 1, a 7-shot, tip-up .22 which was the first successful cartridge-firing revolver.
Then 1869 saw the first big-bore centerfire sixgun with the S&W .44 American and then Colt countered in 1873 with the first solid frame—the .45 Single Action Army. While Colt was on a roll they went double action with the 1877 Lightning followed by the 1878 Double Action. S&W came-right back in 1881 with the double action version of their single-action New Model 3.
Before the close of the 19th century both companies were ready to look to the future and Colt introduced the Army, Navy and New Service Models, all double actions with swing-out cylinders. By 1899 S&W had the .38 revolver which would become known as the Military & Police. All of these double actions locked only at the rear of the cylinder, however S&W soon added a second lock under the barrel in front of the ejector rod. At this point only Colt had a big-bore double action revolver with a swing-out cylinder. That was about to change.
Will the real Smith & WessonTriple Lock please stand up? It’s the bottom one.
Only the front sight placement is a giveaway.
The Triple Lock
In late 1907, S&W brought out their first big-bore modern double action with the New Century. The competition was the Colt New Service which only locked at the rear of the cylinder and had an exposed ejector rod. The New Century was the first of what would become the N-Frames and was chambered in a somewhat modernized version of the excellent .44 Russian cartridge. It was lengthened slightly, about 2/10″ to become the .44 Special, however the ballistics stayed basically the same. S&W countered the single lock/exposed ejector rod of the Colt by not only using a lock at the end of the ejector rod but also completely enclosing said rod. However S&W engineers did not stop there.
The New Century, also known as the .44 Hand Ejector First Model, would soon be known to all those who really appreciated it as the Triple Lock. Not only was this new sixgun chambered in a new cartridge using an enlarged Military & Police frame, improved with the use of the shroud to enclose the ejector rod which protected the rod, and also improved the looks of the S&W revolver. And S&W did not stop there, either.
The Triple Lock got its name because of a third lock brilliantly machined in the front of the frame at the yoke and barrel junction to solidly lock the cylinder in place. Even to this day many sixgun lovers will tell you the S&W Triple Lock is the finest revolver ever produced. Alas, it didn’t last very long. By 1915 the third lock as well as the enclosed ejector rod were gone. Why did S&W drop the .44 Special Triple Lock? Could it have been too expensive to produce? It can’t be for that reason as the Second Model of 1915 only sold for $2 less; for a measly $2 what may have been the finest sixgun ever produced disappeared.
Actually the blame probably rests upon the British. They were at war in Europe and ordered 5,000 Triple Locks chambered in .455 for use in the trench warfare of the time. The precise fitting of that extra third locking feature as well as the enclosed ejector rod was an object of concern when matched up with the muddy trenches. If either the lock or ejector rod housing became caked with mud the revolver would be out of commission until thoroughly cleaned. Removing both features resulted in what they thought was a firearm better suited to the conditions.
Was the third lock even necessary? In their book S&W 1857-1945, authors Robert Neal and Roy Jinks say, “Most authorities believe that the third lock provided on this model was put there by S&W more as an example of the ultimate in precision machine work than as a necessary item for extra strength. Even with S&W’s normal two locks they provided twice the locking strength of any Colt Hand Ejector arm then produced, along with the extra accuracy of the forward lock in keeping the cylinder in line with the barrel.” Why was the third lock there? Because it could be.
The Triple Lock was very popular with peace officers especially those in the Southwest and along our southern border. The pre-WWII S&Ws are usually referred to as having long actions, which were particularly good for shooting double-action style. As new peace officers came along a demand arose for a return to the Triple Lock or at least an enclosed ejector rod housing. S&W did not feel the demand warranted such a return until Wolf & Klar of Fort Worth, Texas, placed an order for 3,500 .44 Specials in 1926. The shrouded ejector rod was back but the Triple Lock was never to be seen again, or at least I thought so. The Triple Lock did come back but not through S&W.
In the August 1979 issue of the American Riflemen there is a picture of what was then a new Triple Lock. Built with a 4″ barrel with a ventilated rib and smooth Roper-style grips, this Triple Lock was produced by Rossi and chambered in .44 Magnum. No one seems to know whatever happened to it; however, there may have been two of them made.
The third lock (below) can be seen at the front of the yoke and at the back of the ejector rod shroud.
