Revolver Question

Skald

Skald

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Wife wants a gun for personal protection, we are thinking revolver.

Anyone have any feed back on the S&W 442, 637, 638 or 642?

She is rather petite and has small hands.

Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated.
 
How much shooting experience does she have? The recoil isn't terrible on these if you're used to shooting, but it is pretty significant. They're a hard gun to shoot well, and practicing with them isn't much fun if you don't like the recoil. I like the 442 the best out of those, but they're all good guns. I think it's a great choice, *if* she likes shooting it enough to practice.
 
My wife hates my 637; the recoil is too much for her small hands and frame.

Rather than have her not carry at all, I bought her a 317; while not the greatest, It packs 8 rounds of hollow points.

Better than nothing, and much more reliable than a semi auto. (IMHO)
 
I would vote for the 637.

Two options when firing, and stick with .38 Special Ammo in the beginning.

Then after she gets the feel of it, she can step up to the +P.

If caliber is meaningless, I agree with the poster above. RB26
 
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Well, my first and only revolver (and I have small hands) is a Ruger SP101 - it is a 38/357, I love it! I guess it does have recoil...I don't recall...it just goes bang. Nobody told me to worry about recoil, so I never gave it a thought until I shot a shotgun...and the dang thing ended up about 4 feet behind me...and then I thought that might recoil [thinking]
 
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Have you considered the short barrel Ruger SP-101? I had one and I found the grip to be more substantial than on the S&W's I checked out at the shops. Recoil was minimal with .38's and manageable with .357. I'm not too familiar with the S&W models you listed, but I'm assuming they're J-frames, which is what I base my comparison on. Good luck!

EDIT: Looks like I missed the post from packingungal, haha, but there's another endorsement!
 
meth0d said:
Have you considered the short barrel Ruger SP-101? I had one and I found the grip to be more substantial than on the S&W's I checked out at the shops. Recoil was minimal with .38's and manageable with .357. I'm not too familiar with the S&W models you listed, but I'm assuming they're J-frames, which is what I base my comparison on. Good luck!

EDIT: Looks like I missed the post from packingungal, haha, but there's another endorsement!
Click to expand...

That's what you get for drinking and posting...[laugh]
 
There are many good suggestions here. If weight is not an issue, and she will carry in purse or fanny pack, then any steel J-frame will have very manageable recoil with .38s. Easy to hit COM at 7 yds., and very concealable. Even the "Airweight" models are not that bad...Enjoy!

Bill
 
Skald, I have a S&W 340PD. It's very light & comfortable to carry, but the downside is that the recoil is substantially more unpleasant than my steel 640. If she likes to shoot & doesn't mind the recoil with a 38+p, I recommend it highly. You should probably have her try one out before you buy it though, no matter which gun you decide on.
 
Well, she doesn't carry a purse or such, so she would probably be carrying on her body. We do plan on shooting what she plans to buy beforehand.

I think she may just shoot some .38 Spl and then after she shoots for a bit graduate to the +Ps.
 
+1 for the Ruger SP101. Another good option is the 640. The heavier weight makes it easier to shoot
 
Another vote for a 640. If I holster carry, it's the 640. If I put something n my pocket, it's an airweight.

Shooting the 640 with .38 Special is easy, and you quickly can move up to full house .357 loads, with a set of good grips added.
 
It's a trade-off with weight and recoil with .38spl revolvers. You have the full steel Js and SP101 which have less recoil and more wieght, but you also have the 340PD which is very light with harsh recoil. The 642/442 is a good mixture of both IMO. I own a 442.
 
Ruger SP101. Ruger also has a new one out in 327 Federal that will also accept 32 short and 32 H&H Magnum if the .38 Special is too much for her. My wife didn't even like shooting .38 Special in my Ruger GP100 with a 4" barrel.
 
Skald said:
Wife wants a gun for personal protection, we are thinking revolver.

Anyone have any feed back on the S&W 442, 637, 638 or 642?

She is rather petite and has small hands.

Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

I picked up a .32 H&R mag S&W 432PD and the wife loves to shoot it. Ballistics can be had
to make it comparable to the .38 +P. Downside is if you aren't reloading the .32 H&R is
expensive ammo to buy. Cheaper than dirt if you reload it. For general plinking use I load
it a little softer than the Federal store bought fodder. The Federal stuff is good ammo.
 
She's going to have to fire them and decide which she likes. There is no free lunch here -- the heavier all-steel snubs have less recoil but are harder to carry. The lighter aluminum and scandium snubs are easier to carry but have much more recoil.

Personally, I find that my 642 trigger guard smacks my index finger when shooting and is thus quite painful to shoot. Others don't have that problem. But most will agree that the 642/442 have significant recoil.
 
I think there have been some excellent suggestions. I like the SP101 a whole lot, but it is heavy. Even better, in my opinion, is a Colt Detective Special (not an Agent or Cobra). They are still around on the used market. There is nothing wrong with the J Frame Smiths, but the lightweight of the Airweight and Titanium frames may make them a bit difficult to control. The 317 would be a good choice in the J line realizing that we are dealing with a .22.

Mark L.
 

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