- Joined
- Oct 2, 2014
- Messages
- 7,848
I've never had a 3" j-frame sized revolver, but I've been thinking that I might want to have one.
It seems like with certain holster positions I could carry it as easily as a 2".
I know that I like shooting 3" revolvers. I have several, but they're all too large to carry easily.
So I bought this Rossi Model 68. One of my preferred vendors on Gunbroker has been selling a few of these a week for a while. I figure they're LE trade-in, maybe from South America.
This is just an experiment. If I'm going to actually carry a small framed 3" 38 special around for SD, it will be a Ruger or a Smith or something. But I can experiment with this one, just to see how it feels to carry, how easily I can draw it, can I get in and out of the car easily wearing it, etc.
It looks to me like it will go bang when I get a chance to take it to the range. It actually locks up pretty good. The DA trigger is atrocious, so if I don't have a mule with me to help pull, I'll probably shoot it SA. I imagine it will shoot about like a 2", but maybe the increased sight radius will help my accuracy a bit.
If I like carrying and shooting it, I'll invest in a nice Smith or Ruger.
It seemed better to me to spend $175 (plus shipping and FFL) to see if a revolver like this will work for me. It would be my luck to plop down $500+ for a nice used revolver, only to find out that I can't carry it comfortably/effectively.
I also plan to open this thing up and take it apart, clean up the insides, replace the springs, get the surface rust off of a few spots, etc. I've only done that a few times, and this seems like a cheap way to get some more practice.
The results won't be anything like some of the beautiful work I see on this forum, but it would please me to get it all cleaned up and functioning smoothly. (I already ordered a replacement for the missing rear sight blade.)
If you ever carry a small 3" revolver, I'd appreciate advice on holsters. Or if you've ever owned a Model 68, I'd be interested to hear about it.
Anyway, here it is, straight from my FFL:
It seems like with certain holster positions I could carry it as easily as a 2".
I know that I like shooting 3" revolvers. I have several, but they're all too large to carry easily.
So I bought this Rossi Model 68. One of my preferred vendors on Gunbroker has been selling a few of these a week for a while. I figure they're LE trade-in, maybe from South America.
This is just an experiment. If I'm going to actually carry a small framed 3" 38 special around for SD, it will be a Ruger or a Smith or something. But I can experiment with this one, just to see how it feels to carry, how easily I can draw it, can I get in and out of the car easily wearing it, etc.
It looks to me like it will go bang when I get a chance to take it to the range. It actually locks up pretty good. The DA trigger is atrocious, so if I don't have a mule with me to help pull, I'll probably shoot it SA. I imagine it will shoot about like a 2", but maybe the increased sight radius will help my accuracy a bit.
If I like carrying and shooting it, I'll invest in a nice Smith or Ruger.
It seemed better to me to spend $175 (plus shipping and FFL) to see if a revolver like this will work for me. It would be my luck to plop down $500+ for a nice used revolver, only to find out that I can't carry it comfortably/effectively.
I also plan to open this thing up and take it apart, clean up the insides, replace the springs, get the surface rust off of a few spots, etc. I've only done that a few times, and this seems like a cheap way to get some more practice.
The results won't be anything like some of the beautiful work I see on this forum, but it would please me to get it all cleaned up and functioning smoothly. (I already ordered a replacement for the missing rear sight blade.)
If you ever carry a small 3" revolver, I'd appreciate advice on holsters. Or if you've ever owned a Model 68, I'd be interested to hear about it.
Anyway, here it is, straight from my FFL:
Last edited: