The Colt Detective Special is a carbon steel framed double-action, snubnosed, 6-shot revolver. As the name "Detective Special" suggests, this model revolver was used as a concealed weapon by plainclothes police detectives. It was made with either a 2-inch or 3-inch barrel. Introduced in 1927, the Detective Special was the first snubnosed revolvers produced with a modern swing-out frame. It was designed from the outset to be chambered for higher-powered cartridges such as the .38 Special, considered to be a powerful caliber for a concealable pocket revolver of the day.