Small revolvers you can actually use.......

I enjoy shooting my Model 60 with 38's. I actually prefer it to my model 64 k frame. I shoot it best with uncle mikes boot grips.

Hogue grips were mentioned earlier. Was mentioned they were destroyed trying to remove. I have used the hogue bantam grips and find with the wedge that comes with them they are easy to remove
 
I've been down this road with my wife (thankfully) for 22 years. Early on, she eased into DA shooting with an old Colt Army Special and progressed through the various snubs that have come and gone. Her solid favorites were a 2 1/2" Model 19 S&W and 2 1/4" SP101, both of which she would shoot 2-3 cylinders of Federal 125 grain magnums through in a session. This same girl finds my little LCP uncomfortable to shoot with ball ammo. This simply underscores the fact that we are all different and you have to find whatever works for you.

She got her CCW a few years ago and tried several midsize or compact or subcompact 40's, all of which she shot well; but they were too big/heavy to stick in a coat pocket while crossing a dark parking lot. And of course none of them were suitable for firing more than one shot through that coat pocket. So I've been harping at her to get a small, light revolver she would actually carry.

The selection process was hers, with careful and reserved input from me. We agreed that the 38 Special was ideal because it is powerful enough and I reload it in bulk, which combined with the blessing of a range out the back door, makes for unrestricted practice. Peg is a bit of perfectionist and likes to shoot SA for precision so 'her gun' needed the SA option. The other day I stopped at shop that had a good assortment of revolvers and she was willing to have a look. This 637 Airweight is what she picked out of the bunch.

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It was regulated perfectly for windage but prints a little high with wadcutters or 158's. Remington 125 grain +P JHP's print real close to 25 yards and their recoil is not intolerable for her. We ordered Pachmayr Compacs and Houge's Rubber Monogrip. She's trying out the Compacs at the moment and shoots real well with them. Anyway she loves the little gun and packs it regularly, which was the object of this exercise. Sorry to ramble so long... hope some of it was helpful.
 
I shoot my S&W 642 every week at the range and am sure to shoot at least 50 rounds of standard pressure .38 special and 5 rounds of +P .38 special, as this is the gun I rely on for concealed carry. Hear she is:

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I simply do not believe in the old FALLACY of "shoot little, carry often". As I might someday, maybe tomorrow, count on this gun to save my life you can bet that I am going to "shoot often" and "carry ALWAYS".

Oh, and by the way, I consider this to be the most fun handgun I own in terms of shooting. It is a highly accurate weapon for it's size.
 
I can go for an an afternoon's shooting with my M60 or M36 Smith's with 158 gr LSWC's, hand loaded to 800 fps which duplicates the recoil of our carry 125 gr JHP's; and neither of us feels abused. My wife's M637 Airweight is almost as comfortable...but all three come down to good grips. I'm not a fan of "boot" grips for that very reason. They just don't support the gun adequately for defensive use. I'd rather have a bit more gun to hide in CCW, and thereby have a better defensive weapon, than go with skimpy grips. I'll readily admit, however that full house .357's from 125 grains on up, are not fun to shoot through a 2-3" J-frame.

Here's a pair that are adequately stocked for their calibers. Note the difference in the grips in the pic. The grips on an ancient M36, .38 Special are ok on a .38, but are just too thin for the added recoil of a .357. The well shaped wood ones are on a new M60 .357, and help a lot...but even they do preclude knuckle knock with full house 158 grainers.

Best regards, Rod

 
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I normally only carry a lightweight J-frame or my Colt Agent, also lightweight. I would not extensively shoot any of these regularly at the range. I can see myself shooting steel guns more, including the only steel J-frame I shoot, a SW Model 60.
 
I prefer the S&W J frame model 36 with 3inch barrel, I can point shoot them more accurately.

The 3 inch barrel model 36 in the picture you can shoot all day long even with stout 38 loads with the Pachmayr grip it's wearing.

I had two other 3 inch barrel model 36's a round grip and a square grip, sold the round grip to a friend the other day, still have the other square grip still wearing the S&W stock grips.
Even with the stock grips I find the 3 inch barrel model 36 comfortable to shoot.

I have a Colt Detective Special snub nose, even though it gives one extra round over the S&W J frame, I just don't care for the grip on it as much.

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Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com
 
.38 special out of a 640-1. 32 H&R Magnum out of 1 7/8" barrel j frames. 32 S&W out of a Terrier and 32 long out of a hand ejector. no problems practicing with any of those for as long a period of time as desired.
 
