So I keep coming back to the J-Frame...

[StrikeFire83]

Okay, let me start out by saying that by and large, I'm not really a "revolver guy." When it comes to full-size handguns and self-defense, I can put lead downrange more accurately and quicker with my semi autos than I ever could with a full size revolver. Capacity, follow up shots, bla bla bla bla bla bla.

But when it comes to concealed carry in any kind of dress, in my case pocket carry, my Smith and Wesson 638 just fits the bill. I haven't found anything that can quite equal or replace it. I though I had a winner with my Kahr PM9, but after months of practice and about 1000 rounds, I'm still barely able to keep the shots within the size of a basketball at 7 yards firing quickly from a draw. Trigger is just too long and mushy, I don't know, it just doesn't feel right and I could never get used to it. I've been able to build up my accuracy with the 638 and its my "always" carry gun. I can easily keep the shots well-grouped firing quickly in double action, and I've got the single action option for a super accurate first shot.

I'm still much more accurate with my CZ-75 and my Glock 17, but when it comes to an "always with me" carry gun the Kahr just couldn't beat my j-frame. Kahr is going up for sale/trade and the search continues.

 

[johnnylaw53]

Well Strikefire, since you are going to keep searching I guess you still not sure if the j-frame is the best for you. I like revolvers but reallly hasn't used one except for j-frames since I was issue a beretta in the late 80's then later they replace it with a sig. I spend a lot of money and times looking for a good small semi for back up and off duty. Never found one that really did the job for me and I would go back to the j-frame only to get rid of it and try another small semi. Well a little over 3 years ago I again went back to a j-frame a 642 this time. Once in awhile I look at some of the small 9mm that are out now days and think maybe one of those but I talk myself out of it remembering the past. The small snub nose revolver seem to fit so many ways and I belive that even some of the hard cord semi guys have a little snub around just in case. Jeff Cooper, I heard even carried one from time to time. Since you have found you can shoot it well and it easy to be with you all the time maybe it time to stop searching and accept things the way they are.

be safe

 

[WC145]

Looking is always fun but if your 638 works for you, fits where you need it to, and you're confident with it, what else are you looking for in a carry gun?

I've gone through lots of duty, carry, and back up guns and, like you, my go to/always with me gun is a j-frame. I do carry other guns off-duty, these days it's usually a 586 L-Comp, but for ease of carry and "grabitandgoability", IMO nothing beats a little snubby.

 

[Kragshooter]

I, too, carry my 638 much more than any other gun in my safe. I shoot it a lot too and like you I can keep em pretty close at 10 yards even at 25 I can put em in the chest area. Good hikin gun too, for hunting I use my Security Six.

 

[DAdams]

So I keep coming back to the J-Frame...

No surprise there. My PM9 has been relegated to number 3 in my pocket carry line up.

Number one for two years. M&P 340 J Frame Centennial format at 13.3 ounces, XS standard dot night site, .357 capable if you are so inclined, and I have CT Grips on mine. Put it in a Mika Roundcut holster, carry a speedstrip and down the road you go. The ultimate J frame not too heavy not too light.

 

[doc540]

Agent

 

[M2 Carbine]

I love J Frames, although I usually don't carry one.
I probably shoot the J Frames more than my other handguns.
It is also usually the second handgun I give a new shooter, after the 22.

People often say the little 2-3 inch guns are hard to shoot, but such as this girl, in her FIRST HOUR ever shooting, won't agree the J Frame is difficult.
After shooting this target while moving back, right and left, with the 3 inch S&W, I told her five shots to the head (about 8 yards). She made a five shot smiley face. (the shot barely hitting the head, shoulder and miss, was when she was shooting while moving right and left)


Yeah, I like the J Frames.

 

[hinton03]

Never found an auto smaller than compact that felt right to me; the smallest I have right now are a K9 and G32. On the other hand I just love to carry my S&W M49 in a coat or cargo pocket; I know it only has 5 rounds, is slow to reload and is proably considered by some to be the bottom end of the useful SD caliber choices, but it fits me, I have confidence with it, I can easily put my 5 rounds center of mass at 7-10 yards and it has never failed to go bang.

 

[StrikeFire83]

Looking is always fun but if your 638 works for you, fits where you need it to, and you're confident with it, what else are you looking for in a carry gun?

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not looking to replace the j-frame at all. I've built up my accuracy with the 638 to where I'm competent with it as a self defense gun. I can easily keep all my shots within a small paper plate, shooting as fast as I can double action, at 7 yards.

My earlier statement about basketball sized accuracy with the Kahr PM9 is too generous. Basically, I struggle to keep the my shots within a 12" X 12" target with the Kahr at 7 yards. Compare this to my very tight groups with my CZ-75 and Glock 17, almost without trying, and the fact that I can pick up ANY Glock 26 or Springfield XD sub compact off the shelf and get great accuracy. Just looking for a pocket semi-auto that I can do this with, which may be a search in vain.

 

[Katana8869]

I have been trying to break the J-frame/5-shot snub habit for years, but the unavoidable truth is that they are just too easy to carry. When larger guns would stay in the safe, the snub is riding in a pocket or tucked away descretely IWB.

With practice, reloading a snub from a speedloader is very fast and if the capacity is a concern, well, carrying 2 snubs is not much more difficult than carrying one.

