Lookin for a snubbie revolver.

[Tomcat47]

My Recent Purchase Became My Favorite!

I love all the snubbies pictured throughout this thread!

And there will be some negative rebutle to my picture and my revolver...

But this purchase has become my favorite CC firearm!

I love everything about it! The Feel (like most j frames), Love the Caliber! (Little more than .38 but not a magnum), Recoil is manageble (I love it myself - but definately less than .357).

The caliber is most economical as well as practical (MO). I have fired aprox. 2 boxes through it, no hiccups at all. Great shooter! Just picked up a new box of 9mm at wally $10.17.....I shot about 50 rounds first day and have tried to shoot 5-10 rounds through it each day for the last couple weeks since I got it!

Just one of the most satisfying purchases I have made. And I was looking at 3 other compact concealable 9mm autos when I spotted this at gun store...I asked let me see that .38....He said thats a 9mm....I said let me see that.....

I actually ordered another one this week! And some really nice custom speedloaders!
Will post a review on them with some pictures!

 

[Prosser]

I'm looking at. I'm thinking something in .357 mag, .41 mag, or .44 mag. From what I've been told, revolvers generally have more felt recoil than autoloaders and considering the shorter barells, I'm sure it won't be pleasant but is it unbearable? I have shot a .500 S&W magnum with an 8.38" barell, obviously I wasn't doing tripple tap drills but I was able to control it and shoot it relatively comfortably.

Does anyone have any experience with a short barelled revolver in the calibers above? And if so, how is the recoil in comparison to the large .500 or 10mm?

Recoil is physics. One of it's variables in determining recoil is really is NOT caliber.

Recoil is determined by bullet weight, powder charge, gun weight primarily.

Therefore to evaluate your question, one needs to know the choice of 10MM and .500 S*W loads you used. Which bullet weight, powder charge and what did the gun weigh?

 

[OldCavSoldier]

+1 Prosser: "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction."

 

[kludge]

I can't recomment the SP101 highly enough.

Recoil-wise the 110gr .357 Mag screamers feel about like 38 SPL+P out of an Airweight.

That said, the .357 SP101 has gotten more than one "J%$#$ C#%*$^!" reaction in my pistol classes after they had been shooting standard .38 SPL's...

Mostly it's the "bang" though.

I have not shot 10mm out of a G20, but I would guess it would be similar. The .357 out of SP101 is nowhere near a .500 Mag.

 

[RugerMcMarlin]

I dont remember velocities, been a long time. But , from what I remember,recoil from my .41 Mag, from the S&W M57, w/4" barrel was less, slightly, than 10mm from a G20. And only about 2/3rds of that from a M29 w/4" barrel. Never shot .41 or .44. in anything shorter than a 4" barrel, some debate at the time if either were even useful at 4". .41 Mag from a Blackhawk, is right pleasant.

 

[Prosser]

The real elephant in the room is there is a point where big bore snubbies REALLY shine. The problem is, that's about 350 grains.

In a package usually base on the .44 SRH, you can load .454 Casull, or .500JRH
with heavy bullets, 350 grains or more, and retain nearly all the energy and velocity you would get out of a longer barreled gun, evening using slower powders.

I shot this .500JRH with ammo rated at 430 grains, and 1350 fps, out of a 5" barrel. We chronographed it out of a short barreled rifle, a 5" or so BFR, and the pictured SRH snubby. IIRC, the short barreled rifle and pistol were identical, and the 2" maybe 100-150 fps slower, 1350 fps, and, 1200-1250 fps.
This was the custom David Clay converted by Jack Huntington to .500JRH:

This was the BFR, On the right:

And this was the snub:


While I can't confirm this by my own observation, the cutoff in bullet weight seems to be 350 grains to still get the bullet to provide enough resistance to maintain excellent velocity using slower powders.

I can see a 350 grain Hawk Hollow point, with a thin jacket, making a very large, 2 bore like hole, and not over penetrating:
Something like this .275 grain Speer HP in .475 did:


The bigger calibers are still in the same sized guns as the .41 and .44. I wonder if 320 grain .44 bullets might also provide enough resistance to maintain velocity?

Also, Jack Huntington told me, as did the owner of "Hellboy", a custom 35 oz revolver by JRH Advanced Gunsmithing,

That using the Barnes 275 Grain alloy bullet they got both insane expansion, and, high velocity, like nearly 1400 fps.
So, with the right powder and bullet selection, and gun it is possible to have a huge increase in power in a snubnose.
The .41 and .44 are probably less likely to be able to give such results, since they aren't really tailored for 275-430 grain bullets, and, if you use heavy bullets, you sacrifice powder capacity, since the bullet is so long.

