Hi,
I've shot lots of handguns during my lifetime, including hundreds of competitions and hunt deer with a .44 Magnum revolver and a VERY heavy, hard-kicking bullet. That being said . . .
Two things greatly affect how hard and brutal recoil is felt . . . 1. the lighter the gun, the harder the kick . . . and 2. the shorter the barrel, the harder the kick. Which brings us to the super-light, short barreled Airlites . . .
THE WORST CHOICE FOR A SNUBBIE FOR BEGINNERS AND EXPERIENCED ALIKE
Other than for hitting a profitable marketing niche to sell 'em to folks thinking they need the lightest, most powerful snubbie possible, IMHO those super-light little J-frames shouldn't even be on the market. Yep, if I ran S&W and the stockholders would let me, I'd discontinue the Airlites.
BEST FOR BEGINNERS TO DEVELOP INTO GOOD SHOOTERS . . .
Even in the hands of a recoil-tolerant, experienced handgunner, those little pocket revolvers are BRUTAL to shoot . . . and beginning handgunners are much better served to purchase a .22LR handgun and learn to shoot a gentle gun first . . . or they will develop a terrible flinch . . . never be a good shot . . . and hardly ever practice.
Best of all, you can shoot 1,000 rounds of .22LR for the price of a box of 50 decent .38Spl. rounds . . . and lots of enjoyable practice will make you a fine shooter!!!
Yeah, its "just a .22." A fella I know who was surrounded years ago out in the woods by a bunch of young thugs said that when they came upon him as he practiced. He just smiled and said, "Yep, just a .22" The thugs then all realized they didn't want to come against that .22 and they left!
THE PERFECT WEIGHT .38 SPL. SNUBBIE . . . is NOT an Airlite BUT an AIRWEIGHT!
IMHO, no one should carry an Airlite. Instead, find a nice, used S&W AIRWEIGHT. At about 15 oz vs. 9 oz, the aluminum-framed Airweights are the perfect compromise of light weight AND enjoyable, controllable accuracy. You almost forget they are even in your pocket . . . but you actually look forward to shooting them!!!
Nahhh . . . I'd walk away from that brutal Airlite . . . just like it's former owner did.
My "always" (on me) CCW handgun is a nice, vintage Model 37 Airweight, carried in cheap Uncle Mike's or DeSantis "Nemesis" pocket holsters (the pants determine which holster is best). It is in my pocket as I type . . . as "always." It was a pristine gun from 1971, and cost me the sum of $400 a couple of years ago due to its condition.
Expect to find decent Airweights for $275-$350 . . . up to $400-$450 for the nicest ones.
Three types . . . exposed hammer, shrouded hammer and enclosed hammer (Chief's Special, Bodyguard and Centennial) respectively. All are classic handguns . . . best suited for the task at hand.
Hope this helps . . . and stay away from that brutally light Airlite.
PS: Here's my nice M37 from 1971. I've put it's original grips in the safe to maintain them, and installed a set of custom Elk stag grips for both looks and durability. A black Tyler T-grip completes the perfect grip angle and makes the gun also a joy to shoot . . . even more than the Hogue "rubber" grips on the market designed to absorb recoil.
The T-grip will also work with the stock wood grips that came on the vintage S&W snubbies too . . . and they prevent the torque from twisting the revolver out of your optimal grip too . . . for faster and more accurate followup shots. If I didn't have the Elk stags, I'd be using the stock wood ones vs. the modern "rubbers." I've found this gun more comfortable that way! FUN TO SHOOT . . . and accurate too!
