.38 special snubnose plinkers club meets here

[Thirties]

For those of us who like to shoot our 2" .38 specials at tin cans, paper, spinners, and clumps of dirt, how about swapping some info and experiences:

For example, do you shoot DA or SA most of the time?
What ammo do you shoot, and do you load your own?
Rubber Grips, or not?
Two hand or single hand hold?
Any shooting games that are particularly suited for the .38 snub?

Please, don't load this thread with photos. Let this be an exchange of ideas and info. There are plenty of other threads to show off your photos.

Happy New Year to all . . .

 

[Thirties]

I'll start off by confessing to shooting mostly single action. But one of my NY resolutions is to train myself to shoot in double action, and make it feel natural.

I admit to an attraction to the look of wood grips (stocks); but my hands like rubber when I shoot.

I reload, and am just about bored with 148 grain hollow base lead wadcutter ammo. So I will be loading more 158 grain lead semi-wadcutters.

I'm going to give my squirrels a break from lethal .22lrHV from my Ruger 10/22. I'll give them a sporting chance by using the .38 snub on them with SWC, but nothing in the +p range for my old Colt DS and Rossi m68.

There . . . I got the ball rolling.

 

[SnWnMe]

My most accurate snubby is my Colt Det Spl. I shoot DA for anything inside 50 yards.

 

[dpote]

I love shooting my snub. I usually shoot double action, but I will cock it if the target is at 50 yards or so. (Like the gong at the range)
I load my own with 158gr lead SWC. I got a deal on them online. They look like beehives with this weird black dust on them for lube.
I have rubber grips, but I prefer the wooden ones with a shoe.
I like practicing my draw from concealment, so I shoot one handed a lot. I'm not great at it, but it is fun.
I shoot my snub probably more than all my other handguns.

Dave

 

[Johnny Guest]

Snub nose plinkers club?

Sounds interesting. You need to keep it limited to two-inch barrels? That kicks out my three-inch models 65 and 13, but okay--Otherwise we'd have the 2-1/2" and 3" adjustable-sight L-frames and N-frame types. Although they have short barrels, these kind of get away from the original intent of the snub nose revolvers.

I'd still like to use my Model 34-1 round butt 2" .22/32 Kit Gun. It thrives on the inexpensive bulk pack Federal hollow point loads, and is scarry accurate on out past 50 yards. But you seem to want to limit it to .38 Specials. Well, that's okay, too. Otherwise we'd have the gamesmen comopeting with the lil' .17 rimfires and .32 mags.

The 2" .38 snubs I really carry are an S&W model 37 Chief's Special Airweight (mostly) and a Colt Agent. Both have standard wood stocks and Pachmayr grip adaptors. For plinking and practice, I shoot mostly 158 gr. LRN bullets with 4.0 gr. of Win 231 powder. Mild enough so that it doesn't "use up" the allow frame revolvers but with enough oomph to get out to 100 yards.

When I'm in a cheating mood, I use an old Military & Police (pre-Model 10) 2", with factory round butt stocks and a Pachmayr adaptor. in this steel frame piece, I use 158 to 162 gr. LSWC with heavier loads of 231 or Unique. My standard loads, worked up in years past, are just a BIT above published maximums.

Practically all my shooting is two-handed, double action. I shoot a couple of cylindersful one-handed. Out beyond 30 yards, I frequently shoot single action.

Those will be my "snub club" guns. How about the rest of you?

Johnny

 

[areandare]

First snub

I just bought a SW 640 2" 38 special only SS and really great gun to shoot. First snubnose, kinda wondering what everyone shoots in theirs. I also started reloading recently and I am planning on using w231 with a 158 lswc and start with 3.1 and go up from there.This load will be for taget practice. Any suggestions with the load and experience would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[ChefJeff1]

I have a SW model 38 . I have SW wood grips and a t-grip on the way. I love shooting at large cans that I take home from work. I like to fill them with water. I shoot it all diffeent ways. sa/da, one hand, two hand, whatever. I also like to shoot old food like fruit and potatoes with a .357 Ruger sp101. Once I shot an old slimy pieco of tofu, I wish I had goggles and a raincoat on. Jeff

 

[sm]

1928 Colt Detective Special.
Black (whatever them hard black stocks are called)
Reloads of 158gr LSWC Standard pressure. I have no clue to the recipe, and the buddy of mine that did these 20-25 years ago - cannot recall either.