That said, Buffalobore claims 1400 fps with a 320 grain bullet in the .44, so,
I'm not saying it can't be done.

 

[RugerMcMarlin]

Look, I got goose pimples on my arm! I really like both of those, and if you're big enough to pocket carry those. I love em!

Cross draw? Or Inside The Adult Diaper Pouch? Cause thats what I would need .

 

[Boothdt]

Recoil is physics. One of it's variables in determining recoil is really is NOT caliber.

Recoil is determined by bullet weight, powder charge, gun weight primarily.

Therefore to evaluate your question, one needs to know the choice of 10MM and .500 S*W loads you used. Which bullet weight, powder charge and what did the gun weigh?

The Glock 20 would be slightly more than 40 ounces. It has a 5.2" Lone Wolf barell instead of the factory 4.6". I run 180 grain jacketed hollopoints that are rated between 1300 and 1350 fps. The .500 had an 8.38" barell and weighed 72 ounces and I fired a 400 grain Winchester PTHP wich is rated at 1675 fps.

 

[Jaymo]

Are you absolutely sure that a .38 snub, shooting Buffalo Bore 158 LSWCHP, or a .44 Special, such as a Charter Bulldog, shooting any of the good HP loads wouldn't do the job you need it to do?
.357 mag loses a LOT of velocity out of a snub barrel. You get performance barely better than a +P .38, with a LOT more flash/blast/recoil.
You can't shoot magnums from stubby tubed/light weight guns without losing power and controllability.
I like .357, but it's totally dependent on high velocity to do it's job, due to the thick/hard gilding metal jackets. The bullets are designed for high velocity, not for snubbies.
.38 and .44 Special bullets/loads are designed for the velocity range in which they operate.
Plus, there's the life of the gun to consider. How long do you want it to last? Do you really want to stress a small frame gun that much? I want all of my guns to last a lifetime.
The Charter arms revolvers are much tougher than they appear, largely due to their lack of sideplates.
I've owned 7 or 8 Charter bulldogs. Don't recall. I still own 4 or 5 of them, will have to look in the safe.
I wish I'd never parted with any of them, especially the bull barrel version I bought in 1991. Never seen another. The barrel was a true bull barrel, not the Pug version. It was about 1/4-1/2" shorter than the 3" tapered barrel version, and very noticeably longer than the pug, plus it didn't have an underlug.
I'm still looking to replace that one.
I'm also on the lookout for an excellent condition, older blued Undercover .38.
As much as I like my .357s, I find I carry/shoot my .38s and .44 specials much more.

 

[jad0110]

It would probably only be carried as a BUG if clothing allowed, probably in an ankle holster or cargo pant pocket or IWB instead of a reload for my primary CC.

BUG in an ankle or pocket holster, this pretty much narrows it down to something along the lines of an aluminum frame S&W J Frame .38, or a Ruger LCR in .38 or .357. With ankle carry in particular, you REALLY don't want to hang any more than 20 oz or so down there, unless you really want some low back and hip pain. And that weight is about the max for pocket carry for me. I flat don't care for a heavier gun that tends to flail around more, especially when running.

 

[SwampWolf]

I've had a Taurus Model 415, five-shot revolver for several years that I've come to like and respect. Made of s/s, it has a 2 1/2" ported barrel and is chambered in .41 Magnum. I'm not sure if it's because of the ported barrel or the "ribbed" grips or a combination of the two but the revolver is surprisingly controllable when firing repeat shots quickly. I'm not certain if the same could be said for the similar revolver made from an alloy (which was offered at the same time) nor do I believe the Model 415 would make for an ideal ankle holster gun. But if you're looking for a lot of controllable power harnessed in a fairly compact frame, this revolver has a lot to offer.

 

[Mr. Casull]

I have a snubbie Ruger Alaskan in .454 Casull but it's a tad large to carry in warm weather

 

[Guillermo]

Old Fuff says that you should be able to shoot 5 rounds in 5 seconds into a pie plate at 5 feet.

I think that is generous. (and he says it is just a starting point...not an ultimate goal)

If I cannot shoot 6 rounds (I carry a D frame) into a pie plate at 10 feet inside of 4 seconds, I do not carry it.

All of this is to say that being comfortable with recoil is not the same as shooting it well.

With that in mind I carry a 2.5 inch 38 special because I shoot it well.

Call me a wimp if you want.

 

[3Speedyfish3]

Another vote for a D-frame Colt. I have two Cobras and I love the extra round and moderate weight. Yes, I know +P only once and a while and for carry, but what a sweet gun.

Randall