Snubby Secrets....what have you discovered?

[PRM]

I've learned that very, very few people can shoot a 2", 5-shot DA revolver well. I never met one but I keep reading about them on the internet.

Now that's just plain funny... nuff said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYbfVGK-vRs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_b3dAbKoJ0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tied-t1fFsk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgl8VuX0LuY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2YMpSPK4do

I also learned that it is a weapon for the experienced expert, certainly not the weapon of choice for a beginner.

If there so bad, it's hard to imagine why they keep selling them. Seems to me like shooters would have given up on them decades ago.

 

[Jaymo]

I've learned that they're short and handy.
I've never had a problem shooting them.
Then again, my first handgun was a Charter Bulldog .44.
After shooting one of those with wood grips, .38 snubs feel like .22s.

 

[Sgt_R]

I've learned that I don't shoot them worth a damn, even with a laser.

I've learned that I shouldn't have sold mine, because there's still nothing better for jacket pocket carry.

I've learned that, like everything else lately, a new S&W 642 is hard to find when you really want one.

R

 

[Dframe]

I'd have to see the definition of "shoot well". The snub was never intended for extended distances, even though they are plenty accurate. At "bad breath" distance anyone can use one effectively. Snubs are my first firearm passion. I own "More than one" and shoot them constantly, at least once a week and at ranges from ten to twenty five yards. By far most of my shooting is from about 12 yards, and I particularly love ringing steel plates.

 

[Unistat]

When shooting a 442 or 642 for accuracy, I learned to tell the point of the DA trigger pull when it is cocked. Holding there and refining your aim, then continuing the trigger pull can greatly improve accuracy.

This is not defensive shooting however. For that I practice point shooting, plenty of it from the hip. Belly guns, and all that.

 

[Green Lantern]

I also learned that it is a weapon for the experienced expert, certainly not the weapon of choice for a beginner.

Roy Huntington had a great column in American Hangunner a while back offering up the same sentiments.

If there so bad, it's hard to imagine why they keep selling them. Seems to me like shooters would have given up on them decades ago.

He's not saying that they're bad, just that it's not a great weapon for a beginner to start out with. I tend to agree, but there are exceptions to every rule. I have a relative - small, female, not very experienced with guns. She took quite a shine to the Ruger LCR, with boot grips, in .38+P (Hornady Critical Defense, my understanding is they're not exactly the "hottest" load out there).

But with a different gun, lacking the LCRs ergonomics? Or in .357 mag? I don't think that would have been a pleasant experience for her.

My first experience with a snub was years ago a borrowed gun, Smith Airweight with standard .38s. I didn't care for it a lot. The owner of the gun would have liked it even less if she'd ever have gotten around to shooting it. She's my aunt, and after my uncle died in an accident, my cousin bought her the gun for protection.

I imagine a similar story playing out frequently - "not-really-gun-guy Male X buys not-at-all-gun-girl Female Y a gun because of Z." And with the gun oftentimes being a snubby. I'm not saying it can NEVER turn out well, but I think it turning out well is the exception rather than the norm. Mind you, I'm a big proponent of the revolver as a "first gun," but there are better first guns than a snubby, especially lightweight centerfire ones.

 

[PRM]

deleted

 

[Old Fuff]

Back during the dark ages before pre-history the Old Fuff bought his first snubby. Fortunately it was a Colt Detective Special, which is slightly larger and easier to hold on to then a S&W J-frame. Also had much better sights.

Being young & dumb, and therefore not knowing he couldn't hit anything with it he went out and promptly did what he wasn't supposed too do. We've gotten along fine ever since.

I agree that it's not a good gun to start new shooters with, but it's also not expected to shoot like a target gun. If it's a J-frame S&W put on larger stocks so one is not limited to a 2-finger/boot grip hold. Then leave the Super-Magnum/Ultra Tactical/Man-Blaster ammunition at home, and stick to 148-grain midrange wadcutters or even more lightly loaded reloads.

Experience tells me your new shooter may give you a surprise...

