Pocket Carry: S&W vs. Taurus

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I would like to pocket carry either a S&W or a Taurus J-frame revolver. I've heard a lot of good things about S&W's in this forum.... but they only seem to carry five rounds of ammo. The Taurus model, on the other hand, will carry 8 or 9 rounds.

Which do you think makes the better pocket carry revolver and why?
 
Never owned a Taurus that I liked... Smiths on the other hand .. :)
5 round snubbies are "slimmer" and therefore more conducive to pocket carry... I usually have s&w 360pd in my front jeans pocket... disapears nicely
 
Kind of in opposition with the above, I really like the snubby taurus models, they have all shot fine and seem built ok for the price. If you are ever getting investigated for the self defense, chances are it's going to be thrown to the ground and or confiscated briefly dependingon how quickly the cops arrive, with a Taurus, I don't care if they keep it or lose it, at $300 it's disposable.
 
I looked at Taurus snubs and they all appear to be 5-rd guns. Where's the information they are 8 or 9 round? What models? I would certainly be interested in those models.

They, in general, weigh more, also, I think.
 
The Taurus model, on the other hand, will carry 8 or 9 rounds.
Click to expand...
Are you referring to a .22 LR model? If so, S&W also makes a J-frame in .22. However, .22 is not effective for self-defense, especially from a short-barreled handgun. 38 caliber is best in the J-frame platform and both Taurus and S&W are 5-shot. If you want a 6-shot you will need to look for a used Colt. However, it won't be as pocket-carry friendly due to a larger cylinder. There are higher capacity revolvers but now you are out of the pocket carry realm and more into the house gun and hunting realms.
 
I just got a S&W 642 snub. I haven't shot it yet but have heard a lot of good about them for pocket carry. I have carried Taurus autos before and had no problem with them. I just like the idea of a revolver for the reliability.

Lou
 
From someone that just bought a Taurus Ultra-Lite, the S&W airweights/airlights are lighter by a few onces which can have a big impact in ones pocket. They also cost more, some times significantly more.

I picked the Taurus small frame over the J frames though because they feel better to me. Not to mention they look better IMO as well ;)
 
After 40+ years of professional carrying of weapons of all kinds, I made up my own rule for pocket guns: If it weighs 16oz or less it is a pocket gun. If it weighs more it is a holster gun.
Of course there are always exceptions, a heavy winter coat or jacket can support a heavier pocket gun, so can BDUs, or a combat vest pocket. But generally the rule has served me and many others well.
As to Taurus, I own 2: one of those 9 shot 17 mag things(lots of flash and bang), and a 450, a 5 shot SS 45 Colt (lots of ommph). Both turned out to be good guns. Also got one of their replica Winchester 63 22 rifles, shoots better than the real thing.

BTW: When I say pocket gun, I mean a pocket gun in a pocket holster.
 
Smith and Wesson.

My experiences with Taurus products have proved them to be to unreliable for anything but a range toy at best.
 
The Taurus counterpart to the S&W 637 and 638 (J frame, .38spl) are the model 85 and 851. Those are both also 5 shot .38spl. There is no way to fit 8 or 9 rounds of .38spl into a frame that size. Keep in mind that the S&W medium suze L frame holds 7 rounds at most, and the large N frame holds only 8 of that caliber.

I'd like to see the pants that could pocket carry a snubby N frame.

But between S&W and Taurus, it comes down to what you can afford. The Smith has better reputation for quality and accuracy, while the Taurus can run as much as $100 less. The few model 85s I fondled seemed plenty good quality, but I ended up with a Smith 642 because the 851UL (the lighter versions of the shrouded hammer 851) was about impossible to obtain, and I didn't want something that heavy.
 
I picked up the 85 Ultralite w/ the enclosed hammer (like the 642) at a gunshow a couple weeks ago and put 50 rounds through it at the range w/ no problems. I'm looking forward to taking it to the range again.

It fits in my pocket well (in a DeSantis nemesis) and is pretty light.
 
Researchdoc, I'm not sure about the photos originality except I stole it off a fellow member who posted a link on another forum. It was his gun.

Beautiful and practical firearm.

