Revolver frame designations?

[GM.Chief]

Hey guys, I haven't looked to deeply yet at purchasing revolvers, but I have been reading some books about CCW. One of the books is by Massad Ayoob, and throughout it he refers to J frame, K frame, etc. However, I don't know what's what. A little help please?

 

[dee]

That is referring to Smith and Wesson frame size dezignations J=small K/L=medium N=big X=really big

 

[GM.Chief]

Thank you dee.

 

[TxEMTP69]

I always wondered why a J frame was called that

 

[Bullseye Shooter]

I was told this all started with Smith and Wesson when people used the telegraph to send messages. To reduce the number of letters in the telegram (which you got charged for), S&W gave each frame a letter designation. It's easier and cheaper to send "J" rather than, "small frame". The latter models don't come in to the equation, like the L frame which came out a few years back. They just picked a letter that was between K and N to show the revolver was mid-sized between those two.

 

[hangtree]

A quick reference to Smith & Wesson frame sizes and model numbers;

here