Spanish Connection
For all these years as far as I knew there were no other Triple Locks ever produced. Then I got a phone call from my good friend J.D. Jones telling me he had found a Modelo Silo Nuevo, a Spanish copy of the Triple Lock or, if you please, a Candida Triple. J.D. was going to buy it himself but figured I would appreciate it much more since I am so enamored and captivated by the .44 Special. He gave me the name of the Ohio gunshop which I immediately called and for $300 plus shipping I had a Spanish Triple Lock. Where in the world did it come from?
The answer comes from the late Dan Shideler. We all know, if we’ve been around handguns very long, that Spain had been copying both S&W and Colt revolvers since the frontier days. This particular revolver came from Trocaola, Aranzabal y Cia (or TAC) of Eibar, Spain. This company began in 1905 and by the time of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 was out of business. Unlike many other Spanish revolvers there is no way these could be classified as junk and in fact Great Britain not only purchased .455 Triple Locks from S&W for use in WWI they also bought Webley copies from TAC.
The original S&W Triple Lock was never adopted as US military issue, however the Spanish version is officially known as the Modelo Militar. The Spanish considered revolvers with adjustable sights as target guns while fixed-sighted versions were considered military-style revolvers. TAC was obviously proud of their “Candado Triple” as they made no attempt to pass it off as a S&W. Many of those other S&W-style revolvers had such a misleading mark on the barrel as “For the SMITH & WESSON cartridge.” Many years ago, I answered an ad in the local paper and went to look at a pair of “Smith & Wessons” for sale. When I told the seller they were not S&Ws but actually Spanish copies, she became very indignant and practically threw me out of the house. However, the following week they were advertised in the paper once again for a lot less money.
My new Triple Lock seems to be very well-made, looks exactly like a 6-1/2″ fixed-sight S&W Triple Lock and is finished in bright blue with excellent checkered walnut stocks. Case colors on hammer and trigger are both still quite brilliant. The only down side is the fact the chamber mouths are well over size at .437″. The only loads I had made up for test-firing with bullets even close were .432″; next spring I will try some larger bullets and hope I can do better than the 2″ groups I am now getting.
While there is no attempt to pass this off as a genuine S&W it is somewhat humorous to read what it says on the barrel. On the left side we find: “FOR 44 SPECIAL AND U.S. SERVICE CTG” (I don’t know of any US service cartridge which will fit in a .44 Special). Then on the top we find: “BEST AMERICAN CARTRIDGES ARE THOSE THAT FIT BEST THE TAC REVOLVER.” At least they’re not warning labels! At my age discovering something new is pretty rare. This Candado Triple from Spain is worth much more than the price of admission to me. Thanks J.D.
This is one of the ugliest guns that I have ever seen in 50 plus years. What I mean by this is this, I.E. If my Dog was so ugly then I would shave its butt and teach it to walk backwards!! Grumpy
The shooter, who identified as transgender, specifically targeted the school because another location she thought of attacking had too much security.
The hearing room, which was full of gun control activists, booed and heckled the Republican representatives after voted to advance the bill through a House committee. As people got up to leave, one woman began shouting at the representatives about how she knows how to use firearms but she would never carry inside the classroom because she would not shoot her students.
“I would never carry a gun in front of my students! I loved my students. I would die for them but I would not shoot them,” said the woman wearing a Moms Demand Action t-shirt.
Now there’s a few ways to interpret what she said, none of which are good. One is that she thinks she is not stable enough to be trusted around a firearm because she might use it on a student, which ok, yes, if you think that, you should not have a firearm. One charitable interpretation is she meant the second “them” as in the incoming random attacker, but then in theory her students would still be in danger if she dies without taking out the threat.
The last possible explanation is that she would not shoot her student who is going around killing other students. Again, none of these explanations are good and it was certainly an odd comment to make in an attempt to persuade lawmakers.
—————————————————————————————-As a retired School Teacher myself, I strangely have to agree partically with her. In that the vast majority of teachers that I have met out here in the Peoples Republic. I would NEVER let them near a gun!!! As while frankly while nice folks. I just know that it would be either a blood bath or the shooter would quickly have another gun. Grumpy
Don’t let ‘em fool you — these are guns are for experts!
Top to bottom: S&W Custom 640 by Gemini Customs, classic Colt Agent,
Roy’s beater S&W 340 and an old cut-down Charter .44 Special.
Yeah, I know, we all have one or more of them, and there’s nothing wrong with that. In experienced hands — and I mean near-expert hands — they are effective, accurate, reliable and highly concealable. But frankly, too many inexperienced shooters have them, and in most of their hands, the small revolver is an inadequate tool with the potential for being a real problem if called upon to be used.
