Eric Larsen
New member
Ill keep it short...we all know how I can ramble on"...hey, thats a Led Zepellin song isnt it? 
Anyway, Ive owned, shot and carried snubbies for a while now. Just thought Id throw some thoughts out.
Guns....J frame 60 LS 2 1/8", SP101 2 1/4", Rossi 677 2" and Taurus 650 CIA 2" barrel.
Ammo used is all 125gr JHP Defensive rnds...not those little wimpy +p thingys....
*Note...the Rossi is a 6 rnd gun and isnt stainless!
Size..actual and percieved. The J frame hands down is the smallest. Dont trust what you read..they all look the same on paper. For pocket carry the J frame is the way to go. Even with the 2 1/8" barrel it still "hid" the best and was the lightest.
The Taurus and SP are so close in size they wear the same holster and there is no diff when carrying "in pocket"......
Weight...the J frame again is the winner. The gun is stainless steel not unobtanium. All are close enough in actual loaded weight its almost a toss up...but the LS still wins by 2-3 oz's.
OEM weight on them is J=21.5, SP=24, CIA=24 and Rossi=29oz's.
Fit, finish and quality...the J frame, SP and Rossi are the toss up winners here...yes, I put Rossi and S&W in the same line.
The J frame is an excellent little pistol..."matte stainless steel, nice lines and quality.
The SP is polished stainless, a well made tank and will always be up near the top of my list. The Rossi is an excellent gun for the money and is as tight as any of them. The blueing is deep and gorgeous.
The Taurus is a great little gun but the Stainless finish which is just like the J frame, seemed to mark, print and scratch a little easier than the others. Lock up isnt as tight as the rest either...but well within "good gun" standards.
Sights....well what can I say. They are all snubbies and have very similar sight arrangments and radius's. You may be better off learning point shooting
*NOTE* The CTC laser on my SP takes advantage of these little guns potential for accuracy.
It also has a Trijicon Night on the front which makes a hell of a difference when using the sights....I HIGHLY recommend them!
The J and SP have replaceable front sights. Search out Trijicons if you can....you wont regret it.
Trigger and mechanical aspects. The J frame is a new production gun and has "the lock". The trigger is smooth and great....just a little heavy in d/a. S/a trigger is the best outa the box, with just a clean break! The SP has had all kinds of work and is the best of the bunch...yes, way better than the J frame. So I wont use it here. OEM SP trigger is in last place..no question. The Rossi is just like the J frame...but maybe a little heavier in s/a trigger pull. Smooth and great in general and just breaks nicely in s/a mode.
The CIA is wonderful for a DAO trigger...smooth and consistant.
Maybe a tad heavy, but still lighter than the J frame and Rossi in d/a pull. Stock triggers....J frame wins by a hair for trad. d/a setup. For DAO trigger pull the Taurus wins.
Lock up and timing are all wonderful....perfect on all of them. The Taurus seems a little looser in lockup than the rest...but damn close to the J frame. The SP and Rossi are the KING of tightness!
Accuracy....with stock sights. The J frame and Rossi are the winners here. I would have to say the triggers play more into this than the sights/ammo bla bla bla. The SP smokes them now..but thats with the smith work/laser/night sight. The Taurus
is great but as with its DAO trigger...its right up there when the other guns are in d/a trigger mode.
All in all I love each for their own little reasons. The J frame has been sold....sniff, sniff! But I got the CIA to keep my SP company in my safe/pocket carry. The Rossi I actually gave back to my dad after I "borrowed" it for over a year....oops.
If I had 1 snubbie to buy/shoot/carry/own and it had to be stock/no smith work.....It would have to be a J frame.
Thanks for letting me "ramble on, sing my song"...LZ
Shoot well
Anyway, Ive owned, shot and carried snubbies for a while now. Just thought Id throw some thoughts out. Guns....J frame 60 LS 2 1/8", SP101 2 1/4", Rossi 677 2" and Taurus 650 CIA 2" barrel.
Ammo used is all 125gr JHP Defensive rnds...not those little wimpy +p thingys....
*Note...the Rossi is a 6 rnd gun and isnt stainless!
Size..actual and percieved. The J frame hands down is the smallest. Dont trust what you read..they all look the same on paper. For pocket carry the J frame is the way to go. Even with the 2 1/8" barrel it still "hid" the best and was the lightest.
The Taurus and SP are so close in size they wear the same holster and there is no diff when carrying "in pocket"......
Weight...the J frame again is the winner. The gun is stainless steel not unobtanium. All are close enough in actual loaded weight its almost a toss up...but the LS still wins by 2-3 oz's.
OEM weight on them is J=21.5, SP=24, CIA=24 and Rossi=29oz's.
Fit, finish and quality...the J frame, SP and Rossi are the toss up winners here...yes, I put Rossi and S&W in the same line.
The J frame is an excellent little pistol..."matte stainless steel, nice lines and quality.
The SP is polished stainless, a well made tank and will always be up near the top of my list. The Rossi is an excellent gun for the money and is as tight as any of them. The blueing is deep and gorgeous.
The Taurus is a great little gun but the Stainless finish which is just like the J frame, seemed to mark, print and scratch a little easier than the others. Lock up isnt as tight as the rest either...but well within "good gun" standards.
Sights....well what can I say. They are all snubbies and have very similar sight arrangments and radius's. You may be better off learning point shooting
*NOTE* The CTC laser on my SP takes advantage of these little guns potential for accuracy.It also has a Trijicon Night on the front which makes a hell of a difference when using the sights....I HIGHLY recommend them!
The J and SP have replaceable front sights. Search out Trijicons if you can....you wont regret it.
Trigger and mechanical aspects. The J frame is a new production gun and has "the lock". The trigger is smooth and great....just a little heavy in d/a. S/a trigger is the best outa the box, with just a clean break! The SP has had all kinds of work and is the best of the bunch...yes, way better than the J frame. So I wont use it here. OEM SP trigger is in last place..no question. The Rossi is just like the J frame...but maybe a little heavier in s/a trigger pull. Smooth and great in general and just breaks nicely in s/a mode.
The CIA is wonderful for a DAO trigger...smooth and consistant.
Maybe a tad heavy, but still lighter than the J frame and Rossi in d/a pull. Stock triggers....J frame wins by a hair for trad. d/a setup. For DAO trigger pull the Taurus wins.
Lock up and timing are all wonderful....perfect on all of them. The Taurus seems a little looser in lockup than the rest...but damn close to the J frame. The SP and Rossi are the KING of tightness!
Accuracy....with stock sights. The J frame and Rossi are the winners here. I would have to say the triggers play more into this than the sights/ammo bla bla bla. The SP smokes them now..but thats with the smith work/laser/night sight. The Taurus
is great but as with its DAO trigger...its right up there when the other guns are in d/a trigger mode.
All in all I love each for their own little reasons. The J frame has been sold....sniff, sniff! But I got the CIA to keep my SP company in my safe/pocket carry. The Rossi I actually gave back to my dad after I "borrowed" it for over a year....oops.
If I had 1 snubbie to buy/shoot/carry/own and it had to be stock/no smith work.....It would have to be a J frame.
Thanks for letting me "ramble on, sing my song"...LZ
Shoot well