What is *THE* snubby?

As far as grips go, I love the Barami Hip Grip.

It eliminates the need for a holster, and makes IWB carry easier.

In fact people will talk about how semi-autos are easier to conceal IWB because they are thinner. However, by the time you wrap leather around them, the package you stick inside your pants is a good bit thicker than a J frame with a Barami.
 
There's three I like a lot...

Here we go from smallest to biggest: 1) S&W model 940, 9mm, uses 5 shot moon clips. 2) Colt Cobra/ Agent. six shot .38 special, both alloy frames. Cobra is blue or nickel, Agent is ugly..ahem tactical gray color. FWIW finish on most Agents doesn't seem to age well at all. 3) Ruger Speed-Six, 9mm, 6rd moon clips, 2 and 3/4" barrel, made in blue or stainless. Whatever your choice, Skunk, put it in your new safe when not in use!:D
 
Ideal snubby?

Hey skunkabilly, I am by no means an expert on what the best snubby is. People will be always looking for the 'magic gun' chambered in the 'magic caliber'. It all boils down to personal preference. I am able to say that I am very happy with my Smith&Wesson M19 FBI snub. Sure it's a bit weighty but it's handy. I hope that Ohio finally gets that provision for concealed carry. I'll probably end up using that.
 
386PD_163069.jpg


Something like this, with SIX shots would be nice....

A low cost emergency gun, and can teach a new shooter the difference between a semi and a revolver thingie.

Hypothetically, if you were to carry a pistol, in a locked baggie, with full mags, that would be illegal in CA. Popping in 6 shots from a speedloader would be faster and easier than topping off 10 rounds into a magazine. Hypothetically. If I were expecting trouble, I'd just take my towed quad .50s anyway.
 
I went to S&W's (crappy) website and couldn't find any revolvers in 9mm.

I wish there was a features chart, make my life a lot easier.
 
Skunkabilly

S&W quit making them in 98. Ruger makes them from time to time and if you look around a bit you can find used versions of either. I saw a Ruger at the gun show, new for $365 just a couple of weeks ago. I prefer the concealed hammer because the other nice thing about them is that they can be reliably fired from within your coat pocket.

I got my wife a .38 a long time ago and sold it a year or so later. It was the only revolver I had owned prior to the 940. Everything else I have is a semi auto.

For small, easy to carry, and lots of punch I think a j frame is pretty hard to beat.

I thought the same thing as you about the speed loaders. The moon clips are the only way to go (for me) with a carried revolver. Some people prefer speed strips but just dropping in five rounds is very quick loading.

The more homework I did the more I remembered why I sold the .38 a long time ago. It is just not enough bullet. The .357 makes for a very powerful round, but, it needs a longer barrel to get up to speed. The .357 in a snubby is a lot of pain, a lot of flash and only marginally better, if its better at all, than the 9mm.

I have a .40 I am selling because I can not get off a second shot accurately with it. Just too much recoil! With the 940 I am able to shoot off hand very accurately and easily out to about 15 feet. Recoil is a non issue at 20oz and after 100 plus rounds my hand did not hurt or tingle.

The ballistics on the 9mm are very close and even better in some cases than a .357 out of a snubby j frame. A few others on this board have chrono'd both and put results up to see. They were getting 1000 fps plus from the 9mm j frames.
 
I have 3 snubbies, all of which I am very fond of. A S&W 66 2.5", a S&W 640 Centennial and an aiweight S&W model 37. As an all purpose snub I think the 66 is hard to beat, for concealed carry I like the 640 and when going for pocket carry an airweight is the way to go. Mike
 
A S&W 66 2.5", a S&W 640 Centennial and an aiweight S&W model 37.

What does 'airweight' imply, is it the same as the AirLites? Is that the Scanium/Titanium models or are there other options available?
 
