NEw to revolvers, some background and Hello...

Welcome to THR.

The S&W J-frame .38 is the cheapest option, not the most expensive. Shouldn't cost you more than $400 new. Ruger SR9c might be close to that, maybe $450. Glock 26 is probably just barely over $500.

Get whatever you're most comfortable with. Any of the models you listed would serve very well as a conceal-carry weapon.

You might also add the original recipe Ruger SP-101 to your list of things to check out; it's a little bit like a J-frame on steroids. I have both a J in . 38, as well as one of the original short cylinder 2 1/4" sp101s in .38: the J is a great little gun, accurate and all that, but the sp is an all-day shooter. In .38, it's a pussycat and you can stuff it with any .38 you can find, even +P+.

I just picked up a VERY lightly used S&W 442, that's a 2 inch J frame .38 Special with a concealed hammer, for $320. A new one was sitting next to it for $400.

I'd recommend it all day long, awesome little concealed carry piece.

Paistemage. A 357 will shoot 38specials and the 357 mags. I love my 38,s. A 38 with 130 gr. flat point will be quite nice to stop an, intruder .But you need to shoot and feel every different kind of round to feel what you like the best and what you feel like you can handle.

If you plan to shoot the revolver on a limited basis but plan to carry for defense, I think the J frame by Smith is ideal. I have several snub nose Smiths but rarely shoot them as recoil is more than I like.

Having shot a J frame gun I have to agree that it's more suitable for a carry often and shoot only occasionally. Even with normal power .38Spls it tends to kick a lot. The one I got to try had the small old style grips which certainly didn't help any. Better grips would cure much of the woes. But it still wouldn't be a gun I'd want to shoot often.

If you want a gun to carry AND shoot for lots of practice and maybe some competition then look around for a K frame model 10 with a 2 to 3 inch barrel. It's slightly bigger but for that you get one more round to shoot along with enough more weight that the gun becomes a joy to shoot a lot.

Really though this just all points out that with handguns there's just no way to shoot a lot in a variety of practice and competitive settings as well as have something which is really ideal for carry. So plan on this not being your ONLY handgun.

On a related note, and speaking of the Model 10, I'd like to get a revolver, mainly for a different shooting experience (my other handguns are semi-autos) while putting many holes in paper (seems to me as if something like this with rubber-ish grips would result in a bit less recoil).

A close-by store is advertising in a sale paper "Police Trade" Model 10's for about $250 (certainly when compared to new ones). Obviously they're used, but the price seems reasonable if one gets a decent shooter; given that I of what sorts of things should I be wary? Also - does S&W tie warranty to the original purchaser or is there some sort of "lifetime of the firearm" support?

Sorry if I've changed the direction of the thread, or asked anything patently dumb.

Any advice welcomed and appreciated.

welcome to THR PM, in that price range, a great NEW gun (about $450) would be the Ruger SP101. it will shoot .357s and .38s all day long. the gun comes in a few different configurations also. 2.25 barrel, 3in. barrel DAO (no hammer spurr) or with a hammer spurr for shooting single action. weighs about 25oz. and is pretty concealable if you choose to carry it. it is also a good platform to teach yourself some trigger controll.

Never understood the reasoning of wanting to stick with a .38 only. If weight, size, and concealability are your primary factors for consideration, then yes you might have to go with a .38 only. But the ".357 might be too much" argument just never makes since to me. If you're not comfortable shooting .357, you can still shoot the same .38s out of the same gun. Buying a .357 gives you "room to grow" so to speak, but I'm confident there will be a time when you're ready for the .357 and then you'll be backing buying a .357 when you could have just done that from the very beginning.

I'll be completely honest, I own a lot of .357s and not one single .38 only. 95% of what gets shot out of my .357s is pussycat .38 Special loads. I get all the enjoyment out of shooting mild .38 loads while still having the ability to load up the cylinder with full house .357 loads and make the fireballs fly if the mood strikes me!

For your price range, let me show you want you can get. These are both classic S&W Model 66s, no-dash versions to be exact. One is a 1974 and the other is a 1975. These guns were made in a time when craftsmanship was an art and gun companies weren't worried about cutting costs. Their value is constantly going up and they make great investments. Much better than a LCR ever will. The one with the combat grips was purchased last weekend at a gun show for $500 cash, out the door. The one with the service grips I bought a little over a year ago for $600 cash. I shoot .38s out of these guns all the time, but when I carry them they get loaded with .357.

They're a boatload of service size, 4 inch barrel and 6 shot, revolvers in 357 or 38 spl out there. Please don't try a find a gun that will do everything for your 1st gun.

If you buy a service size 1st you can carry it. Might not be the perfect carry gun but it will work. Later go get a J -frame for carry and use the service size for Home defense and a range gun.

The best I've found for a do everything gun is a 3 in barrel model 60 357 J- frame. The 3 in barrel is to long for pocket carry but covers everything else. Good luck in you're hunt and welcome.

