38 special snubnose pick?

M

mh103

New member
I'm sure this has been beaten to death,but I'm not sure. Tauras,S&W, Ruger? How are the light weights? Will carry in jacket pocket,so I assume DAO hammerless. Thanks in advance.
 
For jacket pocket carry, I would personally go with the S&W 442/642 type...

These are ~15 ounces. Not as light as the ultra lightweights, but still easy to handle.
 
If you are going to carry in a pocket, jacket or any other type, get one of the pocket holsters. They are light and unobtrusive. If you are going to shoot from the pocket the cylinder turning is just as likely to snag clothing as is the hammer coming back. A pocket holster will pretty much prevent this problem. Plan on the garment catching fire if the gun is fired from the pocket.
 
I have a Taurus model 85 in stainless and like it, but it has a hammer. I use to have one in Titanium and it was nice as well. :)
 
i recently shot a 642, even with hevey +ps the gun is very manageable. there is also the 342 which is the exact opposite.
 
I have the 340 pd, and only shoot 38's out of it. i love it, its a very nice gun but impractical and very expensive for what you get. its a 357 at 12 oz. and the exact same size as the 642. I would also recomend the 642 as skt666 and SnubbyMan stated, it too is hammerless, 15 oz. cost about $360's or you can get it with crimson trace laser grips for $550's wich is still less than a 340PD. final answer...get the 642 :cool:
 
If you buy a hammerless, alloy framed .38/.357 you'll find that the light weight is NOT condusive to firing .357 Mag loads. Even the steel J-framed sized guns are a handful with a 158gr .357 load. Stick to lighter bullet weights (i.e. around 125gr) or stick with .38 special +P.

The aluminum framed .38 special guns are not generally rated for a constant diet of .38 +P loads. Scandium framed guns appear to be sturdier however. Check the owner's manual.

Most folks who own lightweight/alloy framed gun shoot a standard .38 special load for practice and carry a +P or JHP load. The caution, of course is to fire a cylinder full of the carry ammo to establish it's different POI from your practice ammo. This may seem like a moot point at short ranges, but it really does make a difference.
 
S&W 442/642/38/638. Note that these will all be in the 15 oz range. If you can tolerate a slightly higher weight, look for the pre 96' versions of the all steel 49/649/640. These will weigh in around 20 oz but are lighter than the 23 oz new J magnumed framed modesl of the same #. I personally think the mid weight J frames are about right.
 
I have been looking at the Taurus Model 905 in 9MM it's small the weight is about 22oz.thinking about it to replace my 22Mag.and the 9MM will beat the 38cal.But was looking the other day at a Taurus model 85 and was impressed with the trigger beats most of my S&Ws.But there was a S&W model 10 right next to it that I just had to have :p
 
I love my S&W 637

I must admit it's a perfect snub nose for me. It is 15 oz, 5 shot, +P rated, comes with rubber grips, very nice priced around 350.00 yea, I did type $350.00 and thats brand spanking new too. I understand you want a DAO so go with the sister to my 637. I think it's darn near the same other than the lack of hammer spur. I think it's the S&W 642. www.smith-wesson.com

Don't forget the MSRP is higher than real life........ In my case about a month ago it amounted to 100.00 less. Best luck to you on your search..... :D
 
For CCW

I prefer S&W's, in particular a model 37-2 blued Airweight, as its
light and very comfortable for all day carry in my Bianchi IWB, or my
Safariland (suede lined) OWB holster.
 
642-2 is a pretty good value, and yes, it's +P rated.

642_2r.jpg


Joe
 
442 or 642. The 642 is always on sale these days. I have a 442.

If you want magnum power then there are those TiSc 340 and 360 nanocannons.

38 or 357, I found out on day one that you need to put some serious time towards learning to shoot these guns.

Oh, let's not forget the Airweight 6 shot 32 HR mag models 431 and 432.

If you decide to go to the steel J frames, you're approaching Detective Special weight. May as well get the Dick with it's 6 shots.
 
I don't have one but the Taurus 85 Total Titanium shows a lot of promise. It weights 17 ounces empty and I believe can be obtained with a bobbed hammer. Definitely plus P rated. I am not a big fan of ports but shot an 85TT once with 158 plus P's and noted the porting seemed to do a good job of lessening muzzle flip. FWIW.
 
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