Airweight refers to the aluminum alloy J frames. They weigh 15oz. and are the predecessors to the titanium and scandium guns. I bought mine in the late 80's, so they have been around a while. I personally prefer them over the newer airlite guns as 15oz. is as light as I want to go. Even with .38's, the felt recoil is substantial, at least for me, and I am typically not all that recoil sensitive in bigger guns. Another positive feature of the airweights over the airlites, IMO, is that they don't have the barrel sleeves the airlites do and can handle any type of bullet. I like my barrels to be made out of one piece of metal. If I were to go out today and get a new airweight it would be the model 642 (concealed hammer) Centennial, to me that is the ultimate pocket snub. Mike
 
Newbie Question

I know this will vary from gun to gun, but what kind of accuracy can one expect from a snubbie with a 2" or slightly longer barrel. It doesn't seem like it would be that good.

Jeff
 
I don't do badly with my snubs. The other day I was at the range and made 24 out of 24 headshots at 30 ft.; 18 were in DA mode and 6 were in SA. I was using my S&W 66 snub. I find snubs to be very accurate at those kind of distances. I practcie mostly in DA mode and don't find that to be a hinderance either. I'm certainly not a great shot or competition shooter but for defensive purposes I feel quite comfortable with a snub in the accuracy department.
 
Ah, well, it's like this:

I practice with what I carry, and, since I have a CCW, I shoot winter and summer, in my back yard.

Now, while I could carry a 1911 in the winter, given the clothing you have to wear to stay warm, have you ever tried to find the brass in a foot or more of snow?

So, while the H&K USP .40 is the (available) weapon of choice, in the winter, we do the revolver.

Currently, the carry gun is a Colt DS, a 28 YO, and I've no idea of how that age happened, though I bought it new, six shot. I only fire single action, though I sometimes have to start with the double trigger pull, and, for the most part, it, and I work OK. No hope for a rapid reload, though, at least by auto standards.

But, my preference, if I hadn't shot it out, is the old Charter Arms .44 special. At 19 ounces with a 3", what more could you ask, assuming you could handle the recoil, which was much easier with after market stocks.

Skip the fancy bullets: something around a 250 Keith slug, done in Linotype should pretty much cover anything under 25 yards or so.

You know, it's only the double action trigger that now sucks: the lockup, after factory rebuild, is solid, and I'm doing your standard sized water ballons with three of five at twenty five, single action.

Maybe a trigger job, rather than a Taurus, is in order: I really do like the "big holes every time" side of the coin.

And I'll consider S&W again when I see the feds advertise their denunciation of the original "contract".
 
the best for me is a S&W 19 2 1/2". For my hands and build a j frame is too small and I can shoot a steel gun better than a scadnium thing.(weight)
 
Hey Skunk,

I'm with benewton.
And I'll consider S&W again when I see the feds advertise their denunciation of the original "contract".

I don't mind buying USED "&"s, but until the above is retracted with proper grovelling, gimme a Ruger SP101 or GP100.
 
Howsabout a Webley Bulldog?

And not one of those winky little .380's either, I mean a stubby-barreled Royal Irish Constabulary solid-framed five shot pocket gun chambered in either .44 Bulldog, a.k.a. .442 Revolver, or even better, .450 Adams.

Big, slow, reliable bullets. Mild recoil and blast. Monstrously intimidating appearance. Pocketable size. Well-proven reliability of function borne out by history beggining in the earliest days of fixed cartridge ammunition.

The standard by which all others are judged. The ones that started the style. A gun with panache, wielded by Stout Men of Adventure in the wilds of India or Africa, or perhaps in the smoky corners of the Casbah, or while bumbling a-camel-back across the Egyptian Desert in search of fabulous lost treasure.

A title like "THE" snubby needs to have some romance factored into it, or your selling it short. This is a concept that should include it's own action-adventure movie in every box.

An immediate runner-up is a Colt New Service Fitzgerald Special. What can I say, I'm a big-bore fanatic. You just can't go wrong with calibers that begin with .4.

H_R_G
 
Back
Top