Other loadings are standard pressure and whatever is handy.
I just shoot the durn thing.

Model 64 3" RB HB.
Bone stock, including Factory stocks
One is in a safe off site, with other stuff and been 13 months since I looked at these (I guess I need to think about doing so) Left it loaded with Win 125 gr STHP - they look good in that cylinder. Shoots these well and I have taken quite a bit of small game with this gun. Semi-Sorta retired.

Model 64 3" RB HB - another one that is used a lot.
Now the Eagle Secret Service Stocks walked off,and currently using the original set of stocks on this gun as well.
I seem to be big into shooting stock guns as the Errornet says one cannot do that.
Loads include :the reloads mentioned above for Colt ( 158gr LSWC standard pressure) and mostly Standard pressure loadings of whatever is handy. Gun Likes 158gr loads.
Does fine with 148 gr Wadcutters, and used these to eradicate ground hogs.
I basically grab whatever and shoot.
Speer Plastic Training bullets, and Fiocchi loads of 38E 148 gr JHP.
http://www.fiocchiusa.com/cat_centerfire.php

Model 36, Model 37, again bone stock and using Standard Pressure loads above and Speer Training bullets.

Model 10, snubby and 3" barrels - I really really like these!!

Brain Fade - J frame .22 lr - I likes this gun a LOT! I get to use this one and is a great shooter, too much fun, and quality practice for Model 36, 37

Now for the .38spls the speed loaders are on loan with the Eagle stocks and some other wood stocks.
I personally only do Wood stocks. I shoot Double action, weak hand, strong hand, using both hands, each hand only, as close as bad breath distance to out to ~ 100 yds. I shoot daylight, low light and dark. I even get on the ground and shoot back over my head.

I admit to still being a big kid and shooting tin cans off a cross-tie, clays hung from a coat hanger, cans being reeled in by a Zebco 202 kids fishing rig,and walking in rounds at a coffee can, full soda can, water balloon - "out yonder".

Currently all the .357s are loaned out and being used elsewhere.

Does the NAA 11/8" .22 lr mini revolver count? Naturally single action only...last used for a deal we did on a neck lanyard that breaks away...

Tip: hide a second one of these guns nobody knows you have, transition real fast and when folks wonder how you started shooting again so fast - holler out " Speed loaders!"

Had 'em going for ittle bit I did.

I likes these little critters, especially dedicated .38spls, bone stock and 158 gr loads my favorite with wood stocks.


Please trade in / or send to me - all these old antiquated guns - shooting old pathetic cartridges- and get a new polymer gun with higher capacity magazines that take extreme , ultimate, and enhanced loadings.

Please.

Steve

 

[wheelgun43]

My only snubby is a Taurus 850 CIA. It has rubber combat grips. I use a two handed hold for shooting paper targets and bowling pins. My reloads are 148gr hard cast double end wad cutters over 3.5 grs of win231. The more I shoot this gun the smoother it gets.

 

[MCgunner]

For example, do you shoot DA or SA most of the time?

My Taurus's DA is so good, I just have to shoot it DA. I'll alternate with my little Rossi 3" M68 from SA to DA

What ammo do you shoot, and do you load your own?

I have a favorite wadcutter (I cast of range scrap using a Lee double cavity mold) over 2.7 grains bullseye. Also a 158 SWC Lee bullet over 5.0 grains Unique. Also 2.3 grains of Bullseye under a 105 grain cast Lee SWC (a very light load and quite accurate.)

Rubber Grips, or not?

Stock rubber Taurus boot grip, it's quite good. My Rossi sports pearlite, satisfies the pimp in me.

Two hand or single hand hold?

Two hand either usually Weaver or sometimes Isosceles

Any shooting games that are particularly suited for the .38 snub?