 

[Peter M. Eick]

I was shooting my DS yesterday and the secret I keep relearning is that if you buckle down and try, they are really quite accurate and easy to shoot. You just have to really focus on your sight picture and trigger release.

 

[Armored farmer]

I keep relearning is that if you buckle down and try, they are really quite accurate and easy to shoot. You just have to really focus on your sight picture and trigger release.

^^^....yea, I struggled with accuracy from my 2.25" SP101 for a long time. I almost gave up on it. Finally after maybe 500rds, It started to dawn on me that you need to concentrate and focus to be accurate with a snub. At least I do. Accuracy didn't come easy for me, but I'm confident with it now. 5 shots in a 3x5 card at 20yds accurate.

 

[Jaymo]

The problem with shooting snubs well, as a first gun seems to stem from the horrible J frame factory trigger.
EVERY J frame I've ever shot had a pretty terrible DA trigger. Rough and heavy.
It surprises me, how many J frame owners DON'T send them out for trigger jobs.
It's a great investment.

My first revolver (the Charter Bulldog) had a pretty horrible trigger. A bit rough (not as bad as a J frame) and VERY heavy. After a little stoning, it was smooth, but still very heavy.
It was a great training aid. I learned how to shoot it DA well enough that a smoothed up J frame felt great.


Every snub owner should start out with a wood stocked Bulldog .44.
Once you learn to shoot it well, you'll shoot a J frame like Bob Munden (R.I.P).
Plus, .38 +p "recoil" feels like .32 S&W long, in comparison.

Funny thing, my current carry .44 Bulldog is one I bought pre owned. It had very little use. It's tight and smooth.
The trigger is what sold me on it. It had a smooth, not heavy trigger, unlike most Charters I've owned/shot. Not objectionable at all.

My current J frame is a 1969 31-1 that was someone's nightstand gun. It needs some smoothing of the trigger, but not much.
I figure I'll load a bunch of plinking loads and shoot the snot out of it. Then, I'll decide if I want to get a trigger job on it.
I like it so much, I can't stand the thought of being without it long enough to get it slicked up.

 

[OurSafeHome.net]

Snubby's are hard guns to shoot fast and accurate, especially at longer ranges.

Get a laser. Total game changer.

 

[Resist Evil]

Anyone would have to admit that a laser is fast to shoot, but they just aren't strong enough yet in a handheld size to stop a bad guy.

Good thinking though.

 

[Jaymo]

^
But you can get a laser that is hell on bugs.

 

[olafhardtB]

Snubbies

OK, to start off let me say that I am not any kind of expert. I don't carry a gun for defense, offense or to impress the ladies. I use them to shoot things that need to be shot. I seldom find things that need to be shot more than 50 yards away. There are some statements that people make about snubs that cause those guys to lose crediitability with me.
1 ." You may as well shoot a 38+p as a 357 out of a snub." Not according to my chronograph.
2. "A longer barrel is as easy to conceal as a snub." Not in my pocket.
3. "A shorter barrel kicks harder." Not necassarily true.I shot a 5"model 60 s&w along side a 3 " model 60. The 5"kicked significantly harder with all loads. And a 38 +p could not touch either.
4. The snubby is harder to shoot".The short sight radius makes it so easy to just find the front sight and pull the trigger.
I find my 637 so handy, portable, powerful, light, and accurate enough that I don't want to be without one. I carry it in a cheap holster I got at a gunshow that I stuff in my back pocket. I call it my "booger blaster."

 

[Archaic Weapon]

I have found that a 2" Taurus shooting full power 158gr hollow points kicks less than a .38 special Derringer using low recoil defense loads.

1.I know that my wife can carry one all day long and forget she's carrying it.
2.She can outshoot me with it out to about 15yds, where she usually doesn't practice as much as I do.
3.If you have a key/coin pocket on your trousers, you can easily throw in a reload or reload and a half without hardly noticing.
4.Don't shoot one for fun, and you will never be disappointed by what happens when you need to drop something. Put another way, don't buy a snubby for a plinker. Buy it to save or end a life.

 

[David E]

I shoot mine for fun all the time. Once you can hit with snubs, you can hit with anything.