Top, Colt Officer’s Target Model, bottom, S&W K-22. Target shooters preferred the Colt. In a letter to Handgunner reader Jens Jensen commented, “Roy … I read the book he (John Taffin) suggested, The Secrets of Double Action Shooting by Bob Nichols. Nichols kept raving about the prewar long action vs. short action S&W revolvers.” Jens went on to suggest he’d be interested in an explanation of the difference between the two. Here goes, Jens. Short vs. long action refers to the arc swung by the hammer when cocked and fired. The long action hammer moves slightly farther back when cocked, and swings through a slightly larger arc when fired. Seems hardly enough to get excited over but in the early post-war era the topic generated many a heated argument.