A snubby shooter from Germany

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David.38Spec

New member
Hi folks,
i am writing from germany. I got a snub as a gift from my uncle. It is an german ERMA Mod. 440 .38Spec. in Stainless Steel with a 2" barrel. This gun is a S&W Chief Special Copie. I first installed Hogue Bantam grips on it , because the original woodgrips are too small. I am pretty new to handgunning but i liked the last range visit very much. But i do have to practice much because it is hard to hit the target at 25metres what is about 25yds.

Now my questions:

what are the best mods on a j-frame?
How to make the sights more visible?
Can i do something to the trigger myself?
Any tips on shooting tecnics?

thank you regards

david
 
Before any modifications, shot or dry fire it alot to see if the action smooths out. Stainless steel revolvers frequently tune themselves. Snubs are challenging at 25 meters but you should eventually be able to get effective accuracy at that distance.

Trigger finger placement can be critical for consistent results with the small frame snubs. With Smith large frames, I usually address the trigger between the first and second joint of my trigger finger for double action shooting. This is very effective and accurate with the large frame revolver in my hands. When I got my Chief Airweight, I had been away from small frames for a while and tried the same finger placement with it. I was all over the target. When I used the first (tip) joint of my finger, things improved immediately.
airweight3.jpg
 
Guten Tag, Herr David38Spec. Wie geht es Ihnen? Ganz gut, das hoffe ich. You should keep in mind, David, that a .38 snubbie is essentially what is often referred to as a "belly gun;" i.e., it's a weapon primarily for use at close range, perhaps 30 feet or less, and intended mostly for self-defense. That is not to say the .38 Special cartridge is not effective at longer ranges, or that the snubbie is inherently inaccurate. It is to say that it's usually very difficult for the average shooter to hit anything regularly much past that distance, mostly because of the short sight radius (distance from rear sight to front sight) of the weapon. You did well to install some good Hogue Bantum grips on the weapon and they should help you immensely in learning to shoot it accurately. Other than the grips, though, I would suggest you make no further modifications. Sights on a .38 snubbie are nearly always rudimentary because one really doesn't use them much at the ranges for which a snubbie is intended. For greater visibility on the front sight, you could try painting it white using a paint intended for firearms. Birchwood-Casey makes such a paint. Some shooters like that modification, some don't.

--Pistolenschutze
 
Hallo Kamerad Pistolenschütze,

du sprichst Deutsch? Ich hoffe Dir geht es auch gut! Wie gehts in Colorado Blue Mountain State.
Yeah i know what a snubby is made for! It is build for self defense first.
I got it as a gift like i said. I wouldnt have bought it if i would buy a new gun. I had bought at least a 3" .357 . I am a hunter here in germany and i carry it for the close shot if i cant go there with the rifle. For example a pig is shot but has no good shot. This can happen to any hunter. We hunt here wild boars a lot , called Wildschweine:)
But i wanted to fire the gun because my opinion is "Practice what you cary"
And i think shooting a snub at 25metres is a true challange , which i like.
So take it easy guys. I like you americans very much since i lived in california for 6 month!
Regards David
 
Ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch, Herr David38Spec, aber nicht so gut!

Sorry if I assumed incorrectly that you were completely unfamiliar with the .38snubbie, David. I got the impression from your post that the weapon was totally new to your experience. Indeed, it was my understanding that owning any sort of handgun in Germany was rather uncommon and difficult to do because of government restrictions. Do you need special permits or other permissions to own one? I ask only because I'm always interested in how things like that work in other countries.

I still stand by my basic advice to you though. The snubbie, as you know, is not a long-range weapon. I can certainly see how it might be useful as a backup weapon hunting pigs though! I've hunted wild pigs myself here in the states, and they can be dangerous beasts. I used to hunt them with a .44 Magnum revolver and nearly ended up with a tusk in the leg a couple of times when an old boar decided to fight it out and charged me. What kind of rifle do you commonly hunt them with in Germany?
 
Hi Pistolenschütze,

yeah you have government restrictions.But if you are a hunter, a collector or a sport shooter it is no problem to own guns. For example as a hunter you are allowed to own as most long arms (rifel,shotguns, over 60cm) as you like to , and normally 2 handguns. But you can only carry them in your hunting district or when you go to a range, not while shopping in the city. Ja if you going to a gunsmith you can naturally take them. at your own property you can handel guns but are not allowed to shoot them expect you have a shooting range.
Mostly i hunt in the Eifel Mountains. We have european red deer, smaller antilopes called "Reh" wild pigs, wild sheep, other sorts of deers , redfoxes and so on. But no wolfes or bears, ok at the boarder to Poland there are a few wolfes.
I use a Mauser Action rifle in 7mmx64 caliber what is in us i think 7mmMauser.
I use a Zeiss Diatal Scope 8x56 on it. Hunting only with handguns and bows is not allowed.
So now you now how things are going in good old germay.

I have another question about my snubby. I heard about cutting one or two coils from the main spring! is this recommended for easier DA trigger pull?

Thank you

regards David
 
Coils. Likely not a good idea unless you can get a spare full strength spring as a replacement if needed. I've replaced coil mainsprings in several ruger with the lighter springs from the wolff and trapper companies. Very often, any reduction from the full-strength factory spring produces light strike failures to fire.

If you're gun has a coil trigger return spring like the smiths, you may be able to improve your single action pull by removing a coil from it. If the trigger fails to return, you can usually fix that by stretching the spring back to full length.
 
Inexpensive sight improvement

I have two stainless snubbies in use right now. Also a 3 inch barrel blue steel that is in the process of being overhauled for serviceability. The stainless guns have stainless sights, that are hard to see well in bright light. At least they are grooved so they don't shine brightly. But I like to see them better, so first I clean oil or dirt off of the front sight with alcohol. Then I put a coat of durable white hobby paint on the rear surface as an undercoat. Last I put very bright orange paint over the white. Bright red or other could be used, but I always use the white undercoat. Then I fill in the notch cut in the frame for the rear sight with matte black, cleaning it first as before. Since these sight surfaces are somewhat protected from wear, the paint seems to last a long time. At very little cost so it is easily replaced or no great loss if removed. However, for target work, perhaps matte black on both sights would be better. But I would think a brighter contrast would be more useful for a woodsman or hunter to use at near ranges against a dark colored target.
 
Danke for the information on gun ownership and hunting in Deutschland, David. I would stongly advise you NOT to mess with the mainspring on that revolver! Yes, it is theoretically possible to lighten the trigger pull on a revolver by clipping coils from the mainspring, but more often than not, you will only end up making the revolver unreliable. Das ist nicht gut! :eek: If that old Wildschweine boar decides to have you for lunch, and your revolver only goes "click" instead of "bang," du bist in tief Scheisse! :D
 
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