I was beginning to watch a movie the other night, when the image of a snub-nosed revolver appeared on screen.
I was reminded of a recent comment from a friend of mine, about some things just looking “right”. In fact I think he said the F-35 looks like a donkey, so who can be surprised it has some many problems?
Why does the snub-nose look so right to me? I grabbed some Golden Ratio callipers that I had and an ancient copy of Gun Digest, and I examined a few photos of stubbies.
If you divided the length by the Golden Ratio, the transition is just behind the trigger. This worked for Colts, Smith and Wesson and Charter Arms Pugs. A photo of a Colt King Cobra also looked nicely proportioned, but clearly had a longer barrel. The callipers revealed the proportions were the same and the barrel was balanced out by the bulkier grip.
I knew from some previous experiments that certain proportions of the Kalashnikov were in the Golden Ratio.
Using the Golden Sections guides option of GIMP, I looked at some other iconic guns:
The long Colt M1911A1 auto also shows the Golden Ratio from the back of the trigger guard.
So too does a .44 Mountain Magnum with a three inch barrel.
The Smith and Wesson Governor is closer to Golden Ratio proportions than I expected.
A lever-action Winchester shows the ratio from the pivot point of the action.
A Colt Peacemaker with a 45⁄8 inch barrel shows Golden Ratio proportions more than once. See the ratio of barrel to the rest of the weapon, and the ratio from the trigger or rear of the cylinder forward.
Much to my surprise, a Glock 36 also shows the Golden Ratio.
I couldn't leave this one out!
Also of interest is how often vertical proportions seem to agree with the Golden Ratio.