Small revolvers

Going to a j frame size revolver really isn't much different than your SP. It may be lighter but you will have more recoil with a lighter gun everything else being equal.

The 22 Mag is not that great a performer out of a short barrel handgun.

I'd say stick to the SP.

Keep it Ruger but go LCR.

Grip it high and tight and recoil isn't the boogerbear some are making it out to be.

Q

Anything stouter than .22 Magnum is going to require a heavy frame like the SP to tame recoil. You might already have a good solution in the Black Widow. I carry mine daily and leave the 24-oz steel J-frame at home.

Hmmm...I was just over at the Smith-Wesson site, and their line-up of .327's seems to have dried up a bit.

How about an external hammer 351PD in .22 magnum? It's only a bit heavier than the Black Widow at 10.8 ounces, and ups the firepower to 7 rounds (as well as being double-action and with a faster reloading swing-out cylinder). The 351C has the same characteristics, is slightly heavier at 11 ounces, and has the totally enclosed hammer).

Anyway -- just a couple more guns to gnaw on...


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If you have a Range that rents guns try the LCR357 and shoot standard 130 grain or less 38 special ammo. It has a very smooth trigger and the Tamer Grip makes it feel almost like a 22.

thetoad45 said:

I'm in a pickle. Some time ago I sold off all my big magnum handguns. I kept a Ruger SP-101 in .327 magnum and a NAA Black Widow in .22 magnum, both of which I REALLY like. The Ruger is just a bit large to carry concealed. So I have been racking my brain to come up with an idea on what to get. First off, I don't live in a high crime area. Second I would like to keep the caliber smaller than .38 special. I have had surgery on both hands and need smaller calibers. The Ruger .327 works fine as it is a heavy chunk of metal and recoil isn't bad plus I have the option of using a wide variety of .32 calibers. I want to keep it to revolvers. No semi autos. I have thought seriously about a Charter Arms Pathfinder in .22 magnum but am concerned about reliabilty. (?) All of the Taurus .22 magnums seem to sport an awful trigger pull from the reviews I have read. Charter Arms puts out a .327 but I am scared to death to make the plunge after reading about reliability issues. Any thoughts???

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The little J S&W .38 on the far left is what you need. Or the J .357 that is the 3ed one across from the left. Yep they are mine and any one of them will do to ride the river with.

But I pack a Glock for social purposes. I won't cry if I drop it!

Deaf

How about an external hammer 351PD in .22 magnum?

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I really like that gun. You've got short-barrel .22 Mag loads available now from Hornady and Speer; and a 50 gr bullet from Federal.

It'll never be a .38 Special, but not bad if you can't do .38.

(You sure you don't want to try a steel J-frame in .38 with standard pressure 125 gr Nyclad loads?)

I'm mostly Ruger.....but lately have been attracted to Charter Arms Pathfinder and Pug.

You can still pock up a 431 or 432. These are 6 shot, 32 mag. in a J frame.

S&W is still making the 632 Pro in 327 Federal. I've got the 2 1/8" barrel version with trijicon sights.

nonseven said:

S&W is still making the 632 Pro in 327 Federal. I've got the 2 1/8" barrel version with trijicon sights.

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Yeah -- I saw that 632 Pro on the Smith-Wesson site...Nice looking gun, as is everything in their "Pro" series.

At 23 ounces, I just thought it was too heavy for what the OP was looking for...


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Here is a pic of said revolver.

Second I would like to keep the caliber smaller than .38 special. I have had surgery on both hands and need smaller calibers. The Ruger .327 works fine

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I would go with a .38 Special for several reasons. You can use standard target wadcutter loads, which do surprisingly well as defense loads, and have very little recoil. The ammo is relatively cheap and is available almost anywhere.

The .327 is a new cartridge, hasn't been around very long, and is rather expensive. Many new cartridges are introduced but relatively few "catch on". When .40S&W was new it cost almost twice as much as 9mm. It did "catch on" and become very popular and that brought it's price down and increased the number of loads available as more ammo manufacturers got into the game.

On the other hand, try buying a box of .357 Sig, 10mm, or .45GAP. These calibers, while still in production, never "caught on" and are very hard to find and still quite expensive. Most stores in my area won't even carry them because of such low demand. A friend of mine bought a gun store 5 years ago. There was a supply of all 3 calibers in the store when he bought it. He closed the store last year when he lost his lease without selling a single box of any of them. We put them on GunBroker and they were bid up to such high prices that he was sorry he hadn't bought a truckload of them.

I would suggest not buying a gun that you may not be able to get ammo for.

I wrote to Charter Arms and made the mistake of asking about reports of quality control problems. The owner, Mr. Ecker wrote back a furious letter. Called me a "child" and told me to go buy someone elses guns as they only wanted "responsible" gun owners to buy their guns.

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Wow. If you have that letter, post it (redact your name and address).

I think that posting would cause a lot of folks at THR to take the guy's advice: buy someone else's gun!

c1ogden said:

I would go with a .38 Special for several reasons. You can use standard target wadcutter loads, which do surprisingly well as defense loads, and have very little recoil. The ammo is relatively cheap and is available almost anywhere.

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Point well taken about the target wadcutter -- the mild recoil and report of the round make it conducive for good shot placement...And has been discussed often, shot placement generally trumps all other factors.


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i second the smith and wesson models 431 or 432 32 h&r magnums. they are lightweight, about 13 ounces, accurate, light recoil. you can also use 32 smith and wesson longs which are also accurate and lighter recoil than the mild 32 h&r magnum. there are some good self defense rounds being made in 32 h&r magnum these days by buffalo bore, georgia arms, etc.

It's not a rumor.

I have a ruger SP101 as well as Ruger GP100 in the 327 FM and love them both. I do carry the SP101 a lot, I have a quality pancake holster and I think that's why it's easy for me to carry/conceal.

"thetoad45", if you do as Loosedhorse requests and post the letter you got from CA, please also include yours to them as well. Like others here, I'd be interested, but would want both sides of the story.
I have two CA revolvers, both in .38 Special, and have had no issues with them whatsoever. One had one misfire (of over 500 rounds), and that round was a 15+ year old reload from a commercial reloading company that supplied "practice" ammo to law enforcement agencies (that round fired the second time the hammer was dropped on it.)
Were I seeking a revolver in .22 Magnum, I'd feel fine with a Pathfinder.

I LOVE my Taurus 85 stainless ulstralite ... It has been my companion and a favorite shooting partner for 16 years and is riding in my pocket more now since I'm waiting on an extractor for my 9mm autochunker.

I have a .22 mag Black Widow. It's quite accurate with the new Hornady Personal Defense loads. I really prefer to carry more bullet, though. Most of the time, I can, but the .22 has its place.