Decision, inexpensive .38 special or .357 mag snubbie. Armscor or Rossi or Other?

[C-grunt]

Gaucho Gringo:

I will have agree on the mythical cheap S&W. As far as resale value of Rugers I have a .357 Blackhawk, early 80's, blue, 6 1/2" barrel, 9&% with a slight turn line that I have been trying to sell locally for $285.00. All I get is lowball offers of around $150.00. Comment are "there are so many of them made that they aren't worth much, Rugers always were as cheap gun, single actions aren't worth much". I would hate to think what a dealer would offer me for it. I bought the Ruger thinking I could get what I had in it($285.00) when I went to sell it, boy I guess I was wrong.

I would buy a good condition Blackhawk for 285 dollars. Try putting it up on Gunbroker or here in the classifieds.

And you can find good deals on used Smiths. I recently sold a 6 month old, less than 100 rounds through it, 442 for 300 dollars. I probably could have got moree for it but I didnt want to wait.

 

[funkychinaman]

I've got an Armscor 206, and I'll try to provide some elusive and long delayed skinny on it.

I got mine for $189 from Centerfire Systems. Shipping was $10, if I recall, and the transfer fee was $25-35, I don't remember. It came in a padded black plastic box, with cheap wood grips. The wood grips were a bit flawed, but I wasn't going to be retaining them anyway.

I took the wood grips off, as they were a bit too small for my hands, and I put a Colt DS Hogue grip on it. As for fit and finish, it's not as "nice" as my GP100, but it costs half as much. It shoots pretty well, I've had no issues so far.

It's a little heavier than I thought it'd be, but oh well.

I was just looking for a pistol for concealed carry. It finally came down to the Armscor 206, the Kel-tec PF-9, and the Bersa Thunder 380 (quite a mix, I know.) I liked the light weight of the PF-9, and the fact that it's 9mm, but I didn't like the fact that it was DAO, and the fact that there was no manual safety. I finally decided on the 206 because it was cheaper than the Thunder 380, and that I already "supported" .38 Special and not .380. Given the fact that .380 sales have gone through the roof, I'm glad I went with the 206.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

How are you concealing it and how does it carry?

Found any particular brands of ammo it likes?

 

[xstuntman]

I've got the model 351 Rossi "J" frame copy and think its a great gun. Some of the machine work inside is a little crude by todays CAD standards - looks like some is still being done by hand. But I suppose thats what keeps the price down.

I'm not happy with all the extra crap Taurus decided to have etched onto the gun though.

Its all steel and works as well as my model 10 but with a better finish. DA was stiff but getting better and SA is hair trigger. The rubber grips soak up the recoil from the plus P rounds easily too. It gets my vote as the best bargain out there today. X

 

[EmGeeGeorge]

I have a 442 older model and prior to that had a taurus 85 steel frame snubbie... 442 is pocket carried... 85 was a little heavy for that so I got a clip draw for it and carried IWB... 85 was super accurate, nicely finished... got some bigger grips for it... I paid 250 NIB for the taurus... 150 for the used 10 yr old 442(from a deputy sheriff buddy who was upgrading his BUG.) I sold the 85 to a friend, for 225... wish I had kept the 85 tho...
had a rossi ss .38 snubbie.... older model, also a very good shooter but heavy for the size...

Get a taurus... look it over good... wont be disappointed... model 10s suck for ccw unless the temp is below 50 degrees, all the time...

my dad does have a S&W 640 .38 spl older model he was gonna sell(I had it listed thru here a while back) but potential buyers kept flaking... "I'll take it, Check in Mail, etc" so I told him to hand onto it til I had some extra flow... I can check with him still... you can look under my posts and see some pics

 

[B J Elliott]

MY take on this is if you do not care about resale or collectability, only self defense, then buy a good handgun and be done with it. It don't matter what brand it is, as long as it goes bang,bang, bang.

 

[funkychinaman]

I've only carried it twice. I don't carry often because A) I spend a lot of time in the People Republic of New Jersey, and B) I typically don't go to places where I'd feel that I need to. I've shot reloads and WWB from it, but I have some SJHPs +P rounds I've been meaning to test out.