Bob Hunter, I've commented before on that good lookin' nag in the pic, he's still lookin' fine...and I like that saddle rig for your pistola, as well. We had a bad winter here in KY, still not through with it, and I hope to get one of our quarters through...he's lost a hellofa lot of wt. in spite of double grain morn and night. Best Regards, Rod
 
I shoot my s&w 66-1 all the time with both .357 and .38 rounds. I don't find the recoil excessive with .357 loads. I shoot weekly (at least).
 
I hope I'm not hijacking this thread.If so, my apologies.While not J frames, My 2.5" model 19 sporting Uncle Mike's Boot Grips & a Ruger 2.25" SP101 with Eagle Grips Rosewood Secret Service grips are the most difficult pistols I have ever tried to control. I favor full house 125gr. .357 with both. Is this just the nature of the beast? Any advise (other than using .38's or shooting my 4" L frames) would be most welcome. Thanks, JMM

P.S. By "Full House" I'm not talking Buffalo Bore or Corbon, most common are Federal Hi-Shoks and the like.

My response: I also shoot .357s out of a 2.25" bbl SP101. I've tried several different wood grips (wanna buy a set?), and found them universally uncomfortable with factory magnum rounds. The factory grips (rubber with plastic or wood inserts) worked better than any of my wood versions.

The champ, though, is the Hogue grip. My SP101 is comfortable to shoot with factory 125 gr. mags, with these grips. All my "regular use" revolvers are wearing rubber Hogues. If I can find & examine a set of wood Hogues for the SP101, locally, I'll consider buying them (I'm told they are wider across the backstrap than the rubber version, and might tame the recoil without the "grippiness" tendency of the rubber version).
 
low recoil pocket revolvers

My favorite pocket revolver is the Colt Detective Special. It has several ounces on the all steel J-frame Smith and the sixth shot. I find it much easier to shoot fast with control than anything smaller. Of course some pockets just won't accommodate it, and I find myself dropping back to the Model 60. When I buy a new set of trousers, I find myself looking hard at the pockets. Another solution I could go to for tighter clothes is the old flat latch Smith & Wesson 32 or the older Colt Pocket Positive 32. You can practice forever with the 32 S&W long without feeling any recoil, and I suppose that practice might apply favorably toward the ability to use a lightweight 38 that hurts to shoot too much. If all else fails, a hit with a 32 might qualify as a much more solid expression of opinion than a near miss with a .38 that you were afraid to shoot enough to practice with.

As much as I love pocket pistols, by definition they speak to compromise and just where you're willing to draw the line as to what is too small. I keep threatening myself to one day just say screw it, run a parachute cord loop through my saddle-ring '92 carbine in 38 WCF, and wear that under a long coat.
 
I shoot a box of 50 with my Smith J frames when I'm at the range. It doesn't bother me much but maybe because my hands are pretty tough from working with them.
 
Bob Hunter, I've commented before on that good lookin' nag in the pic, he's still lookin' fine...and I like that saddle rig for your pistola, as well. We had a bad winter here in KY, still not through with it, and I hope to get one of our quarters through...he's lost a hellofa lot of wt. in spite of double grain morn and night. Best Regards, Rod
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Thanks Rod, I'll send you a PM on my thoughts on your horse that way we won't be hijacking this thread with horse talk.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com
 
Love my 642 and I think it's plenty shootable. I enjoy shooting it, as does the wife. And the jacked wad cutters carried in it cause plenty of damage.
 
M36

My old snubby wears a set of Uncle Mikes boot grips and does not seem all that abusive at all. One reason is that it is carried, and shot almost exclusively with wadcutters.
 
There are so many really desirable guns that are no longer in production. In this age of ghetto pants and subcasual mode of dress, the new market offers little but 5 shot, 38 SPL snubs and little magnum flinchers that are beyond unpleasant to actually shoot.

The under rated gun IMO is the 3", 5 shot 44 Special.
 
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I actually use my S&W 360 ( it's the only gun I now own, so it'd pay to be familiar with it :) ). I run a box of 50 FMJ practice rounds and a few cylinders of +P carry ammo per range trip. When I clean and oil gun between range visits I break out the A-Zoom snap caps and get in a little dry fire practice; which helps me out a lot as I get older. ( hands are strong through work but joints are starting to ache...... )

Mike M.
 
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