This is the complete list - not real extensive. Descriptions and load info follow...
6/6/99: load info corrected/updated on the .38, see red text.
From top to bottom...
1) Charter Arms Undercover, late '70s vintage. 2" snubbie .38spl, Packmeyer grips. The frame is a "mixed steel/aluminum" design, the gripframe and barrel shroud is aluminum, the main frame, barrel core and cylinder are steel. Weight is only slightly more than an alloy model Smith&Wesson J-frame. Charter went out of biz briefly and came back as "Charco" - but quality was spotty bordering on horrid. This specimen predates that time. In addition, at some point before I found it on the "used shelf" at a local dealer, a gunsmith had tuned it to a "T". The mainspring seems to be of stock pull, but the action has been seriously slicked up, there is zero cylinder play on full lockup, the barrel-to-cylinder gap is right at .002" - there's also evidence of "tweaking" of the front sight. Sure enough, it turned out to be a superb shooter with perfectly regulated sights. Best $200 I ever spent. It eats J-Frame type speedloaders.
I load it with the Federal Hydrashock 110grain Personal Defense. These have a powder charge tuned for 2" barrels, so even without +P pressure they get good ballistics in the 950fps range - plus the recoil is low and accuracy is high, better than the old FBI 158s or the Nyclad 125s, the other "carry candidate loads" I tried.
6/6/99: Whoops. Correction. I finally got some reliable ballistics data for the Federal 110 in a 2" barrel besides Federal. The marketing was just that, marketing. See also http://www.firearmstactical.com/briefs12.htm - this website is an excellent source of load data as long as you understand they're biased towards penetration at the cost of expansion ("Facklerites" versus devotees of Marshal & Sanow). The Fackler crowd spends a lot of time trash-talking Marshal & Sanow and with some cause, although I still suspect civilian ammo choices should be less biased towards penetration than PD ammo. If a baddie tries to hide from a cop, a cop's job is to pursue and if necessary, fire through light barriers such as doors, auto glass, etc. As a CCW holder, if a criminal tries to hide from ME I'm not paid to pursue, I'm gonna run like a bunny!
Anyways...the Federal 110 is junk. Other choices I'm pondering are various frangibles, especially the CorBon BeeSafe frangible/ball composite (see also www.corbon.com) and the Glaser "silver label" large-pellet frangible (see also http://www.safetyslug.com/). The "classic answer" back when .38snubbies were common police issue was the "FBI load", a 158grain unjacketed hollowpoint at +P pressure (LSWC-HP). They're known for good accuracy, but I'm worried about overpenetration and want to avoid +P.
Jeez. After all these years with snubbies, you'd think there'd be a more clear-cut answer!
2) North American Arms "MiniMaster", .22Magnum (primary caliber) but
has alternate .22LR cylinder, bought new less than a year ago. This
is the fixed-sight model, and the factory large soft rubber grips have
been cut down by me into a "semi-bird's head" setup. The whole backstrap
of the grip frame is exposed. This little booger is accurate,
capable of putting five high velocity .22Mag rounds into less than 5" at
25yards. It's more accurate than the Undercover. Oddly enough,
accuracy is nearly identical with good .22LR fodder. Pictured below
is what it looked like with the grips in original (bulkier) shape:
(Photo copyright NAA, cropped from a larger image
on their website catalog. Used here in accord with "fair use" principles
for technical illustration purposes.)
Primary load is the new Winchester Supreme 34grain .22Mag. This isn't quite as fast a load as the CCI MaxiMag +V but the JHP cavity is more "advanced" - it's a scaled-down Ranger SXT which in turn is the more politically correct variant of the old Black Talon. NAA has load data for this round up to 1.5" barrel lengths; they haven't tested it in the MiniMaster 4" yet, but extrapolating from the shorter velocity it should pull around 1,300fps. The CCI +V has been clocked at 1,400fps from the MM but it's a more "primitive" design.
3) Freedom Arms Magnum Mini, .22Mag. 1.5" barrel, grip is the same size as a current model NAA .22LR-frame. I've had it for a couple of years, run about 500 rounds through, it's at least 12 years old. This model is marked "Casull's Improvement", a reference to Dick Casull, the guy who pioneered these modern stainless minirevolvers while at North American Arms, moved to Freedom Arms and there designed the .454 Casull "handcannons", large monster bear-defense-grade revolvers known for off-scale recoil. This little puppy is rather "high steppin'" as well, YOU try hanging onto .22Magnums with almost no gun weight and a one-finger grip. Accuracy is surprisingly good, I can plant all four CCI MaxiMax +Vs into a handspan at seven yards firing one shot per second. The "junk gun" label on these and the NAA minirevolvers is pure slander, done purely because they're highly concealable and NOT because they're low-grade or unsafe.
The CCI MaxiMag +V has been clocked at almost 1,200fps from a 1.5" tube. With a barrel this short, you need to pick loads carefully for max power. See also the various velocity data charts at the NAA website.
Tactical notes: The snubbie is a good basic personal defense gun. The Freedom Arms mini is the sort of critter that can live permanently in your pocket. Some mugger wants your wallet, hey, no problem...until the "wallet" blows up in his face. It's a "last ditch close range surprise".
The MiniMaster is more of a "backup in case the .38 goes down or is too bulky for the circumstances" - it's capable of longer-range situations and can be concealed in a swimsuit, but it doesn't have the power of the .38. I doubt I'd ever carry both the .38 and the MiniMaster, but I'd put both on my CCW license for flexibility. If I thought I actually needed both for a given situation, I'd avoid that situation! <grin!>.