SW Snubby .38s

[eisenhow]

Well, I picked one up, and shot around 100 FMJ rounds and 25 +Ps through it. Slowfire at 20 yards is quite good; better than my 5" 9mm, in fact. But real fire-rates get me to yanking the trigger, and past 7 yards, I might as well throw the gun.

I think I like the revolver, for what it is. But man, does my hand hurt the next day.

Dry fire it a lot. Better yet, at the range, mix spent case and live rounds, spin the cylinder before closing and shoot it. You'll see right away what you're doing wrong.

 

[seanc]

Dry fire it a lot. Better yet, at the range, mix spent case and live rounds, spin the cylinder before closing and shoot it. You'll see right away what you're doing wrong.

yup. and grip is essential on these. Watch this closely.

 

[M1911]

Definitely in the try before you buy camp. S&W 642s are not easy to shoot. They have a long, stiff trigger pull, even after a trigger job. The sights are minimal, and they are relatively thick. I also find that it hurts to shoot it, so I don't shoot it much.

I have a 642, but it is mostly a safe queen. I carry my Kahr PM9 instead. IMHO, the Kahr has much better sights, a better trigger, a couple extra rounds, is faster to reload, and is easier to conceal. YMMV.

 

[depicts]

Well, I picked one up, and shot around 100 FMJ rounds and 25 +Ps through it. Slowfire at 20 yards is quite good; better than my 5" 9mm, in fact. But real fire-rates get me to yanking the trigger, and past 7 yards, I might as well throw the gun.

I think I like the revolver, for what it is. But man, does my hand hurt the next day.

TheRoland, I found that when I started shooting snubs, I used over sized rubber grips as I built up my ability to handle the recoil. As I got more practice in, my hands got used to the recoil, and I switched to smaller, carry grips. Now I shoot my 640 in .357 with small Magna Grips with a Tyler-T. Your hands and forearms get used to the recoil and bang the more you shoot.

Sometimes I think the worse part of shooting a snubby is the noise, and if I double up on my hearing protection, it makes it a lot easier to handle the muzzle blast from these short barreled guns.

 

[Harry2211]

I'm thinking of picking up one of Smith and Wesson's famous 442 or 642 airweights, probably with some of the smaller Crimson Trace grips. The things that are stopping me are:

1. Only 5 rounds of .38 +p
2. Somewhat thicker than, say, the PPS.

Anyone have opinions on these wheelguns?

I own both. I bought the PPS recently as a replacement for the 642. During my range session I found that I like and will be keeping both.

I had the trigger polished and an action job done on my 642. It is very easy to conceal. It is accurate to 10 yds with 125 gr +P's. I have not shot it at any distances beyond that. Remember, a lot of blast and recoil, but it isn't intended to be a target gun.

 

[grecoface]

+1 for the 642. I love mine for CC. Just like the above, it's not a target gun - other than that; awesome.

 

[Billsail]

My 642 is my daily carry...every day, in a Mika pocket holster. It's had a trigger job and is now smooth as silk, and about a 6 lb pull. A million times better than the stock MA trigger!!! On a whim, I sent it out to get Magnaported. What a difference! I put a hundred rounds through it yesterday with no ill effects on my hand or wrist (and there is no noticeable muzzle blast...I have to look hard to see anything) ...A joy to shoot. With enough practice, you should be able to produce fist sized groups at 7 yards. Thats good enough for me.

Bill

 

[grecoface]

Another great (I think) addition to my 642 was the clip-draw. Holsterless carry - with the option of still using a holster (like an ankle rig).

 

[pj150]

Yep. The J frame is my nemesis. I have gone through countless mindset iterations of modes of carry, firepower, concealment, availability , etc. I tried 6-7 different flavors of them and have come to the conclusion that:

I like the size and power
Ammo is widely available
I like the single and double action ability
The steel and weight makes it feel invulnerable
Quintessential CC as it's been the standard for a very long time
Very reliable setup you can trust your life on


I still have problems shooting it (after ~1000+ rds)
I have to IWB or OWB, pocket carry even with airweights don't work for me
A bit thick in the cylinder if the holster carries it right behind the belt
Only 5 rd capacity
Rds jingle a bit in the cylinder
There are better choices if you're looking at size and weight trade off

I tried hard to really perform better with the revolver. I will still always like it and own/shoot it but won't carry it. To me, the tool that works better for me wins. So in my case, semi-auto won. My goto gun is a CS9 and my second choice for CC is the S&W model 36. I wanted a slimmer profile with a bit more capacity. Weight isn't an issue since a good holster and belt takes care of that. A big consideration for me is getting off that second shot accurately. This is something I could not do with the j frame. DA/SA works great for me in that aspect.

I'm still working on my consistency with the J frame, I will switch if I can manage to hit within the 8 ring with all 5 rds DA rapid fire.

 

[TheRoland]

So, in a postscript: I was pretty happy with my purchase for a bit. Then, I went on a business trip, and, for reasons I'm not going to go into, I'm no longer sure it's enough gun, or that I shoot it well enough if, god forbid, I had to use it. I'm sure this is irrational, but what's the point of carrying a gun I'm not confidant with?

I'll either be selling mine or, barring that, carrying it as a backup.

At least it wasn't a very expensive mistake.[sad2]

 

[JDP_12]

So, in a postscript: I was pretty happy with my purchase for a bit. Then, I went on a business trip, and, for reasons I'm not going to go into, I'm no longer sure it's enough gun, or that I shoot it well enough if, god forbid, I had to use it. I'm sure this is irrational, but what's the point of carrying a gun I'm not confidant with?

I'll either be selling mine or, barring that, carrying it as a backup.



At least it wasn't a very expensive mistake.[sad2]

Hmm. Granted, I don't know what happened on your business trip. It sounds like you've made up your mind - and I'm not going to talk you out of it. BUT - with regards to shooting: you bought it 4 days ago, and have already convinced yourself that you can't shoot it well enough?

 

[TheRoland]

BUT - with regards to shooting: you bought it 4 days ago, and have already convinced yourself that you can't shoot it well enough?

Not a bad point. I'm not the most patient man in the world. But it was going to serve as a carry gun now, not at some hypothetical point in the future when I master the gun.

I think I'm going to use it as a backup for now, and continue to dry-fire, dry-fire, dry-fire. It does have a huge concealability advantage.

EDIT: I can see why people either love or hate them.

EDIT2: I think I was also a bit shaken at the time of the post. I was pretty close to an incident while traveling (it occurred an hour after I was there) and watching the news account later, I wasn't exactly inspired by the idea of "What if I was an hour later?"

 

[depicts]

Situational awareness is more important that which gun you choose to carry!

 

[Len-2A Training]

Snubbies take a lot of practice and a trigger job helps immensely.

They aren't the kind of gun you can pick up, shoot a box of ammo and confidently carry.

 

[TheRoland]

Oh, no doubt. And an hour is a reasonable temporal distance. But it sets a man to thinking that maybe he should dress around a larger firearm instead of just going with the really convenient gun he can't shoot beyond 7 yards.

They aren't the kind of gun you can pick up, shoot a box of ammo and confidently carry.

Yes, unfortunately, this is exactly what I wanted to do with it. Live and learn.