chaim
Member
Hmmm, since it is looking more likely that I may soon be in a carry state next fall (still around 50/50, but that is at least a 50% chance and it is coming closer time wise so...) so I've been thinking alot lately about carry guns.
Some of you have been privy to my thought process about my ideal carry gun.
You may have noticed how much I love the 3" .38 or .357 K-frame for this purpose. Handy, good sight radius, a bit lighter than the 4", good practical accuracy for most people, etc. I had also identified the basic modifications I want to make it MY ideal carry revolver: trigger job, probably chamfered and polished chambers, certainly Secret Service boot grips, certainly a bobbed hammer and DAO job, a matte finish (either blued or stainless), possible sights modifications (night sights or a front dot/bead).
Well, I don't want to cut on my S&W 65LS since it was my first .357 so there is some sentimental value there. I also didn't want to overly limit my options (3" Ks aren't exactly rare but they aren't the most common either) so that I could get my best overall deal (good quality AND price) so I was thinking about keeping my options open: stainless, blue, .38 or .357. Then I asked around here about the 2 1/2" K-frames and they seem like a possibility.
However, I've neglected the other direction.
Who here owns, owned or at least has first hand familiarity with 3" K-frames and carries a 4" K-frame instead?
How handy and carriable is the 4" after all (I'm not sure it would be at all bad)?
It seems to me that it would be a minor compromise over the 3" but it wouldn't be too much of a compromise. A couple extra oz., still very easy to carry IWB (I am 5'11", 250lbs, and when I lose all I want to lose I'll still be 200lbs because I am thickly built), not too difficult to carry OWB concealed. You also gain some: even better sight radius/practical accuracy, more common (thus more choices and likely a lower price). Heck, this would open up a NEW Taurus 82 as a very realistic option (at under $300 new it wouldn't be overly expensive as a customization platform and thus I wouldn't need to wait for the perfect used platform to keep prices reasonable).
So how would a 4" w/ the boot grips, trigger job, DAO and bobbed hammer, etc. work as a "near ideal" carry revolver?
Some of you have been privy to my thought process about my ideal carry gun.
You may have noticed how much I love the 3" .38 or .357 K-frame for this purpose. Handy, good sight radius, a bit lighter than the 4", good practical accuracy for most people, etc. I had also identified the basic modifications I want to make it MY ideal carry revolver: trigger job, probably chamfered and polished chambers, certainly Secret Service boot grips, certainly a bobbed hammer and DAO job, a matte finish (either blued or stainless), possible sights modifications (night sights or a front dot/bead).
Well, I don't want to cut on my S&W 65LS since it was my first .357 so there is some sentimental value there. I also didn't want to overly limit my options (3" Ks aren't exactly rare but they aren't the most common either) so that I could get my best overall deal (good quality AND price) so I was thinking about keeping my options open: stainless, blue, .38 or .357. Then I asked around here about the 2 1/2" K-frames and they seem like a possibility.
However, I've neglected the other direction.
Who here owns, owned or at least has first hand familiarity with 3" K-frames and carries a 4" K-frame instead?
How handy and carriable is the 4" after all (I'm not sure it would be at all bad)?
It seems to me that it would be a minor compromise over the 3" but it wouldn't be too much of a compromise. A couple extra oz., still very easy to carry IWB (I am 5'11", 250lbs, and when I lose all I want to lose I'll still be 200lbs because I am thickly built), not too difficult to carry OWB concealed. You also gain some: even better sight radius/practical accuracy, more common (thus more choices and likely a lower price). Heck, this would open up a NEW Taurus 82 as a very realistic option (at under $300 new it wouldn't be overly expensive as a customization platform and thus I wouldn't need to wait for the perfect used platform to keep prices reasonable).
So how would a 4" w/ the boot grips, trigger job, DAO and bobbed hammer, etc. work as a "near ideal" carry revolver?