357shooter
New member
I am looking for a very light snub revolver for daily carry,I recently handled the 637 airweight and liked what I saw.Has anybody have any experience with this gun? If so what do think of it?
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smith 637 38.+p airweight opinions
- Thread starter 357shooter
- Start date
I have had one for about a year and love it (its my 90% of the time carry gun). as accurate as any fixed sight snubbie i've fired, recoil is manageable and not at all uncomfortable (in spite of what i have heard from others). My only Caveat would be that they are covered in a clear coat finish that can be stripped by some of the stronger solvents like Gunscrubber, etc. however, if you stick to good ole Hoppes #9, or the equivalent, it wont be and issue. (FWIW, i'm told if the finish does peel, s&w will recoat it for free)
all around, it seems to be a good, versatile, solid gun, and the price (at least mine) of a NIB one is pretty good.
lots of people seem to like to put thicker, backstrap covering grips on them for comfort, but mine has had the uncle mike's boot grips it came with since day 1 and i personally have no reason to change them.
all around, it seems to be a good, versatile, solid gun, and the price (at least mine) of a NIB one is pretty good.
lots of people seem to like to put thicker, backstrap covering grips on them for comfort, but mine has had the uncle mike's boot grips it came with since day 1 and i personally have no reason to change them.
637
I never had any issue with the clear coat finish? I have heard it talked about before but never saw any problems on mine.
It is a nice concealable revolver and it is very lite, I think about 15oz. That said with a stout +P you will feel some recoil. I replaced the standard rubber grip with a full boot rubber grip that also covers the backstrap of the handle. It made a comfortable change and handled much nicer with the +P loads.
My only issue with the 637 I had was after some 35-40 shots fired the cylinder was very hard to close and get locked into fire position. By the time I hit the last 5 shots in a box of 50, I was almost unable to close the cylinder... This might have been a heat related issue combined with grime. True enough that after each practice at the range I would clean it back to life but this issue made me a little uneasy and not thrilled about it. I would say as a CCW revolver it will most likely be 5 shots to protect yourself. The burning thoughts of such a few rounds fired still was enough reason for me to step back and reconsider for my own personal comfort. I picked the 9mm pistol back up and have concealed it from then on.... I have often fired 100-150 shots and no failure of any part on my autos. This just isn't the case with the 637 I had.
The 637 was a good close shooter for me.....out to 3 yards I was good on quick out of leather drills and 2 shots on center mass.... 7 yards wasn't what I was happy with. It may well have been my fault but the weapon and the shooter have to fit each other(so to speak)......and it seems that it wasn't the perfect fit for me.... a smaller hand might be a better fit? Just my thoughts on this nice little revolver....
The price was very nice as well. I think mine was around $350.oo if I remember right? (New) I would give it a B- if graded A+ as best and E as a fail. As tough as I have been on reviewing it, I did like the revolver.
Good luck.......and if you can rent one first it might be an advantage for your final decission.
Regards,
Rojoe67
I never had any issue with the clear coat finish? I have heard it talked about before but never saw any problems on mine.
It is a nice concealable revolver and it is very lite, I think about 15oz. That said with a stout +P you will feel some recoil. I replaced the standard rubber grip with a full boot rubber grip that also covers the backstrap of the handle. It made a comfortable change and handled much nicer with the +P loads.
My only issue with the 637 I had was after some 35-40 shots fired the cylinder was very hard to close and get locked into fire position. By the time I hit the last 5 shots in a box of 50, I was almost unable to close the cylinder... This might have been a heat related issue combined with grime. True enough that after each practice at the range I would clean it back to life but this issue made me a little uneasy and not thrilled about it. I would say as a CCW revolver it will most likely be 5 shots to protect yourself. The burning thoughts of such a few rounds fired still was enough reason for me to step back and reconsider for my own personal comfort. I picked the 9mm pistol back up and have concealed it from then on.... I have often fired 100-150 shots and no failure of any part on my autos. This just isn't the case with the 637 I had.
The 637 was a good close shooter for me.....out to 3 yards I was good on quick out of leather drills and 2 shots on center mass.... 7 yards wasn't what I was happy with. It may well have been my fault but the weapon and the shooter have to fit each other(so to speak)......and it seems that it wasn't the perfect fit for me.... a smaller hand might be a better fit? Just my thoughts on this nice little revolver....
The price was very nice as well. I think mine was around $350.oo if I remember right? (New) I would give it a B- if graded A+ as best and E as a fail. As tough as I have been on reviewing it, I did like the revolver.
Good luck.......and if you can rent one first it might be an advantage for your final decission.
Regards,
Rojoe67
Roejoe67--what ammo brand were you using? i have fired 150 rds in a session thru mine and it worked just like it did the first round...(i usually shoot WWB, but have fired plenty of +p's and other brands/'types') and never had a problem. just curious so i can avoid that brand if nessecary...
orionengnr
New member
I have a 37, kind of like a 637 but blued aluminum
instead of stainless. I bought it as my first j-frame, just to see if I would like it, could carry it and most of all, could shoot it. It's in my pocket right now, loaded with 135 Gold Dots. I am looking to add a hammerless Scandium 340 soon.
J-frame, good CHL/CCW weapon.
instead of stainless. I bought it as my first j-frame, just to see if I would like it, could carry it and most of all, could shoot it. It's in my pocket right now, loaded with 135 Gold Dots. I am looking to add a hammerless Scandium 340 soon.
J-frame, good CHL/CCW weapon.
jr......
jr.......
Most of the time I use WWB also. I did run some Remington and Federal stuff too.......... I would say 80% was WWB. In my revolver it didn't seem to make a difference when I got 35-40 through it. I was told by one guy at the range his acts up too when it's hot from some fast drills and reload and fire shooting....
jr.......
Most of the time I use WWB also. I did run some Remington and Federal stuff too.......... I would say 80% was WWB. In my revolver it didn't seem to make a difference when I got 35-40 through it. I was told by one guy at the range his acts up too when it's hot from some fast drills and reload and fire shooting....
strange. i've never had any problems, and other than the clear coat thing, never heard of any problems with them (many dislike the exposed hammer for snag reasons, but hasnt been an issue for me with my carry methods.)wonder if there is/was batch that was made a little too tight and fouled up easily......
I have had one or another 37 or 637 hanging around since i was in diapers. Yeah back then they were cloth. I have never had the problem decribed previously. As a matter of I have never had anything except excellent service from any of them. I currently have a new model 37 that a caay alot as a " deep cover" gun.
I have shot thousands of +P and even +P+ loads through the different guns I have had without a hitch. This would be a great choice the only thing I can think of better is a hammerless. Of course I am prejudice as both my butt and my father's have been saved by having one of these little fellows at hand. Tom ( TGC)
I have shot thousands of +P and even +P+ loads through the different guns I have had without a hitch. This would be a great choice the only thing I can think of better is a hammerless. Of course I am prejudice as both my butt and my father's have been saved by having one of these little fellows at hand. Tom ( TGC)