Centerfire kit guns?

[BobWright]

The palaver about kit guns has brought the idea to me that I have known of at least one kit gun in .38 Special.

The gun belonged to my friend, the late Cecil Vick. It was a J-Framed .38 Special, before model numbers were instituted. The gun was blue, of course, and had a 3" heavy barrel and adjustable sights. He stoked it usually with .38 Special wadcutters, but at times we shot it with some 110 gr. JHPs. It was usually found in the pocket of his hunting coat, and after a morning of squirrel hunting we passed it around for some plinking, and a time or two he knocked off a squirrel with it.

And I'm still thinking a little .38 Special, maybe the one from Cimarron, just might fill that bill today.


Bob Wright

 

[Dunross]

I suppose if it's small enough that you regularly carry it "in your kit" then pretty much any caliber can be defined as a "kit gun".

A 38 could certainly qualify.

I use a 327 Fed Mag myself, though because I roll my own the power level runs between 32 Long and 32 H&R Mag even if it is in 327 brass.

There's no hard and fast rule about this stuff.

 

[ontarget]

Well if we are going with bigger than .22, my Taurus 85 UL is my kit gun. I ALWAYS have it in my kit. AKA waistband. It obviously doesn't have adjustable sites but I do always have it. So I guess it serves the purpose of a kit gun. Woods walking, fishing, etc.

 

[Riomouse911]

I guess my 3" Model 13 or 2.5" Model 19 would count...they're in .357 and a K-frame so they're a bit larger/heavier than a true "kit" gun...however...

I know Smith made a J-frame 6-shot 632 many years ago, but a newly designed, stainless, 7-shot, 4" slim-barreled K-frame Smith in .327 Fed would be the hot ticket! Instead of a "Mountain Gun" call it the "633 Trail Gun".

Just thinkin' out loud...

Stay safe.

 

[the Real Alpo]

Skeeter did an article back in '77. Called it a "trail gun". Said he did that because S&W owned the name "kit gun".

http://www.darkcanyon.net/What's The Best Trail Gun For You.htm

 

[bannockburn]

Mine was a Rossi Model 88. It was stainless steel, had a 3" barrel, was in.38 Special, and had an adjustable rear sight.

 

[Rodfac]

Over the years, I've often carried either my wife's Smith M36 with a 3" bbl., full lug, with adj. sights or my own M60 of the same size and details. The loads are a home-brew snake load of #9 shot in a .38 Spl case, followed by 4 rounds of 148 gr. WC's at ~750 fps...makes for a fairly full pocket unless we carry them in a high riding OWB holster, but suffices nicely for whatever comes to the sights while trout fishing. I've modified my trout vest with a stitched on holster under the left armpit for just that use. It works well, but it's no quick draw rig, by any means, due to the open, looseness of the vest. Best regards, Rod

 

[Blkhrt13]

Skeeter did an article back in '77. Called it a "trail gun". Said he did that because S&W owned the name "kit gun".

http://www.darkcanyon.net/What's The Best Trail Gun For You.htm

Part of the reason I bought my 32 long jframe is because of these articles and another wrote on just that caliber

 

[InTheField]

Above is my SW 60-15, my favorite centerfire kit gun. It has a front sight change, a rear blade change, lighter springs (checked for reliability), and figured Nill walnut grips. It is my favorite woods walking revolver. I have it sighted in at 50 yards, and I feel a 75-yard coyote would be in trouble if I were firing in single-action mode.

I have a slew of SW rimfire kit guns (34, 63, 51, 651, pre-35), yet I feel this is the most versatile of the bunch. I am retired and spend multiple days a week afield either on my own property or other properties I roam and hunt on. This gun in the most often carried.

 

[chicharrones]

Skeeter did an article back in '77. Called it a "trail gun". Said he did that because S&W owned the name "kit gun".

http://www.darkcanyon.net/What's The Best Trail Gun For You.htm

Thanks for the read.

 

[ThomasT]

The gun belonged to my friend, the late Cecil Vick. It was a J-Framed .38 Special, before model numbers were instituted. The gun was blue, of course, and had a 3" heavy barrel and adjustable sights. He stoked it usually with .38 Special wadcutters, but at times we shot it with some 110 gr. JHPs. It was usually found in the pocket of his hunting coat, and after a morning of squirrel hunting we passed it around for some plinking, and a time or two he knocked off a squirrel with it.

I don't see any reason a center fire would not work for a "Kit Gun". In the thread on kit guns I posted a picture of a couple of my 32 longs and a 3" barreled model 36-6 S&W 38 special with adjustable sights. All of those will fit in the same size area as a j-frame 22. The only real difference is the size and weight of the ammo. Even a box of 32 longs will weigh more and take up more space than a 100+ rounds of 22lr.

Terry Murbach wrote an article years ago about a 3" j-frame 38 that he had adjustable sights added to and he loved it. He named it the "Trail Masterpiece" after the other Masterpiece S&W guns. That gun made me buy the 36-6 I have. I think it and the 3" and 4" models 30 and 31 I have in 32 long are also great KIt Guns. But any small caliber gun thats accurate enough to hunt with and good enough for snake shooting should make a fine Kit Gun. And it doesn't have to be a revolver.

 

[bannockburn]

Ratshooter

But any small caliber gun thats accurate enough to hunt with and good enough for snake shooting should make a fine Kit Gun. And it doesn't have to be a revolver.