We have resetable 6" steel plates at 25 yards I just can't seem to get enough of. We have some resetable pepper poppers and when I'm out there alone (usually) I'll moved to about 20 yards and practice drawing IWB and from a pocket and mowing down the 4 pepper poppers fast as I can. I do that with all my handguns, not just the snubbies, but I find myself shooting the snubbies a lot. There is a thing with various sized tombstone shapped plates one in front of the other, and the plates reduce to rediculous size at the back. If I hit the small one at 25 yards I really have to concentrate and get a little lucky with the snubbies, though the 3" Rossi is accurate enough to make it more than luck. My little Rossi .22 is killer on this target, though. Any gun that can shoot a 1.5" group off sand bags is good enough for that set up. What's fun is to tackle it with my .45 colt Blackhawk. The added weight, superb sub 1" accuracy, the huge 255 grain bullet, and the added sight radius makes it a sealed deal if you do your part. It's pretty impressive how fast those plates fall over when that 255 grain bullet hits 'em.

 

[461]

Love to plink but at the moment I'm between .38spl's. Got a 9mm SP-101 though if you'll allow cheaters with snubs.

 

[B36]

Two 642s, and a 34. All shot da only.

Also a 36 and 37 3", again da only.

In fact do not shoot any revolvers sa.

 

[Thirties]

Folks, this is a great response, and everyone is joining in the spirit of the topic. 9mm out of a Ruger SP101 still qualifies, as long as you are talking about plinking type activities.

I'm going to make some time before next week to load 158g LSWC ammo. And I'm going to start shooting DA at closer range to get good at it. When I am working on a new type of gun, or, in this case, a new type of shooting (DA), I start close (7 paces) to give myself a chance to succeed. Then I work my way farther out. But 25 yards with a handgun is tough with DA the way I've been going.

Who knows . . . I'll learn how long it takes me to approach that range. But fifty yards with a handgun is out of the question due to eyesight limitations. How can you see a small target at 50 yards? We're talking telescopes, and I don't use handguns with scopes. To me, the snub nosed revolver is for shooting with the iron sights, or point shooting.

Thanks all for posting. This is very interesting. I never realized there were so many people who enjoyed plinking with their thirty-eights!

 

[crazyhorse]

Ruger SP101, with CCI 158gr LRN at the range. Corbon 125gr +P JHP
for SD

 

[461]

I get to play, cool! I've been shooting 124gr. FMJ's as they're cheap to plink with. My SP is a DAO (Gemini customs) but the pull is very light at 10# so it's a very easy shooter. My son (12) and I have been heading to the woods with a case of clays and no expectations other than fun, they've been some of the best days of my life.

Targets have been clays at first and then after shooting the 20ga we shoot at the shotgun hulls to make them jump in the air. Very fun.

 

[cherryriver]

Really? You can thumb-cock a snubby?
My Colt Magnum Carry (stainless .357 small-frame, if you've never seen one) is the most comfortable-to-shoot snub I have, and extremely accurate, but for the best chance of hitting something, my '69 Detective Special gets the call. That twelve-inch forty-yard gong rings plenty with either of these.
In fact, I just went through several hundred rounds of my standard power load in these guys this past weekend. That's a 158gr Berry's RN going about 800fps in the shorties.
I showed my wife the "Bill drill" exercise (close range on a cardboard silhouette, draw or raise and fire six as fast as possible) with the DS, which she shoots quite a bit and quite well with wadcutters, and she'll stand there and pop six quick head shots in three or four seconds, all the while protesting she doesn't like shooting. Good, well centered headshots.
The next snubs I'm thinking about getting are a 2" Official Police, and a 2" Lawman. That's probably indicative of something, and not good.
One of the other fun things to do with the MC and DS is to put them in the hands of other guys who don't know about Colt snubs, especially Tupperware or J-frame shooters. (Hey, I have four Js,too.) The first time they get six dings on six plates with the little devils is always good for a laugh.
Look, I'm really dying to post some pictures, here...
Bill

 

[BillinNH]

I have a m38 Bodyguard and a Detective Special. Like them both a lot but for different reasons. The 38, at only 15 ounces, jumps around quite a bit, even with light target loads and 125 gr. bullets. But it is thin, short and light and is intended for pocket carry. The shrouded hammer is a convenient compromise. The DS is carbon steel and handles recoil really well. It also has the sweetest trigger of all my revolvers, a dream to shoot. A little heavy for pocket carry, though.

