.38 snub nose shooting

M

mnero

New member
What is the most accurate way to shoot a .38 snub? I have an unsteady right hand do to a previous injury. I usually shoot left handed or right handed with the left hand steadying the right, in the typical two handed fashion.
I have a S&W snub with a 2" barrel; SA DA model 10-7. Even when I use it SA, at 25', I just can't get good groups or any groups:o
Can you all describe to me exactly the stance and grip you use when firing a similar pistol. Thanks in advance!
 
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Get as high a grip as possible. Grip the revolver firmly but not tight with your right hand (shooting right handed).

Use your left or support hand to tightly grip the right hand and revolver.

Most of the pressure would be with the left or support hand.

Holding the grip too tight with the right hand causes the revolver to move when you press the trigger.

To determine the proper grip pressure, adjust the grip of the right hand until you can press the trigger without disturbing the sights WHILE DRY FIRING. Try different grip pressure to see how it affects the sights. Light to tight.

This is best determined dry firing with a laser sight.

If you have problems with your right hand it shouldn't matter since the grip pressure (in your case) would be from the left hand.
 
Awesome thread. Just shot my new s&w 642 snubby the other day and couldn't get on paper at 15' at first. It takes a lot of practice. It was suggested to me to practice with wadcutters and not full power loads at first. Also Google Jerry Miculek's video on revolver grip. Basically you want a square finger placement, high grip and non-dominant thumb over the other. High rear, low barrel.
 
Captain; after dry firing the pistol as you said, just a few times; the difference in both how it felt and the steadiness of the weapon were markedly improved! No one in the service ever told me about placing the pressure with the left hand; wow what a difference. I will keep training and report the results, when I get back to the range. Thank you, Sir!
 
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These tips are great to get you started off correctly with the snub. Just be aware that if you are going to carry the snub for self defense, it is essential that you also become proficient shooting it with one hand as defense situations many times will not allow time for two-handed shooting. It takes a lot of dry fire and range practice to accomplish this and maintain it, but it can be done.
 
I went to the indoor range today. The groups where between 1" and 2"; a definite improvement. I still need to find the center a bit more, but I did have a few shots on the X. This was at 25'. I still need practise, but a real improvement. Thanks for the tip Captain!
 
Mnero, Being on the east coast, if you ever get the chance to train with a guy named Claude Werner, take it. I attended a two or three hour class with him at the Polite Society Tacticle Conference in Tulsa OK in May. The guy is ammazing with a snub 38, and one of the best instructors I have seen. He will give you a whole new outlook on your ability with the snubby. I think he sells Real Estate for a regular job and he looks the part, a mild mannered 50 something tall skinny guy with thinning hair. But when you read his bio you find he has a list of IDPA and other championships, and several years in Army Airborn and Special Forces including as an A-Tean leader. Make it a goal, find out where he is teaching and get there. ;)
 
As you shoot (and dry fire) your J-frames the trigger will get much smoother. The difference between mine, which I shoot all the time and my wife's which is shot rarely, is noticiable.

I really enjoy the challenge of the J-frame.
 
J-frames are hard to get use to. All so once you get use to them you need to keep up the practice or else you start loosing the skill faster then you would with most guns.
 
Dry fire is useful for any gun; some need snap caps to avoid damage, but proper dry fire is always good. It's also free.

I'm not going to argue with Jerry Miculek, even if I don't personally put my supporting thumb over the back of my firing hand. I mostly shoot semi-autos, and personally just don't want the habit pattern ingrained.

Some J-frames are harder to shoot than other J-frames. Of my two 442s, the one I took in trade, LNIB, had a great trigger. The one I bought, NIB, had a 15lb trigger - heavy, but at least smooth. I installed an APEX kit, and now it has a 9lb, still smooth trigger and it is much easier to shoot.

I may have missed it, if somebody already said this, but changing grips can also help. I have fairly large hands, and the old-school J-frame grips don't cut it. I need a Tyler T adapter with those. The new grips that come on the 442 work ok; rubber with palm swell and finger groove. I just bought some slightly oversized Altamonts, since I like wood, but haven't had a chance to try them yet.

It's hard to shoot a gun you can't get a grip on.
 
There's no humbling for your revolver skills like shooting your j-frame at 20yds against a 3-4" steel target. :barf:
The Miculek videos are very handy. I'm still experimenting with my grip pressure to keep my fingers from twitching the gun during that long heavy trigger pull.
 
Wandering in late. I would like to second Claude. I took his class at krtraining.com and wrote it up for Pax at Concealed Carry. There are quite a few AARs on the course.
 
Get as high a grip as possible. Grip the revolver firmly but not tight with your right hand (shooting right handed).
Click to expand...

Many give this advice, but I've found that the highest grip possible puts the edge of the tang right into the web of the hand and thumps the crap out of it. Small snubbies, and larger revolvers, also.

Even Jerry Miculek says that lowering the grip so the gun can flex is appropriate for hard recoilers.

High grip, yes, but low enough so the gun can flex during recoil. Leave a little tang showing (try about 1/2 inch). Try it both ways and see for yourself.

For those who grip so high that the tang completely disappears, no problem if it works for them. :cool:
 
I shot a groundhog Wednesday with my great aunt's Taurus .38 snubby. 30 steps away. The first shot went high due to over compensation. The groundhog just sat there looking around. The second shot I held dead nuts and I rolled him about 4 times. I was ecstatic. My first time shooting a snub revolver. My aunt does this about 3 times a week from her screened porch. :D. She is 70 and carries the pistol everyday. Whadda woman!!
 
I just bought a 642 yesterday, my first snubby, after two range trips and about two hundred rounds I learned the following:

The grips aren't great (however I am going to try to shoot another 300 rounds spread out evenly over the next month before I change anything on it).

Over 100 rounds per visit does not work out so well for me, I'm missing some skin on the webbing of my hand.

I shrunk my group size considerably when I forced myself to stop staging the trigger.

It is a hard pistol to shoot well but really rewarding when I do.
 
My biggest problem with shooting my snub is sight acquisition during rapid fire. However, that is expected since the gun has practically no sights. Other than that, they are no more difficult to shoot than any other small handgun.
 
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