Funny you should say this as for many years now I have considered my Beretta Model 70S to be the perfect semi-auto version of the Kit Gun.


Compact, relatively lightweight, very accurate, an adjustable rear sight, extremely reliable, and protected from the elements with a Metalife hard chrome finish by Ron Mahovsky, this gun has traveled more miles hiking through the backwoods than any other gun I own.

 

[ThomasT]

Bannock I have wanted a Beretta model 70 ever since I read the Israelis used them in the Mossad in the book titled Vengeance by George Jonas telling about the agents assigned to hunt down the Munich massacre terrorist involved in the 1972 Olympic athlete attack.

What caliber is your gun?

 

[ThomasT]

As much as I like Kit Guns I like Trail Guns even better. In the Skeeter Skelton article posted above he starts talking about Trail Guns in the third paragraph. To me and Skelton trail Guns are best carried on the hip as they are a little larger than the typical Kit Gun.

Thats really where that 3" barreled 38 special S&W I mentioned falls into. Others I have and like for trail guns are a couple of Ruger single six 32 mags with 5.5" barrels. Those are probably my favorite trail guns. Of course the 22/22mag versions are supreme trail guns.The 38 Cimarron Bob mentioned in post #1 probably falls more in the trail gun category rather than the kit gun slot.

Somebody needs to start a Trail Gun thread.

 

[Jonesy814]

Some would say the S&W model 60 with 3" Barrel qualifies as a kit gun

 

[Zaydok Allen]

My SP101 is as close as I get.

 

[Pat Riot]

One of my Kit / Trail favorites:





S&W 60 Pro

 

[Tallball]

"Others I have and like for trail guns are a couple of Ruger single six 32 mags..."

Those are fine revolvers indeed. I have one that I enjoy very much. IMHO, 32 S&W long works just as well on small game as 22lr does.

 

[.308 Norma]

I use a 327 Fed Mag myself, though because I roll my own the power level runs between 32 Long and 32 H&R Mag even if it is in 327 brass.

Yeppers, that's what I've been considering for a new "kit" gun lately. What kind of 327 Fed Mag do you use for a kit gun? I'm looking at a Ruger SP101 with a 4" barrel.

 

[Gordon]

What I used to call a centerfire "kit gun" , it is a K frame, you could still use the sights with that scope mount on, you allways hit where the 2x Leupold pistol scope was looking at . The .22 Jet cartridge was way under rated and misunder stood ! You put a 45 grain modern bullet over a case full of Little gun and you got a 150 yard large varmint gun ! Heck I shot pigs with this one ! BTW Ive had all the rimfire classic "kit guns" and unless you are limiting them to "pocket size" then this is the shizzle ! And I had the .22LR inserts too .

 

[Dunross]

Yeppers, that's what I've been considering for a new "kit" gun lately. What kind of 327 Fed Mag do you use for a kit gun? I'm looking at a Ruger SP101 with a 4" barrel.

SP101 with the 3" barrel.

 

[gregp74]

One of my Kit / Trail favorites:

View attachment 910696

View attachment 910697

S&W 60 Pro

How do you like the 60 Pro? I had my eye on those but when I felt how lightweight it was at the shop I got worried about the recoil and went for a 66 Combat Magnum to satisfy my 357 needs.

 

[Jonesy814]

How do you like the 60 Pro? I had my eye on those but when I felt how lightweight it was at the shop I got worried about the recoil and went for a 66 Combat Magnum to satisfy my 357 needs.

If recoil is a concern at all, then you chose correctly. Full house magnums have a pretty hefty recoil in a model 60 Pro. I wouldn't shoot them with the undersized, low profile grips and adapter I have on it in the picture I posted. Wasn't all that good with the stock grips either. I finally got some oversized grips for it and I can shoot it, but it still has significant recoil
Since I reload, I load a reduced power load with a 130gr bullet for my m60. I have a 2.25 inch SP101 too. It weighs 26 ounces, which is 3.5 ounces more than the model 60 and it makes a pretty big difference as far as felt recoil. It's also about as light as I can go and still manage to shoot a whole box of full power 158gr ammo. The 2.75 inch model 66, Combat Magnum weighs in at 33.5 ounces
Here is my M60 with the bigger grips I use at the range

 

[gregp74]

If recoil is a concern at all, then you chose correctly. Full house magnums have a pretty hefty recoil in a model 60 Pro. I wouldn't shoot them with the undersized, low profile grips and adapter I have on it in the picture I posted. Wasn't all that good with the stock grips either. I finally got some oversized grips for it and I can shoot it, but it still has significant recoil
Since I reload, I load a reduced power load with a 130gr bullet for my m60. I have a 2.25 inch SP101 too. It weighs 26 ounces, which is 3.5 ounces more than the model 60 and it makes a pretty big difference as far as felt recoil. It's also about as light as I can go and still manage to shoot a whole box of full power 158gr ammo. The 2.75 inch model 66, Combat Magnum weighs in at 33.5 ounces
Here is my M60 with the bigger grips I use at the range
View attachment 911373

I like the mass of my 66 Combat Magnum. Wasn't crazy about the grips. I'm a sucker for wood, and I ended up putting a set of Altamont combat grips on there. It looks nice but I haven't shot any 357s out of it. I may think twice about those grips when I do.

 

[Jonesy814]

I have 5 or 6 revolvers in 357. I have found the right wood grips can be just as comfortable rubber grips. The thing is to get some that will provide the most surface area against your hand to spread the recoil over a bigger area