Jim
 
My M85SSUL has a much better trigger than the Smith J frames I've fired. If you want a pure pocket defense gun, you might want the concealed hammer version, though, like the 642 Smith or the 850UL Taurus. But, I sorta like the shrouded hammer models that still allow you to cock single action, like this 851SSUL. My gun pockets well and I'm not really that into the shrouded hammer thing, but it does make a lot of sense for a pocket revolver, one less thing to go wrong on the draw. But, I want single action capability.

851SS2.jpg

http://www.taurususa.com/products/product-details.cfm?id=301&category=Revolver
 
44&45.. that is a photoshop pic right?
Click to expand...

I am quite sure it is not. Taurus does some weird things with revolvers (i.e., the Judge), but every now and then they hit on a good idea. They have taken the medium frame and made 5 shot big bore revolvers out of them; my local shop has a .45ACP 5 shot medium frame revolver with a 6" ported barrel. Kinda odd, since with a 6" barrel, you might as well go large frame. But for a snubby barrel, it's a good idea.

However, navigating Taurus' site isn't terribly easy if you're looking for one particular thing, so I can't give a model #.
 
Hammerless mod. 85

My mod 85 had a hammer so I took my grinder to it.Now I have a hammerless mod 85
I can't get the picture to show why????????
 
a smith even with a lock is something I'd gladly trust my life with.

a taurus, not so much.

as I've said before, there are great tauri out there. I don't trust my life to them after all I've heard. one guy on GT brought up a great point when he said the price difference on Taurus versus Whoever is quickly negated by a too probable $50 trip back to their customer service nightmare to (maybe) get fixed.
 
researchdoc, that little snubby .44 magnum would fit nicely in a back pocket leather holster...or snug into a IWB holster.

It would handle just about any social abuse heaped upon the wearier.

If I can locate a new one I might just get it as long as its below $500. :)

Jim
 
I made up my own rule for pocket guns: If it weighs 16oz or less it is a pocket gun. If it weighs more it is a holster gun.
Click to expand...

this is a good standard as well as the exceptions he listed.

although i do on occassion drop a model 60 NY-1 in my front pants pocket, which is a bit more than 16 oz.
 
That weight thing depends. My Taurus 85 is comfy in a pocket at 17 ounces unloaded. It's actually probably about the same weight as my Kel Tec with a full magazine even thought the unloaded weight of the Kel Tec is 14 ounces. Neither is problematic for me to pocket and I do it all the time. My cut off is 20 ounces unloaded. YMMV

I can't get the picture to show why????????
Click to expand...

I had that problem yesterday, gave up, and went to photobucket. Not sure what's up.
 
The Taurus 85 I just bought is light and handy, but at 21 ounces and a 3" barrel it either falls just outside Jack2427's guideline, or else would have to be some pocket. ;)

On the plus side, it points well and is a pleasure to shoot. Now I just have to get over the sticker shock of .38SPL ammo--I've got myself spoiled by practicing with .22LR.

I kicked several options around with the store fella, and I think he gave me fairly good advice. I also looked at a Smith Airweight with a 2" barrel that was $90 more than the Taurus I bought. Nice price for a Smith; I was sorely tempted, and I'll probably get one down the road. Then I saw the 3"-barreled Taurus, and being interested in something in 3" we talked weight, barrel length, and purpose a little. He said, "If you're going to carry 90 percent of the time and shoot 10, go with the 2-inch barrel and a lighter gun--you could even go with a Scandium. If you're going to shoot 90 percent of the time and carry 10, go with the 3-incher."

Since I can't carry at work or at the university I attend--and I plan to shoot the daylights out of it--I ended up buying the Taurus.
 
Wow, for whatever reason, Tauri's are priced only $30 - $50 less than the equivalent S&W J Frame in my area. In fact, I saw a store selling S&W 642 for $419 and Taurus 851s for $409. Both prices were a bit steep.

I considered both for a while, but went with the 642 because I got a good deal at the time (May '06, $355) and the 642 is a tad smaller than the Taurus equivalant. Something like a half inch shorter in length and height, and a bit slimmer.
 
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