# What type of weapon is a "Saturday Night Special" ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 30, 2003, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862 "2003-07-30T07:03:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Achilles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dc4da7/32.png) [@Achilles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achilles)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/1 "2003-07-30T07:03:57Z")
I was watching the movie “48 Hours” last night and one of the cops in the station says “There’s a lot of people being shot with 44’s now. I dunno. Last year it was all ‘Saturday Night Specials’ this year, 44’s”. What does _that_ mean ?? I’d just like to know. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Space\_Vampire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Space\_Vampire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Space_Vampire)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/2 "2003-07-30T07:07:48Z")
I THINK it refers to a .38 snub. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/3 "2003-07-30T07:08:25Z")
I think it’s a .38 special bought on the street (easy to get on any Saturday night, and usually with filed down serials). It’s become slang for any easily available gun purchased illegally. .44s are not nearly as common on the street. ---
**Author:** ![Achilles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dc4da7/32.png) [@Achilles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achilles)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/4 "2003-07-30T07:16:02Z")
Okay. I still have no idea what a “.38” is. Where I live, all hand-guns are illegal and the only gun I’ve ever seen or fired was the side-arm of an Italian policeman friend of mine. I don’t know what type of gun it was. I think it was a “Baretta” or something… Thanks all. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/5 "2003-07-30T07:21:34Z")
May I offer a memory? You’re going to have to go back to a phrase that was going out of style when I was a kid. “Hotter than a $2 pistol on Saturday night.” The original phrase might be referring to the temperature. It may also have had some ethnic/racial connotations. In any case it never seemed to refer to a specific brand or caliber, but rather to a firearm that was so cheaply made that might cause as much risk to the shooter as the shooted. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/6 "2003-07-30T07:30:15Z")
.38 and .44 and 9 mm and similar descriptions refer to the diameter of the bullet fired. (At which point, one of our gun experts will drop by to point out that .38s and .357s and a host of other bullets actually have the same diameter, but are measured at different points of the cartridge, but I will let them go on about that.) The .38 indicates 38 hundredths of an inch. 9 mm indicates nine millimeters (which is really close to .38 of an inch). Since bullets are three dimensional, an increase in bullet diameter is accompanied by a much larger increase in the amount of propellant to fire it, which, coupled with the greater mass of the bullet, itself, makes a slightly larger bullet quite a bit more powerful when striking an object. (Of course, those generalities are subject to special considerations regarding the length of the gun’s barrel and the shape and size of the propellant cartridge that may make any given bullet much more lethal or relatively less so.) The point of the movie comment is that the bad guys have increased the lethality of their weapons by a (figurative) order of magnitude. (When I was a kid, Saturday Night Specials were .32s, an even smaller weapon, but times change.) ---
**Author:** ![Achilles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dc4da7/32.png) [@Achilles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achilles)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/7 "2003-07-30T07:32:44Z")
Thanks **Tomndebb**! ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/8 "2003-07-30T08:08:12Z")
Saturday-night special n. from police slang for a cheap handgun. I stand by my story. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/9 "2003-07-30T08:14:03Z")
- - - A 357/38 snub is shown here: Go to [http://www.smith-wesson.com/](http://www.smith-wesson.com/) At the top blue bar, hit on the “Products” navigation title Find a search box that asks for a model number, and enter “386”. ~ ---
**Author:** ![Achilles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dc4da7/32.png) [@Achilles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achilles)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/10 "2003-07-30T10:15:14Z")
Thanks **DougC** - but I’m surfing from work and [Smith-Wesson.com](http://Smith-Wesson.com) is blocked. Apparently they think that if i can see a gun I might decide to shoot up the office :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Doc\_Nickel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5fc32e/32.png) [@Doc\_Nickel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doc_Nickel)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/11 "2003-07-30T10:27:00Z")
“Saturday Night Special” is a meaningless catch-all term. It describes no particular caliber, type or brand, it’s generally considered a term for a criminal’s gun. The phrase began in the 50s and 60s, as I recall, and had racist connotations- the original term insinuated it as a weapon blacks used to kill each other during weekend bouts of drunkenness- IE, parties on Saturday nights. The term as it’s understood today simply means any firearm, usually a pistol, usually cheap, and small enough to be easily concealed. The insinuation, again, is that it’s a criminal’s weapon. The phrase has no legal definition. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/12 "2003-07-30T12:46:04Z")