I have Pachmayr Compac grips on both of them. These grips are perfect for carry and for the range, IMHO.

I also have a m19 357 round butt with a 2.5" barrel and a first generation 3" Charter Arms Bulldog in .44 special. Both of these are a lot of fun to shoot but I guess the calibers disqualify them from the club

Bill

 

[PointOneSeven]

S&W 642, reloads.

I usually head out to the woods or the sand pit with a drainage pond I can pop off rounds into. Watching the water splash up 15' in the air never gets old.

 

[Texas Colt]

This thread was a great reminder for me to take my snubs to the range for some trigger time. My snubs get carried all the time, but rarely shot. That needs to change.

I have two snubs: one is a blued Colt Cobra 38, which has a bobbed hammer for pocket carry. The other is a nickel Colt Lawman 357, with Badger boot grips. Both are very accurate and fun to shoot. So why has it been so long since I've shot them? :banghead:

 

[cherryriver]

Texas Colt, that's a beautiful post. A bobbed black-finish Agent serves that same use for me. And just thinking about the Lawman makes me want to go surfing for one. If only they were still $300 for a good one like they used to be a few minutes ago.
I'm getting an itchy picture trigger finger, here...
Bill

 

[MCgunner]

How can you see a small target at 50 yards? We're talking telescopes, and I don't use handguns with scopes.

Try IHMSA sometime, rams at 200 with iron sights. Actually, I always did decent on the rams. It was those danged turkeys at 150 that were my Achilles heal. But, I was doing it with a 10" contender in 7mm TCU. Still, an iron sighted handgun at 200 yards can do some neat shooting and I amazed myself with it. Watching the good shooters was fun, too. I could shoot about 33 out of 40, but there were 40 out of 40 guys. I can't remember, think my scores got me AA certified, but it's been a while and I've forgotten all those classifications. My eyes have never been great. I think I could get better at the IHMSA thing if I could just get into it. It was kinda boring to me. I'd rather plink at the range. Drive 150 miles to an out of town range and shoot 40 rounds at steel plates just seemed kinda stupid. LOL I guess I was trying to have fun, like with the plinking, and not taking the competition seriously enough or something.

 

[Sistema1927]

3 to 3.5 grains of W231 under a 148 HBWC is "snubby perfection". You can shoot them accurately all day out of any short barrel .38 (Heck, out of any length barrel .38!).

 

[lawboy]

I've got a couple. M64-2 2-inch and M19-3 2.5-inch. Shoot them both, Carry the M19-3. Actually, I bought the 64-2 for my daughter for her Bday a year ago. I load 160-grain LRN over 3.0grs. Red Dot in Speer 38+p cases. She's gotten quite good with it shooting single action at 25 yards and can stay on a 12-inch plate at that distance almost all of the time.
I shoot both the guns on 4-inch plates at that distance, shooting double action exclusively, and have shot the 19-3 out to 50 yards that way on 6-inch plates. There is something special about shooting side-by-side with your 18-year-old daughter at the range, each of you using your own special S&W snubnose revolver and burning ammo you loaded together. In my heart, I hope as a mature woman, she looks back on these times with half the fondness I feel right now. Good stuff.
Happy New Year to all!

 

[ACP230]

I mostly shoot paper silhouettes, or ones cut out of large cardboard boxes, but have shot some clay targets, empty oil jugs, wood blocks, water-filled cans, steel plates, and bowling pins with my snubnoses.

I use my .38 Special Smith 649 most, followed by my Smith M38.
Bodyguard .38s are my favorite "belly guns."
I shoot them out to 50 or 60 yards, on occasion. At that range it's mostly single-action shooting. Up to 25 yards usually double-action.

 

[V-fib]

S&W 642 with CT laser grips which is my CCW. Shoot 158gr SWC mainly at cardboard silhouette targets at 3-7yards. I also like to shoot at metal spinning targets. Most of my other snub plinking is done with my Taurus 94 .22lr, which is my practice gun and my carry around the homestead gun. That one gets more action on spinning targets, cans, & clays. Lots of grins and giggles.