38/357 Snubby Advice

[JCook5003]

Ok Guys-

My wife decided to get her concealed carry permit also, and she wants a snubby for ease of carry and for simplicity (pull trigger, repeat as needed) she is a fairly seasoned shooter and has shot many of my handguns including my Vaquero 44 Mag.

She isnt what I would call recoil sensitive.....

I would rather her have a .357 over a .38 special but am concerned about the recoil of a snubby with magnum loads.......

What do you guys recommend ammo wise (with ballistic info) for 38 special rounds as a compromise.....

Or what are your expierences with snub nose .357's I think the 640-1 may be the lightest recoiling of the J frames since it's steel and a little heavier.......I don’t think the SP101 would be suitable for pocket carry (to big)

At the very least I can buy her one and then I have a nice BUG if she doesn’t like it, but I would like your expierences also......I would like to take her to the range to try them first and make a decision on her own but the range here doesn’t have snub nose revolvers to rent, so it's up to research and some gun store searching.

Thanks in Advance.
Josh

 

[ravencon]

Opinions vary.

I prefer .38 over .357 in a snubby. For me the better control and faster recovery time offsets the lower power. If you don't have placement, power isn't worth much.

 

[Cosmoline]

The SP101 is fine for pocket carry. I carry a nearly 3" Speed Six, which is a notch larger, in my jacket pocket. These are heavier than the small Smiths, but in my experience the J frame magnums are not the best defense choices. Esp. the very light versions. People usually end up shooting .38 +p in them anyway.

I'd suggest staying over 25 ounces for any .357 and not much shy of 20 oz for a .38 Special. For a Special go with an all-steel old school model such as the Detective Special, the Smith 36 or the Bodyguard. With the right holster setup a 20 oz .38 is a very easy carry. And more importantly it's easy to shoot accurately.

 

[Texas Colt]

Josh, since you say she is a seasoned shooter and not recoil sensitive, you could try the 640. I would highly suggest having her shoot it with 38 Specials, at least initially before trying 357 loads. If she can handle the recoil of the 357 loads, great! If not, load it with 38 Special +Ps.

The most important thing is that she has a gun she is comfortable with and that she can shoot accurately. Personally, I'd rather have my wife shoot a 38 Special comfortably and accurately than for her to have a 44 mag she could not hit with.

 

[JCook5003]

Texas Colt you hit it on the head, I would rather her carry a .380 that she can put em all in the same with that a .500 she cant hit a building with.......

Just figured I would gather everyone's opinion........looks like we might have a 640 in our future.....

 

[Iggy]

Look for a 640-1, but let her make the decision.

View attachment 327726


Best of both worlds. That said, I most often carry it with 38's or 38+P's.

It is manageable with Pach's or some form of larger rubber grips with .357's, but it's a little too rambunctious with smaller more concealable grips.

 

[JERRY]

the best $109.00 i ever spent on gun stuff was when i had one of my 640-1 Magna-Ported.....even full power loads "kick" like a .38spl +p.

 

[JCook5003]

Ok well the opinion seems to be carry 38 specials what ammo do you guys carry and what kind of ballistics are you getting with them?

 

[Cosmoline]

LSWCHP all the way

 

[Texas Colt]

Josh,

There's lots of good choices. I am currently using the 135 grain Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel +P JHPs in my Colt snubs. I have chronographed them at 885 fps from my 2" Colt Cobra.

 

[Bob79]

Best 38+P ammo:

Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel 135 grain +P

Cor Bon DPX 110 grain +P

Remington LSWCHP 158 grain +P

These rounds out of an all steel J-frame sized gun are very controllable, yet perform very well.

 

[Ala Dan]

OK- You Asked For It~!

For the wifey, I would stay away from all S&W scandium frame (12 oz)
.357 magnums; if the intened purpose is soley to fire the 125 grain JHP .357
magnum round~! Recoil, even in a 2-1/2" barrel S&W model 66 is brutual; and
not necessarily a pleasant experience. I would suggest that if a firm hold was
not taken on a scandium S&W J-frame; it just might very well jump slap out of
your (or anyone else's) hand~!

OTOH, a S&W model 642 .38 Special would be a little more forgiving; but even
the +P stuff can hurt "a softy's" hand.

 

[Slamfire]

I have shot a few 357 snubbies. It is like having a bomb go off in your hand. Loud, a hugefireball, and a stinging recoil.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I truly believe that .357 Magnum and Airlite J frame don't belong together. If you are talking about a 25 oz SP101 or a 23 oz Stainless S&W J frame that's a different story but not from a 12 oz J frame.

That being said and it's just my opinion, I also feel a 15 oz .38 Special +P Airweight at half the price is more than adequate protection when carrying a J frame.

IMO again, If you do choose to carry a .357 Magnum J frame then I would suggest the 135gr Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel .357 Magnum SD round. That 135gr bullet was specifically designed to expand at the lower velocities associated with a short barrel revolver at the request of the NYC Police Department in 2003. That bullet also preforms well in Speer's .38 Special +P Short Barrel SD ammo. Both also use a powder which produces very little muzzle flash.

In my S&W M638 I have carried these .38 Special +P rounds:
135gr Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel.
125gr DoubleTap w/Gold Dot bullet.
Federal 125gr and 158gr Nyclad.
Winchester 125gr Silvertip.
Remington 158gr LSWC/HP.

IMO all except for the Slivertips will do a good job if you do your job. (Silvertips don't expand well at lower velocities) I like the Nyclad rounds best but they are no longer in production. I now carry the 125gr DoubleTap .38 Special +P round but I will also carry the "FBI" load when they are available.

Bottom line, shot placement is more important that ammo choice in many cases. There is no replacement for a well placed shot.

 

[redman900]

Speaking of airlite j-frames. can sombody explain to me why on the side of my s&w 340pd, not to shoot anything lighter than 120Grain ammo? For the life of me I can't think of a reason it would matter.
thanks

 

[Old Fuff]

Because the gun is so light, the recoil from a hot load can literally pull a bullet out of the case in cartridges in the other chambers, and this can tie up the gun when the nose of a bullet is extended in front of the cylinder.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Ruger SP101 and either .38 Spl. +Ps or the milder magnums.

 

[PhrankKastle]

I like the SP101 with the .357 135 grain Short Barrel Gold Dot hollowpoints, I find this revolver/round combination very controllable myself.

 

[redman900]

Thanks Old Fluff! guess that does make sense. never would have thought of that.