It’s been my experience most who carry a small-frame revolver can’t shoot it worth beans, and hardly ever (maybe never?) shoot it anyway. In their mind’s eye they have themselves whipping it out, engaging a bad guy, the bad guys does down with solid, centered hits, and the good guy is a hero.
In reality most people shoot poorly with these little guns, don’t carry a reload, can’t manipulate them well and have little or no idea of the gun’s true abilities. They’re a potential danger to themselves and everyone around them.
Why do we seem to think we can buy one of these guns, load it, and for some magical reason — suddenly know everything about it?
A S&W 6″ Model 14 and a 5-screw 36 on the right. At a lasered 37 yards,
using Federal .38 Special148 gr. Match wadcutters the 14 gave 2.25″ and the 36 about 3.6″.
Not bragging — just showing the little guns can shoot if you know what you’re doing.
Astoundingly enough, the J-frame was spot-on (a rarity) and I favored
the top of the red zone as I shot, dropping the shots right in.
The Problem At Hand
Are small-frame revolvers actually expert’s guns? Absolutely. But, they’re alluring because they’re easy to carry. Few are willing to compromise with comfort, and are drawn to the lightweight and small size of these appealing little shooters. But is that bad?
It’s not — if you take the time to learn to run these tiny terrors. If a gun-store-counter-commando talks you into buying one for your wife or yourself, there’s more to the game than simply loading it and putting it into your pocket. Much more.
Don’t be fooled though — the guns are inherently accurate, and I’ve actually shot old-time PPC courses (a form of police target shooting out to 50 yards) and used a 2.5″ Model 19 .357 K-frame. You’d be stunned at the groups possible at 50 yards, and a tuned gun in good hands can deliver 5″ or 6″ — and better! — easily at that range. The scary thing is so can some J-frames in good hands.
Not long ago at Gunsite, with a crew from S&W, we shot 2″ to 5″ J-frame .38s out to 100 yards, making regular hits on man-sized steel. But these were experienced shooters, and most importantly, everyone knew how to run a double action revolver, staging the trigger to get accuracy at the same level you can get shooting single action. And that’s the biggest secret to these little guns (or any gun) — trigger control.
More Secrets
Like anything small, a J-frame or equivalent can be fumbly so you have to train your fingers to work smaller grips, smaller triggers, harder actions, cylinder releases tending to be sticky and tiny cylinders. Not to mention those usually inadequate sights and short sight radius. But, if you seek the training you should, from people who understand these guns, you’ll find them to be elegant compromises when it comes to personal protection working guns. If you’re willing to work at it.
As we’ve chatted about before in these pages, sight picture is important, but trigger control is paramount. It’s especially true with these little guns, as the slightest wobble can toss a round into the next county. If you gain control over the stagy-hard-gritty trigger on many of these guns, you’ll be rewarded with accuracy sure to surprise you.
When I was a range officer for a short time on the police department, we would have detectives attempt to qualify with their various 2″ guns. This was the very early 1980s and wheelguns were the backbone of police work. Plus, wearing a Colt Detective or Chief’s Special was the hallmark of a detective. Call it their badge of office.
However it was the rare bird who could actually shoot one. Most would show up with their old duty belt and 6″ Model 10 and shoot that. I would cry foul, but at the time, it was allowed. But now and again, I’d see one try with a 2″ and snort in disgust, “This is a piece of crap and it won’t hit a thing at this distance!”
“This distance” was usually seven to 15 yards. “Can I borrow it for a sec?” I’d ask. They’d hand off, making harrumphing noises of disgust. I would load with five and, taking a comfortable stance and staging the trigger, could usually place the five in a neat group in the head or center torso of the B27 target. I would then hand the gun back and say something witty and charming like, “Gosh, the gun seems to shoot fine. Perhaps you need to learn how to shoot it? I’d be happy to teach you,” delivered with a big, toothy grin.
I also bought a lot of small guns, cheap, right then and there, and used to keep a $100 bill in my wallet just for that purpose. And it’s too bad, as 15 minutes of training might have had most of them on-target — if they’d only wanted to learn.
And that’s the key, right there in front of us. You need to want to learn. It’s the only way you’ll be safe with these guns. And, it’s the only way you’ll be able to use one and enjoy just how remarkable these little “expert’s guns” truly are. Honest.