Interestin' S&W trivia.........

B

Bob Wright

New member
I found among my papers a letter from the late Phil Sharpe, dated 13 Dec. 1954. Included in the letter is a reprint of an article by him, dated July-August 1935, introducing the .357 Magnum revolver and cartridge.

This paragraph was of interest:

"Actual firings show a marked difference in point of impact of the S & W .357 Magnum cartridge and the standard (.38 Special.) loads. At 20 yards this averages approximately four inches lower in grouping. Accordingly, with each revolver an additional rear sight slide is being supplied to to take ordinary ammunition, the proper rear sight for the Magnum cartridge being .015 inches higher than the other."


Bob Wright
 
Kinda like their solution.

I witnessed this kind of thing first hand. Shooting my Encore's 15" 460 S&W barrel was rather lively but it was drilling the center of the 25 yard target. Dropping a 45 Colt in the gun resulted in smashing the clip holding the target at the top of the stand.

oopsie. :o
 
A rented S&W 66 at a local range did the same thing.
Their .38spl mild reloads hit half the target height higher than the .357s, at 15 yards.
No holes in the target, and a pinging noise for the first couple of shots.
The rounds were hitting the metal clip that held the target backing.
Fortunately the bullets were soft lead, and there was no one else in the range.
Had to aim at the bottom of the target to hit the center.
Something to remember.
 
A good illustration on how muzzle rise affects point of impact. For fairly new shooters: the muzzle has less time to rise with the faster bullet and point of impact is lower.
 
When the local cops were issued .38 Special +P+ in place of their standard loads, they complained that the new ammo "shot low". One instructor, not having any idea why that should happen, told his classes that the change was deliberate, made so when the police fired at the middle of a bad guy, the bullet would hit him in the... well, lower region. Supposedly, the nasties would surrender rather than risk losing their, er, sensitive parts.

The "explanation" was BS, but at the time, a lot of cops believed it.

Jim
 
Heard that, too, James.

To top it off, there was a complaint some time back here in Memphis where just such a shot had been made, with the expected consequences. The "suspect" complained the shot was deliberate.

The Memphis Police department aren't that good in their marksmanship.

Bob Wright
 
The Memphis Police department aren't that good in their marksmanship.
Click to expand...

Nobody is, because that target is smaller than you think!:D

on the other hand, someone saying they will shoot your ____ off, might give someone pause to think about it...
:eek:

Slower bullets hit higher (at close range) with everything that isn't held straight behind the bore. That's rotational movement at work. How much of a difference varies with the specifics (gun, load velocity, etc.)

That's one reason I like adjustable sights.
 
I have long used the solution to the POI problem outlined by Mr. Sharpe in his letter. In my case, the extra sight blade is attached to a K-38 Masterpiece. Works great for standard .38 Spec loads.:D
 
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