Don't be afraid to buy a used S&W or ruger as many have been well cared for and are dependable guns. Many have been police or security turn ins.

Welcome to the forum.

I think you said the S&W J frame was comfortable to you. I'd get the one that's most comfortable. I've found that if you like a gun you will usually shoot it better, & if it fits you, are REALLY likely to shoot it better.

The price range you mention should allow you to get a really nice gun. Don't forget that you don't have to shoot .357 Magnums in a .357 gun. It will handle .38 Specials quite nicely, you just want to clean the chambers with a cleaning brush after you shoot .38s in it.
Good luck.
Frank

In the revolver arena, I won't buy anything made before 1980 (Okay, I admit I bought the 627 Performance Center. But that gun is made with more attention to detail as the older ones were). Older revolvers were better made, using better components, and more attention to detail. As long as the gun hasn't been abused, there's absolutely NOTHING wrong with buying used.

I've found that there's never ONE gun that can fill multiple purposes. I tried the same thing, looking for guns that could serve double and even triple duty. I found that the sacrifices were not worth the trouble. Now I stick to buying a gun for one single purpose. I don't target shoot with my CCWs, I don't conceal my target guns, and my hunting guns are strictly for hunting. It may take longer to get your collection built up like that and you may have to put other purposes on hold a little longer, but I promise you'll end up with a collection of guns that meets your EVERY need perfectly and without sacrifices in other area.

Beautiful Smiths, Olympus.

Bobson said:

Beautiful Smiths, Olympus.

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Thanks. I'm pretty proud of them.

Olympus said:

Never understood the reasoning of wanting to stick with a .38 only. If weight, size, and concealability are your primary factors for consideration, then yes you might have to go with a .38 only. But the ".357 might be too much" argument just never makes since to me. If you're not comfortable shooting .357, you can still shoot the same .38s out of the same gun. Buying a .357 gives you "room to grow" so to speak, but I'm confident there will be a time when you're ready for the .357 and then you'll be backing buying a .357 when you could have just done that from the very beginning.

Click to expand...

The one problem that new shooters can run into shooting constant .38 out of a .357 revolver though is that nasty carbon ring inside the chambers. Nothing a good cleaning wouldn't take care of. But it can cause the longer .357 casings to stick hard when ejecting the rounds. This happened to a few of my friends and they didn't understand why the .357 casings were getting stuck up.

Second thing is cost. Around here at least, .38's seem about 20% cheaper than the .357 counterparts.

But I am with you on the ".357 might be too much" argument.

Airweights are nice for concealing, but not a lot of fun to pleasure shoot.

Olympus is right. And honestly, for carry on the belt (IWB or OWB), a good gun belt makes the weight of a steel gun disappear. Aluminum frame revolvers are strictly pocket guns for me, where weight is VERY noticeable (I've got a 642 that I only carry in the pocket).

But IWB, I carry a 4" S&W Model 28 (N Frame) pretty regularly. That's a big honkin' hunk of steel that probably weighs close to 3 lbs loaded. But a stiff leather gun belt and high quality holster (leather in my case) do make it possible, though it certainly isn't an every day carry for me.

On the used front, there are plenty of deals to be had on Rugers and S&Ws if you are patient. And as another poster said, though .38 Special only guns are less flexible than a .357 (they are the same width BTW, your friend is mistaken), they often cost quite a bit less. For example, you can find a 4" S&W Model 15 (blued, adj sights, K Frame) for around $350. To get the same style gun in .357 Magnum, the Model 19, you are looking at at least $450. You just have to decide which is a better value based on your own priorities.

Me? I own an equal # of .38s and .357s (6 each). I love them all equally.

Here are some examples of used revolvers and prices I paid. All can be carried quite easily with quality gear, though I admit the Model 28 wouldn't be for everyone. I carry it is often as possible because I shoot it better than anything else.


Ruger Police Service Six, 4", .357 Magnum, paid $274 in Oct 2009:





S&W Model 15-2, 2" .38 Special, paid $374 in Jan 2009:




S&W Model 66-1, 2.5" .357 Mag, paid $430 in late 2010





S&W Model 28-2, 4" .357 Mag, paid $425 in Dec '09





S&W Model 13-3, 3" .357 Mag, paid $450 in 2009:





S&W Model 15-3, 4" .38 Special, paid $309 in the spring of 2009:





Taurus 431, 3" 44 Special, paid $268 last fall:





I recently acquired a 4" S&W Model 19-2 for $450, but I've not taken a photo of it yet.

I will say the 642 can be fun in it's own right if you can load your own light shooting wadcutters. I use 148 grain WCs and 3.2 grains of Winchester 231. This moderate recoiling load comes out the barrel so slow you can see the bullet in flight. Makes practice more enjoyable than shooting 158 grain +Ps.