I have to disagree with you on the 12" barrel. It just makes the handgun harder to reach, carry and get into action.
Have you
tried one and found it so? Or are you speaking merely from preconceived ideas about such a long barrel?
I
have tried several, at some length, and
have not found them as awkward as you and I first assumed that they'd be. Granted, they don't pack like 2-inch snubbies, but once you pack 'em right, they're surprisingly handy.
I understand the preconceived bias completely. When I first learned of the Tauruses with 12-inch barrels, I hooted and jeered aloud. My bias was then at least 50 years old and as strong and definite as you'd expect of an old coot in his 70s. But the fellow who told me about 'em let me borrow and use one on several months' loan. My very first
actual handling flushed all my old bias away -- completely. I returned the borrowed 12-inch .22 and immediately ordered a new one (.22 Long Rifle) -- and later added a .357 Magnum and a .44 Magnum with 12-inch barrels. I love 'em.
The only problem that I've noticed is that they do threaten to become addictive! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