I'm with you, BJ. I'm not going to use it often, and as long as it goes bang when I need it to, then that's all that counts.

 

[336A]

I would certainly go with a used S&W .38 SPL. I know I'm by no means the sharpest knife in the drawer however I certainly know that $250 .38 SPL are available. Look here

http://www.jgsales.com/index.php/smith-wesson/revolver/cPath/16_211_431

They are police trade in guns. Not the best looking but they are serviceable mechanicaly and that is what counts. A little mothers mag wheel polish and those stainless steel guns will perk right up. Yeah you might have a problem with CC but if you get a good holster such as a Simply Rugged Sour Dough it will disapear under a long shirt.
BTW here is a similar thread for you.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-re...-revolver-those-who-debating-getting-one.html

 

[AJMBLAZER]

funkychinaman, Ivan at Armscor told me that they weren't really meant to take a steady diet of +P but could do it as an occasional thing without any troubles.

Buffalo Bore has a couple standard pressure loads that are very impressive. Probably going to go with their 158gr LSWCHP myself.

 

[Quentin]

I have to side with those saying get a S&W or Ruger, maybe used. Colt is great too but probably way out of your budget.

That said, like Griz above I have a Taurus 85 that's been great and years ago knew someone with a Rossi 357 that never was any trouble with moderate loads.

 

[funkychinaman]

Well, that, and the fact that the SJHPs aren't cheap have kept me testing them out. I will take a few out to the range to see how they feel, however.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

That's what I like about the Buffalo Bore standard pressure stuff. Impressive numbers and you can shoot them out of older and non-+P rated guns all day long.

I've got a Rock Island/Armscor M1911A1 .45 . I'd trust one of these Armscor's any day judging by the quality and performance of my RIA 1911 over the past 6 years. No frills, no big dollar items, but faithful to the original and works great for the money.

Just noticed something you said earlier...so the DS aftermarket grips went right on? I've heard speculation that they would work but never seen it confirmed. Good to hear.

 

[funkychinaman]

Yup, the Hogue DS grips work fine. I ordered the Armscor plastic grips, but I just didn't like them.

 

[Dr_2_B]

I'd lean towards a used one too, but I understand some people dont' like that.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Another thread that's over a year old brought back from the dead. I'm fairly sure the OP has bought something by now, no?

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Read his sig, he bought a Armscor 206. I PM'd him a while back about it and never heard back from him.

 

[ejfalvo]

Im sure others have stated the same - but look for a good condition pre-owned SW or Ruger snubbie. i have a pre-owned model 60 and have shot hundreds of rounds thru it. Cost was just around $300. I've never shot the Rossi or other inexpensive manufactures, I just felt more comfortable buying a defensive handgun from a SW or Ruger.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

I for one can honestly say I've never seen a used S&W snubbie or Ruger SP101 for under $350. Actually...not sure I've ever seen a used SP101 for sale. Good guns but rare. Even downstate in the larger Grand Rapids marketplace.

 

[MCgunner]

I have a little Taurus 85SSUL that replaced a M88 Rossi in my 5 shot snub collection. It's very light and pocketable. I also still have a little 3" Rossi 68 that's a great shooter and well made. I won't spend extra for a Smith, myself, especially one with a lock. Smiths have their own production issues of late and Taurus has a better lock design. Rossi has no lock. Not only is my 85 an accurate gun, but it has the best DA trigger on a J frame sized gun I've ever fired, though I admit I haven't picked up a new LCR, yet.

I know nothing of Armscor. I did have a SP101 for a while I got for 250 bucks, but it was a son-in-law deal, needed the money and I told him I'd sell it back to him when he got back from Iraq. I figured collateral was a better deal than just givin' the kid money. Excellent gun, though. I'd like to get another, but they run about 450 last I looked. They are heavy and it wouldn't replace my Taurus for pocket carry. I'd get one with a 3" barrel anyway this time.

 

[Demitrios]

Have you considered Dan Wesson? They're a quality revolver, you can easily find one for $300 or less, they're .357/.38 are accurate and they have interchangeable barrels. You can have a 2 1/2, 4, 6 or 8 inch barrel all in one gun.