Bad bad, Snowdog!

S

Snowdog

New member
I think I may have spoke without really thinking yesterday morning. I noticed that a coworker kept his car gun, an early 80's model S&W Airlite, loaded with some brand of 158gr LRN.
I offered him some 125gr +P Starfires from a range box that I happened to have in the trunk of my car.
When he asked about the safety issue of +Ps in Airlites, I told him that his S&W will handle a handful of +Ps without any problems... just for defensive use.

This morning I got to thinking about that. I am still quite confident that his Airlite (that's in good shape, BTW) will stand up to an ever-so-limited diet of +Ps, such as a cylinder full for POI assessment, and a cylinder for defense only... but I wonder about the extent of accelerated wear the first 5 rounds may have on the alloy frame. Perhaps he doesn't need to put 5 rounds through it to find the POI to begin with... after all, it's a car gun.

I am curious to see what others here think. Did Snowdog screw up?
 
I don't really think that just 5 rounds will accelerate wear very much.

However, if it were my gun, I'd stick with standard-pressure loads. Plus-P is more for steel frame guns, IMHO.

I traded away a S&W Mod 38 Airweight because I'd rather shoot plus-P (well, that was one of the reasons).
 
after all, it's a car gun.
Click to expand...
It either is or is not a defensive gun.

A person should shoot enough of their carry loads to know exactly how they work......for them, in their gun.

I am goosey bout giving hot ammo to anybody else. Personal thing.

Sam
 
The gun's not going to blow up, or fall apart.

He'd have to shoot it pretty frequently with +Ps in order to accelerate the wear and tear. His use of it as a car gun probably means he doesn't shoot it enough to qualify as infrequently. I agree with Sam. You have to shoot 'em enough to be well-versed with your chosen carry gun(s).:)
 
Snowdog said, "an early 80's model S&W Airlite"
Click to expand...

Perhaps you were viewing some sort'a Airweight, cuz
AirLite's weren't around in the early 80's.

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
Airlight, Airweight... I couldn't be certain as I'm not a revolver or S&W expert, but the name he mentioned included the word "Air". I suppose it was an Airweight since he said it was purchased new for his wife in the early '80s, which he has since commandeered for his own use.

From my understanding, it serves as an "anti-carjacking" device- a kind of "point and shoot the bastard within two feet distance" type of scenario.
My immediate concern was the effectiveness of the ammunition, as he claims he is rather proficient with snubbies (claiming to have several).

I suppose my worries were unfounded; if it will withstand a few rounds of +Ps, then we're still in the black.

Thanks.
 
Snowdog,

As a matter of personal preference, I'd rather have the old
Airweight snubby; as opposed to the new AirLite
revolver's.:) Just seems that the Ti and Sc AirLite's, are just
a tad too L-I-G-H-T. Hell bells, recoil is bad enough in the
Airweight's, when shooting +P load's.:D I guess I will just
stick by my old' vintage Smith & Wesson model 60 Chief's
Special, as it still has a lot of mile's left on it.:cool:

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
IMO, the M38 / M638 are the best revolvers for CC.

The 638 that I have has stamped on the barrel ".38 S&W Spl. +P"

IIRC, it was approximately 6 years ago that S&W gave their Airweights the +P rating.
 
Back when I was young and ignorant, I put a whole box of +P's through my Model 36. that I came to understand later was not rated for it. It still has perfect lockup and timing. I guessed I dodged that bullet.
 
"car gun" as is my understanding will be used in defence of one's life. any gun i bet my life on gets lots of practice with the same ammo that i will use when the chips are down. so if it cant handle a LOT of use with the +P ammo i'd stick with standard pressure ammo that i'm used to.

tom
 
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