The High Sheriff’s .357 Smith & Wesson Snub Nose revolver

Classic Smith & Wesson Snub Nose shoots the Off-Duty Sidearm

Smith & Wesson .357 Snub Nose used by Patrolman Chase Blohm of Memphis, Tennessee at NRA’s National Police Shooting Championships

Albuquerque, New Mexico – While in Albuquerque for the National Police Shooting Championships, we asked Patrolman Chase Blohm, Jr. of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office if we could take a look at his guns. Why do that? Because Blohm finished off the Championships ranked as the High Sheriff. Whoever accomplishes such a feat probably has an incredible collection of guns. Guns they’ve used for years in countless tournaments with great stories of competitions and care. Or maybe not.

“It’s a Model 66 Smith & Wesson Snub Nose revolver,” said Blohm. “It actually belongs to one of my partners. He loaned it to me for a match.”

The match in question was the Off-Duty Sidearm Championship. Match 15 in your 2012 program, it’s a four stage match shot at three, seven, fifteen and twenty-five yards. All stages require competitors to stand while firing … except for the last one. From twenty-five yards, it’s six shots kneeling using the barricade, six shots left handed behind the barricade and six shots right handed behind the barricade.

“The Snub Nose treated me very well,” said Blohm. “Model 66, it’s a good gun.”

Good enough for Blohm to finish with a score of 473 with 28x. How good was that? Well, a perfect score would have been a 480 and the match winner, Ben Morrow from the U.S. Border Patrol, won with a total of 479-41x.

Movie buffs out there have probably seen this Smith & Wesson Snub Nose used by a number of actors and actress in flicks such as:

• Clive Owen in The International
• Steven Seagal in Urban Justice
• Beyoncé Knowles in Austin Powers: Goldmember
• Bruce Willis in The Last Boy Scout

We even have one of those .357 here in the National Firearms Museum’s Hollywood Guns exhibit. A double-action Smith & Wesson used by Clint Eastwood in the movie Tightrope.

But back to the point of borrowing the gun. Why not get your own?

“You need eight or nine guns to compete in every match at the NRA Police Championships and that can be expensive,” explained Blohm. “We sign up for different relays and borrow guns from partners and friends. Just sight ’em out and they usually work fine.”

Makes sense. After all, how can you argue with the High Sheriff?

Down the sights of a Smith & Wesson .357 shot by Chase Blohm at NRA’s National Police Shooting Championships in Albuquerque