Effective with little to no recoil... SD/HD tool

[trikster]

Thanks for the heads up David, will see if I can find an issue.

 

[oldfool]

Though I like David's suggestion on the 32 S&W/long, I still think the 22WMR is best bet for you, now and looking forward. I ain't Shooting Times (did not read the article), but I would go w/ any 40 gr JSP. But 'mag' does depend on speed, especially the smaller the bore, so I would go with not less than 4" of barrel; get what speed you can get out of a handgun barrel, HP expansion is just not going to be a real big deal in 22 mag handgun differences, if it happens at all. Penetration is what you want.

4"-5" J-sizes can be had if search for 'em, but from what you said re: model 10's and such feel pretty good, a k-frame 22 mag has a far better trigger, and DA/SA trumps SA-only for a bunch of reasons.

Wish you were here, would like to let you to try out a k-48 22WMR to see how you feel about it. (and/or a S&W 32 snubbie)

best of luck, don't give up !

PS
no matter the many fine qualities of autoloaders, they ALL do one thing in common
the weight of the bullet moving down the barrel is not the only 'gun' weight that moves when fired, all slides are heavier than the bullet weights, and they all move
recoil 'felt' is a funny thing, not always better/worse, but always different
what your hands and wrists must deal with includes everything that moves
maybe matters, maybe doesn't
22 WMR out of a k-frame don't hardly move anything, including the gun, when fired

feel bad for you, that your preferred platform is not working out, that does matter
but.."if you can't dance with the one you love, dance with the one you're with"

 

[David E]

I learned from the article that Hornady is now making a .22 magnum Personal Defense load with the poly tip in the nose. I knew that Remington made a similar bullet and that Speer loads a Gold Dot in the .22 magnum, but now they have one made specifically for short barrels.

If I had to choose between 6 shots of factory loaded .32 Long RNL or an 8-shot .22 magnum with my choice of load for defense, I'd pick the .22 magnum.

 

[oldfool]

good info David, thanks

Not up to date myself on the poly-tip 22 WMR loading, but I did try some a couple of years back, out of an old Hi-Std D-9 5.5", but it wouldn't throw consistent for me (just range play fun stuff, no serious work)

That rimfire poly-V stuff (WMR or 17), I just never did find any that my guns liked real well, long or short. But that is more about the gun than the load, of course; right gun/load match, always did think it ought be great stuff.

I just might have to try some out again in my WMR handguns, WMR not historically being an optimal short barrel round... but there are a lot of 'em out there now that ain't your grand-daddy's load in whatever caliber

 

[ThomasT]

This is a good thread. I haven't read every response so I hope I don't step on too many toes but here are my suggestions.

I agree with the ones who have suggested the 32 long revolver. I have three S&W models 30 and 31 with 2",3" and 4" barrels. They are just pussy cats to shoot and I load my own ammo to 850+fps and the recoil is just not much at all. I have the 431PD in 32 mag and the bump from that gun with mag loads is not much more than the 32 long rounds. Plus there are several good hollow points available to load in the 32s.

The last model 30 with a 2" barrel I bought cost me $345 off GB and that includes all the shipping and transfer charges. It had a couple of spots of rust on the cylinder from being stored in a holster but it did come with original box and paperwork and also the original reciept for $78 bucks! It shoots well enough that I could hit 1 pound coffee can sized rocks at 55 yards off hand. It shot nice small groups at 7 yards double action. Its a hoot to shoot.

If you don't reload you might try to find someone who does and get them to load you a couple of boxes of 38s with the lighter 380 hollow points in the 90-95gr range. They will be a little bit undersized but I bet they shoot well enough for SD across a big living room. Plus they are designed to expand at around 800-900 fps which should be easy to reach from your snubby. They should recoil about like a 32 round. Then you won't even need to sell the gun you have now.

 

[woad_yurt]

How about a .38 SPL Astra 960? They're very well made, with recessed cylinders, pinned barrels, nicely finished, etc. They're also pretty large, like N-frame size. The ones with 4" barrels weigh 40 oz while the 6 inchers are 51 oz. Thus, the felt recoil is minimal.

I owned one for a while; it was an accurate shooter with a great trigger pull. And, since they're not on anyone's "most wanted" list, they are way underpriced. Prowl around on Gunbroker for a while. Mine cost $225 not too long ago.

The only reason I don't have it anymore is that a friend of mine, someone who had a single gun for HD, a nice, old, tapered-barrel K-frame, begged me to trade after she dry-fired it a few times. She preferred the 960's trigger pull to the Model 10's.

 

[harmon rabb]

Budget is limited by value of current revolver.
Recoil must be less than J-frame with cowboy loads.

Cost rules out a large breech lock 380. If cost doesn't, weight does. Cost really rules out a 5.7.

Recoil rules out any blow-back 380. I've owned and shot several (Mustang, Sig 230, PPK, BDA). They are not mild shooters. No 9mm is going to help in the recoil area either. Racking the slide on a 9 (or any auto) is likely to be problematic anyway. The Kahr K9 is a wonderful 9mm, but the slide is no picnic to someone with hand injuries and the cost is anything but low.

A 22LR revolver looks like the best option to me. The SP101 is a little heavy in 22 though. There are lighter options. The 32 H&R could work too, but from what you've described injury wise, I'd go straight to the 22LR.

Nope. Walther PK380. They can be had for ~ $330. The slide is the easiest slide to rack I have ever experienced -- seriously, if you can zip up your fly, you can rack the slide of a PK380. Recoil is very, very low -- on par with a 22mag. The gun is extremely light and fairly compact. The mags are easy to load. And modern 380jhp loads really aren't that underperforming anymore.

Trikster, if you want an autoloader, the PK380 is absolutely the way to go. I'm convinced Walther (really, Umarex) set out to design a light, compact semi-auto for the recoil sensitive and those with limited hand strength, and this is what they came up with. Nothing about the size and chambering makes sense otherwise. I don't know why they don't do a better job of marketing it -- they should be marketing it to women, making it in pink, etc. I see women who are just going to purse carry anyway buy a LCP as their only gun and cringe.

If you want to stick with a revolver, as others have said, get a full size 32 and load it with 32 longs.

 

[harmon rabb]

Unless the barrel and slide of your polymer 9mm is more than enough to make up for the steel frame of the other 9mm (or you have found a way around physics) this isn't possible.

The added weight of the steel frame will actually tame the recoil. Now, once you go into the operation of the gun, be it recoil operated, straight blowback, etc., is when perceived recoil changes.



This can go into the thread about "The best lie you've ever had a gun dealer tell you"

My full size, all steel 1911's have stouter recoil than my XD45. On the other hand, my 5906 has softer recoil than my FNX 9. Go figure.