3 Wheelgun Range Report...

[357wheelgunner]

I had some time to kill today before my First Responder state exam, so I went to the range to shoot my new S&W 4" model 65 and my even newer Ruger SP101 DAO snubby.

The S&W 65 just got a new set of service grips. I was shooting Reminton 125gr. .38+P value fodder and some .357 158gr Speer Gold Dots. The new grips made my grip higher than normal which caused the hammer to pinch the web of my hand. I'll be bobbing the hammer as soon as I can figure out the best way to go about it. The fixed sight K-frames point like a finger, and at 15 yards I can do rapid double action head shots and hit 6 out of 6 times. I have no clue why S&W would discontinue the .357 K line.....

The next gun to play with was the SP101 hammerless. I used winchester white box .357 125 gr for this and it was quite a handful. It was not unbearable, but 50 rounds wore my hand out. After that I shot it with my carry load (Reminton 125gr goldensabers) and the recoil was even worse, however at 15 yards, drawn from concealment, firing as fast as I could, I kept all 5 in the center of the target's torso. This little blaster was extremely fun to shoot despite the pain.

The last gun I shot was another guy's Charter 2000 .38 special hammerless revolver. It felt like a piece o' crap but it shot well. Very accurate despite the incredible recoil with regular .38 wadcutters. The airweight charter shooting 148gr .38s felt similar to the SP101 shooting 125gr magnums.

I had a blast and blew off some steam from all of my final exams (lots of studying the past few weeks, but I graduated with honors ). I am a total wheelgun addict now. I need a J-frame....

 

[Bronco45]

Wheelgunner try Winchester 145 gr 357 Silvertips in your SP. That's what I shoot in mine and they are well mannered, powerful and accurate. Best of all they shoot to point of aim.

 

[Old Fuff]

The best way to get a bobbed hammer for a model 65 is to order one from www.e-gunparts.com and switch out your present hammer. That way you can restore the gun to it's present/original condition if you want to. If however your gun is one of those that has the frame-mounted firing pin and MIM parts (65-6 or later) this solution won't work.

 

[stormyone]

Slap some Hogue rubber grips on that SP101 (if you haven't already) - it really helps with recoil.

 

[torpid]

Bronco45

Wheelgunner try Winchester 145 gr 357 Silvertips in your SP. That's what I shoot in mine and they are well mannered, powerful and accurate. Best of all they shoot to point of aim.

Seconded.
I took this advice and was pleasantly surprised with the accuracy I was getting.

.

 

[DHart]

Another vote for Winchester's 145 gr. Silvertip load. Not too hot, but very potent.

 

[KONY]

Another vote for Winchester's 145 gr. Silvertip load. Not too hot, but very potent.

Ummm ... yet another vote for Silvertips ... very accurate out of my Security Six ... even made me look like a decent shooter and if you saw my typical groups, you'd know thats saying alot! Best of all, I shot this double action ... you get plenty of "Magnum boom" but it is totally manageable ... plus the price on this is pretty good considering you get a full box of 50 instead of 20-25 rounds of other defense rounds ... 145 grains sits in between the 125 for SD and 180 grain for hunting so I say it is a great compromise from a penetration standpoint.

 

[22luvr]

What was the model of that Charter ??

.357 wheelgunner: Nice report.

Was the Charter hammerless you shot the "undercover" or the "off-duty" model? The undercover has a bobbed hammer model and the off-duty has a completely enclosed hammer and an aluminum frame.

I've been eyeing one of these myself.

 

[357wheelgunner]

It was the enclosed hammer model. Personally I would not buy one, they cost $300 out the door and the are not rated for .38+P, on standard .38. Also the workmanship was definately not worth $300, you could get a Taurus or a used Ruger for that price if you shop around. It did shoot 5 rounds into about an inch at 7 yards, but any gun that can't do that should be put to paperweight duty.

As far as the silvertips go, I was doing great accuracy wise with the 125s, and have a bit of a stockpile of them to burn as it is. Thanks guys!

 

[22luvr]

$300 nib? Whew!

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll just stick to my old tried-and-true practice of finding a good used S&W or Taurus.

Hasn't let me down yet. Got my sweetheart of a Smith model 638 for $330 that way.