**Doc Nickel** nailed it… The “Saturday Night Special” is essentially a myth, a nebulous catch-all phrase to describe the general (and prejudiced) concept of a steroytpical inexpensive, low-caliber, low-power, low-quality handguns, mostly of the import variety, frequently used in crimes. It was ostensably to dry-up the supply of these ‘dangerous imports’ that the [Gun Control Act of 1968](http://www.atf.treas.gov/pub/fire-explo_pub/gca.htm) was originally enacted. Unfortunately, criminals did the logical thing, and just went with higher-powered, higher-quality _non_-Saturday Night Specials. _shrug_ What? Did anyone think criminals were going to respect the law? A S&W Model 638, or equivalent (.38 snub), is hardly a Saturday Night Special… It’s a moderately powerful, moderately costly, and high-to-very-high quality weapon, and deserves much more respect than the disparaging label of Saturday Night Special. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/13 "2003-07-30T14:19:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Thanks DougC - but I’m surfing from work and [Smith-Wesson.com](http://Smith-Wesson.com) is blocked. - - - Well okay, I stole a photo from S&W’s site. - Try here: [http://www.norcom2000.com/users/dcimper/assorted/dkiejhswy.html](http://www.norcom2000.com/users/dcimper/assorted/dkiejhswy.html) … - These pistols also have a reputation as “man-killers” because they’re small and easy to conceal and without a lot of practice it’s very difficult to hit a reasonably-sized (read: _human_) target at more than a few feet away. A pistol with a 6-inch barrel is far easier to aim than a pistol with a 2-inch barrel. (I think the one in that photo is like 3.3 inches, but they have been made with shorter barrels. Some company made a two-inch one out there somewhere) ~ ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/14 "2003-07-30T14:33:59Z")
Perhaps the term has different connotations in different regions. In these parts, the term refers to any cheap handgun, generally not made by a reputable manufacturer, often not terribly dependable, often illegally modified in some manner (shortbarrelled, filed firing pin, no serial numbers, or whatever). It has no racial connotations of which I am aware. It DOES imply that the weapon will be found in the hands of disreputable persons, but there’s no clue as to what color they’ll be… ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/15 "2003-07-30T14:59:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Doug Bowe \* > \*\* “Hotter than a $2 pistol on Saturday night.” > > The original phrase might be referring to the temperature. It may also have had some ethnic/racial connotations. > \*\* I’ve heard two explanations of the phrase. Neither have anything to do with weather or race. 1. The $2 pistol was stolen (aka “hot”) earlier that day for use in a stickup, bar fight, etc. 2. The $2 pistol is so badly made that the barrell actually heats up when it’s fired, thus warping the rifling and making the gun even more undependable than it already was. Take your pick. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/16 "2003-07-30T15:07:14Z")
From the PBS series “Frontline” [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/guns/ring/](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/guns/ring/) * * * ## _The great majority of Saturday Night Specials made in the U.S. are produced by a small group of handgun manufacturers located quite close to each other in Southern California. These small, inexpensive handguns figure in thousands of firearm crimes each year._ It does not seem that Smith & Wesson would be a player in this arena. As to caliber: * * * ## _The Ring of Fire companies dominate the production of easily concealable, inexpensive handguns. In 1992, they made over 80 percent of the .25 ACP, .32 ACP, and .380 ACP pistols produced in this country. Their rapid growth has largely come from increased production of medium-caliber.380 ACP pistols, guns with the small size and low cost of other Saturday Night Specials but with greater power._ These days the word “import” may no longer be used in describing a Saturday night special because… * * * - Few of these guns could legally be imported into the United States if made elsewhere. They would be too small - too easily concealable - to meet minimum federal standards, or would fail other required design and performance tests.\* * * * Long story short, It looks like everyone here circled or got the definition of Saturday Night Special. If, on the other hand, the OP was looking for the meaning of the phrase in context, Tom nailed it. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/17 "2003-07-30T16:35:14Z")
> [@](#): > > These days the word “import” may no longer be used in describing a Saturday night special because… > > * * * > > ## _Few of these guns could legally be imported into the United States if made elsewhere. They would be too small - too easily concealable - to meet minimum federal standards, or would fail other required design and performance tests._ This is an unintended consequence of the GCA of '68. They’re no longer readily available as _imports_, so they’re being made domestically, and the GCA has failed it’s stated purpose. More effective to work on drying up the demand, rather than the supply, IMO. Like any slippery phrase, “Saturday Night Special” will of course change meaning by region, as does “Hotter than a $2 pistol” (which I always thought referred to a stolen pistol bought from a ‘fence’) and any similar phrase. ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/18 "2003-07-30T16:50:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kunilou \* > \*\*I’ve heard two explanations of the phrase. Neither have anything to do with weather or race. > > 1. The $2 pistol was stolen (aka “hot”) earlier that day for use in a stickup, bar fight, etc. > > 2. The $2 pistol is so badly made that the barrell actually heats up when it’s fired, thus warping the rifling and making the gun even more undependable than it already was. > > Take your pick. \*\* I don’t know, I read that phrase as being able to describe any situation that is hot. “What was the weather like in Jamaica Bob?” “Well Chris it was hotter than a $2 pistol on a saturday night” it could be anything really, a hot woman for e.g. I assume that any pistol bought for $2 and carried around on a saturday night would be destined for a dubious or ‘hot’ task. Like the phrase ‘cheaper than a $3 whore’. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/19 "2003-07-30T16:50:17Z")
What does ‘ACP’ mean? ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862/20 "2003-07-30T16:58:23Z")
“Automatic Colt Pistol,” A straight-walled, semi-rimless case commonly used in semi-automatic, magazine-fed pistols. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-weapon-is-a-saturday-night-special/191862.md?page=2)