How do you shoot the J frame effectively?

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I appreciate all the feedback. To answer a couple of the questions to me, when I shoot my other revolvers, I shoot double action, unless it is my Ruger Bisley. Also, I am a big guy, 6'3". I have a hard time getting my bear paws wrapped around the grips. I have been dry firing, and that will probably help quite a bit. By playing around with it, I think I am having my best results by putting my finger through the trigger guard and my first knuckle of my trigger finger is what is resting on the trigger.
 
When shooting DA, whether a bottom feeder or a revolver, I put the trigger right in the crease of my first knuckle (most distal knuckle) of my trigger finger. I find that point is where my finger needs to be to eliminate (or reduce, at least) the movement of the front sight when pulling through.

Keep practicing! You'll get it!
 
bernie said:
I have been dry firing, and that will probably help quite a bit. By playing around with it, I think I am having my best results by putting my finger through the trigger guard and my first knuckle of my trigger finger is what is resting on the trigger.
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Just make sure when you dry fire that the gun isn't jolting when the hammer falls. By using the first knuckle to pull the trigger and not the pad you're giving up one pivot point which (at least for me) makes it harder to stroke the trigger straight back.
 
Waveski,

They do not list a reason, just posted the rule. I go with it.

Jim
 
My wife bought me an S&W 442 for my birthday in ‘97. I loved that thing until I took it to the range and fired it. At first I thought there must be something dreadfully wrong with the revolver. There wasn’t one hole in the paper. I fired about 50 rounds and by the time I got to 50 I was pretty sure I had just wasted my money on a lemon.
The gun wasn’t a lemon. It was me...or I should say it was my poor shooting habits.

I dry fired the revolver with snap caps and after s time I got to where I could put all 5 rounds in the abdomen of a silhouette target at 10 yards.
Then I started doing something I call slow dry fire. I would aim the gun and practice pulling the trigger ever so slowly. Slowly so that firing five rounds took about a minute. It taught me to feel the trigger and get a good feel for it. I would do the same at the range during live fire.
After a while I could put 5 rounds into a 10” circle rapid fire at 7-10 yards.

I just had to get the feel of the gun. I now have 3 J frame revolvers. My 442, a model 60 Pro and a model 36. Out of the 3 I am most accurate with the model 36.

The key is practice and almost as important, funding the right grip.

My 442 came with a rubber boot grip. The 60 Pro has a factory extended length wood grip (looks nice but not conducive to accuracy in my opinion). The 36 has factory wood grips and I installed a KB Tee grip (Tyler T grip copy)

Don’t give up your j frame. They’re not meant for driving tacks or winning shooting matches.
There is such a wonderful satisfaction in shooting a j frame well.
 
I have a Beretta that I thought had to be more accurate than what I was getting. Tried and tried but I could not get it to hit where I wanted. Finally I put a red dot sight on it. I could see with the dot that right at the end of the trigger pull, just before the bang I was pulling it off to the left. Practice, a little finger adjustment on the trigger and watching my follow through solved the problem.
 
My problem with the J is that the trigger is a little too close to the back trigger guard. I end up pinching the meat of my finger more times that I would like. Not a deal breaker, more of an annoyance.
 
Well, snub nose revolvers are basically "belly" guns so there you go. I found a set of custom finger groove grips to greatly enhance my abilities and comfort level shooting my wife's j frame. Nothing to write home about compared to much of anything with a longer barrel but much better than with the the tiny little factory grip.
 
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I was over at the range this morning with my 642 trying to figure out why the wadcutters I just started loading werent shooting out of it, but shot fine out of others. Seems for some reason, the primers were seated a little deep in the first batch to its liking. These next two batches seem to work fine.


This is a 100 rounds of 148gr SBWC's and 50 rounds of 158 gr LSWC at 15 yards.

enhance.jpg
 
mavracer said:
Wish folks would quit this, too many see it as an excuse and just live with bad results.
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I agree.

As per Gabe Suarez....."From the perception of safety comes the relaxation of standards, and then the rise of the acceptance of marginal performance as something adequate. Inevitably, the acceptance of mediocrity leads to its adherents defending their current state as normal and ridiculing those who do not wish to be held down by their low standards."

I think he puts that rather well and is spot-on in his assessment. :thumbup:
 
bernie said:
For the life of me I have been unable to figure out how to effectively shoot a J frame. I have tried for years and had no success. I would really like to get another 642, but I cannot hit anything past belly gun ranges, and I know that they can be fired effectively at distance. I shoot K frames, L frames, autos, etc. and have no problems. I have been unable to pick up the skill set to shoot these smaller revolvers. What grip, etc. do you utilize to make the J frame perform for you?
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I have no problems hitting with my S&W 36-2 both single and double action from 7 to 25 yards. I always found snub nose to be surprising accurate. Problem is when I try to be fast and accurate shooting full power .38Spl: they slow down my shooting and they ruin my hands. I found mild .38Spl and wad cutters to be the best choice for me.
 
My accuracy problems with my SP101 2.25" 357 are caused by my trigger pull which I'm working on. I pull my shots slightly high and to the right pretty consistently. I do the same thing with my 4" revolvers(GP 100, model 10/64) sometimes but not as badly. The snub magnifies my mistakes due to the short barrel. I think mastering the snub will carry over to my longer barreled revolvers. Some of the accuracy issues I'm reading here are probably not unique to the 642.
 
I've heard it said so many times "Ain't good for nothin past 3 feet" I just ignore this Bovine Feces anymore. I regularly shoot at about 15 yards and often out to 25. But I shoot often and practice. I love my snubs. Most of mine are Colts, though I do own one J frame.
 
"back in the day" we had to qualify with our leg guns the same as our duty weapons and with the same ammo we carried, took a little practice but it wasn't real hard. A M38 with full power 158 SWC's at 50 yards prone and barricade required paying attention but was routinely done.

wrOUQH8h.jpg

M38 and M638, two of several J Frames that hang around the house.
 
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