bought my first revolver today

[lechiffre]

bought my first revolver today
cimarron open top 7.5" .38 lc/.38sp. steel frame standard blue army grip.
i have a couple of questions that hopefully someone can help me with.
1. what does the term "one piece grip"mean?
2. of course i want to use low pressure .38sp. loads what would those be?
wadcutters? standard 158gr? how about 130gr fmj?

 

[Oro]

The standard light target load for ages has been the 148gr. semi-wadcutter. If you but some labeled for "cowboy action shooting" as you can find now, they will be more lightly loaded than standard factory rounds or self defense ammunition.

 

[luckytexan]

A "one-piece grip" is a grip that is made of one piece of wood held within the grip frame. The alternative is a two-piece grip consisting of two halves mounted on either side of the grip frame and held together with a screw through the middle of the grip. Two-piece grips are easier to make and fit, one-piece grips take more time and skill to make and fit to the grip frame.

 

[owlhoot]

I have a pair of open tops such as yours except mine have the Navy rather than the Army grip frames. My OT's see a lot of hard use and I truly enjoy them. But I am a CAS shooter.

I would stick to wadcutter and standard velocity loads if I were you. I shoot black powder hand loads in my guns, and they are the perfect guns for this.

They are very accurate guns, although the sights take some getting use to.

If you install a set of Wolff springs, you will do wonders for the gun. (This is an easy ten minute job that you can do yourself,)

Of course open tops aren't practical guns for hunting or HD, but they are wonderful toys. Enjoy!