Nice to carry, painful to shoot

A

AdamSean

New member
I work in the hot and humid temps of Alabama and wanted a nice pocket gun that wouldn't rust from me sweating a lot so I picked up a Cobra Derringer CB38 .38 special. It is chrom with rosewood grips and rides nicely in my pocket. It also has a manual hammer block safety which is nice to have.

I took it to the range to see how it shot. It took me about 20 rounds to get used to the massive recoil and put the rounds where I wanted them at about 10 feet. That was easy enough to get used to. What I did not get used to was the painful recoil! The tiny little .38 smarted quite a bit. The good thing is this gun is not a range gun. Only a few rounds every now and then to remember the aim is needed. I like having it if I need it in a hurry and if I have to, have the fullsize pistol in the car. Two shots of .38 special Critical Defense should give me enough time to get the big boy from the car.

The Cobra CB38 is nice to have, but sure stings the hand...lol.
 
I have one too and don't carry it much for the reason of the recoil. My Kahr PM9 isn't that much bigger and can hit further out.
 
...and the PM9 delivers seven rounds instead of two.
And reloads rapidly. :)

If that is too large, then an LCP will deliver six .380s, and I would rather have six .380s than two .38s.
 
I have friends that have sub-compact .40's and .357's. Great little carry guns but impossible to shoot more than a couple of rounds at the range as it stings my hands. I like to shoot for fun and pain is not fun. Therein is the dilemma; how do you keep proficient with a pocket/sub-compact gun if you can't really shoot it? Guess if push comes to shove, a little stinging in the hands won't make a difference if it saves your life.
 
i carry a .40 walther pps. if i had it to do all over again, i would have opted for the 9mm. the .40 is no fun to shoot. a box of 50 gives me a wound on my thumb knuckle every time, which has a tendency to distract. i can only hope that in the event that i ever had to pull it in defense, a skinned up thumb knuckle would be the last thing on my mind. :confused:
 
I had an LCP, but until I find one in stainless steel, this is what I carry. After only 8 hours at work I was getting rust on my blued guns. I also had a Kahr PM9, but hated it. I will have my .380 back from being Gun Koted in a couple weeks and put the Derringer in the fishing box with some snake shot in it. Until then, I didn't want to spend much on a temporary carry gun.
 
Keep in mind, one simple truth...

So the pistol kicks like a hot and tired old mule?

If you need to use it, the person on the other end is going to feel a lot more pain than the little discomfort you get from the recoil... I suspect at the moment you won't even feel it.
 
Living here in toasty, humid, FLA a Glock or S&W J-frame would be another choice. My Davis 38 spl derringer is a handful and they are not what we would call a range gun for fun. I use a S&W 649 or a G 36 in a pocket holster.
In my derringer I use 130 gr. jacketed flat points
 
Why would anyone carry a gun, that might be needed to survive a life threatening situation, if they don't have complete confidence with it?
It takes a lot of practice to have that confidence, doesn't it?
Wasn't it that ever quotable Clint Smith who said that a gun is not supposed to be comfortable.
it's supposed to be comforting.
 
My S&W 642 ain't pleasant with standard-pressure .38 Special. .38 Special +P is downright unpleasant.

EVERY time I shoot it, I'm SURE to run at least cylinder of the +p through it.

If I'm going to carry it, and I carry it a LOT, then for danged sure I need to put myself through the unpleasantness.

-J-
 
Shoot it enough to make sure it hits where you point it. When you are being shot, stabbed or beaten senseless, trust me the kick won't bother you.
 
Might also try some cowboy loads in it. Just a thought.

I almost bought a Cimmaron Derringer a couple months ago but couldn't get used to the trigger on the thing.

LK
 
This is precisely why I sold my wife's S&W Model 642. The recoil was just too much, and the trigger was outrageous. She couldn't hit the side of a barn with it. Even I had trouble, and I've fired many, many guns along the way. We got her a Glock-17, and she loves it. And she can now hit what she shoots at.

I understand the many reasons why folks like the smaller revolvers for CC. They're easy to conceal, lightweight, etc. But I'm of the opinion that a SD weapon should be one with which you can practice, practice, practice, and practice some more so as to be ready when the time comes. The use of the gun should be second nature. If hitting what you're shooting at is troublesome in a low stress environment such as at the range, it might as well be little more than a rock to throw during the stress of an actual defensive use. Some people have no trouble shooting a 642. More power to 'em. But it just wasn't right for us.

I personally go for the full-size semi-autos for CC. Yes, they're harder to conceal, but they tend to recoil less and make it easier to hit what you're shooting at because of the longer sight distance. I have a Sig P226 and a Glock-22 Gen 4, both in .40 S&W caliber. Love 'em both.

I say ditch the 642 and get something bigger. I (we) did and haven't looked back...
 
Never fired it myself, but I've always wondered what it would be like to fire a .44 magnum derringer.

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I dunno fellas. If I had a firearm that caused me pain to shoot, I'd either alter it, or sell it.

I carry a S&W 637-2 (15 ounce J-frame with hammer) pretty much everywhere, always. It's not painful for me to shoot, and I shoot it fairly accurately. The slap in my palm that it gives with +p loads isn't bothersome to me at all, but we each have our tollerances.

I also have a Ruger large-framed Vaquero in .45 Colt, and I shoot some fairly heavy loads in it at times. For me, it was a little hard to hold on to with full house, 325 grain Buffalo Bore loads. The factory grips were smallish, and didn't fit my hand right. I fixed the problem with a set of slightly oversized grips that I made for it, and I made them to fit my hand, too. It's actually very comfortable to shoot now, and I don't regret it one bit.

The S&W I carry was a little rough for my wife to shoot, so I put a set of larger wood grips on it for her to try. I shot it with those, and it was downright pleasant for me. It was still a bit rough for my wife, who suffers from Carpal Tunnel in both wrists, so we found her something easier (for her) to shoot. I've since put the CT grips back on my J-frame.

We each have our tollerances, but a comforting gun can also be comfortable to carry and easy to shoot.
 
I am totally confident and competent with it. If I have to use it, it will be point blank. Stuff it in the BGs belly and fire. With the adrenaline, I probably won't even feel it. When I get the money again, I am getting a Smith and Wesson 642. That is my ideal SD pocket carry. But I needed something now for cheap. I love it, its just not a range gun.
 
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