At five yards, drawing from concealment, my first shots are on target faster and more accurately with my 2 3/4" SP101 than any of my other guns, revolvers or auto's but my 642 is a very, very close second. It amazes me how fast these little guns are to deploy.

Of course the 642 is much lighter than the SP, so that is a big point in it's favor. The SP, for all it's merits is not a pocket gun due to it's weight IMO so once again, for me the little 642 fits a broader niche.

I would agree with the OP, though I have tried all manner of guns over the years for CCW'S I to keep coming back to the small revolvers. I still keep my Glock 26 as my go to carry auto, but many a days finds me with a snubby tucked away somewhere on my person instead.

 

[Jim PHL]

80-90% of my carry is in the pocket with my 342. I've just resolved to not trying to change that. The only thing that carries better is a Kel-Tec or the Ruger LCP. I don't have a problem with the platform I just really prefer a treasury load over any .380 offering and the snub is easier (for me) to shoot.

The other 10-20% of my carry time does see a little variation. The belt gun tends to change once in a while because there are more options that fit. Currently there are a few single-stack 9mm's in the rotation because I've been shooting them more lately. I like the idea of carrying what I shoot the most and lately just feel like these are the most shooting fun and also among the easier guns to carry.

 

[Rexster]

Anytime I need something smaller than a SIG P229, I go with revolvers, though I am more likely to use an SP101 than a J-frame. I do, however, consider my two S&W Centennials, made decades apart, to be vital to my defensive portfolio. Once I retire my police badge, and probably move to a different area, revolvers will increase in importance for me. (I generally carry my personally-owned duty P229s on my own time nowadays.)

Well, I will admit to carrying a Seecamp pistol, but it is a niche gun for me, for very specific niches, at that. Like a certain pocket in a certain jacket, but there will be a bigger gun under that jacket.

There is something so perfect about a J-snub. I have a 342 Airlite, pre-owned but NICE, on layaway right now.

 

[Dr_2_B]

I go back and forth on this. I just can't seem to make myself carry a 5-shot gun. But I wonder if I were to put crimson trace laser grips on it, if I would feel confident enough in my shot placement to live with 5 rounds in the gun.

 

[Landric]

This my pocket/ankle gun, and I couldn't be happier with it. J-frames are the best!

 

[zfk55]

My pocket pistol.



zfk55

 

[8830]

When I was a cop I was always in search of a small auto also and prefer pocket carry to ankle. I've tried the Keltec P32, P3AT, Kahr MK9, Sig P239, Sig P245, Glock 26, Glock 36 and a S&W CS9 DAO. The P32 trigger spring broke on me at the range after 200rds. The Kahr was nice but my pinky didn't grip it and it was pretty heavy for pocket carry. I think the CS9 would have been the best if it only came with plastic or wood grips instead of the rubber that would hang up on clothing. So I was always going back to a 642, 60 with bobbed hammer or what I now carry 640 no dash. One thing I always hated about the autos was that the magazine release was always getting hit and I was having to re-seat the mag.

 

[dirtpig67]

I like the j-frame as nice compliment to other handguns and is my 24/7 CCW piece.

I live in a rural setting in Alaska but still on the road system. Forward thinking about what types of self-defense scenarios that I could find myself in while outside my home, has led me to feel that the j-frame with its 5-shots is adequate for that I might face around here (ie. nearly zero chance of armed gangs etc.). About my biggest worry is getting attacked by a stray dog which run be themselves or in pairs.

Heading to the city is a different matter. I Glock 26 will be on my hip with the j-frame in a pocket when I head to town.

Being Alaska, it can get rather cold at times (I had a -68 at my house one morning last January) which requires a lot of heavy coats and such. Getting to a pistol on your hip in hurry can be somewhat of a trick especially if you need to do it in a hurry with gloves and mittens on . With the j-frame, I can simply stick it in an exterior coat pocket for easy access and move to a pants pocket when I take the coat off. No safeties to manipulate and no sensitive trigger pull are important features when you might be required to operate that gun with a gloved hand.

That is just my reasoning based on my situation. Everyone must analyze the situation that they live in and make self-defense choices that make sense based it.

 

[LibShooter]

So I keep coming back to the J-Frame...

Me too. I have a S&W .38 spc. air-weight snubbie. Honestly I really hate shooting it. Even with Pachmayrs... it's just not pleasant. But it is the only handgun I will actually carry. And if the day ever comes that I need it, I'm pretty sure the "perceived recoil" will be the last thing on my mind.

 

[Guillermo]

air-weight snubbie. Honestly I really hate shooting it

I concur.

The extra few ounces of a steel frame make little or no difference when carrying and a big difference when shooting.

My carry snub is a Colt Detective Special. 21 ounces. An Airweight is 4 or five ounces less. I do not notice the difference on the rare occasions when I pocket carry.

Of course if you are really a masochist you can get one of the super light 11 ounce titanium guns. That surely makes a difference. For me they are unshootable and I do not hate myself enough to practice with one. I would rather bathe cats.

 

[Camjr]

642 in the pocket for me, all the time. I carry it with the Gold Dot 135gr +p short barrell rounds in the cylinder, and in one or two speed strips. Mika or Nemesis holster depending on the cut of the pants pocket. I don't feel undergunned at all because I'm very proficient with it, both in shooting and reloading from the strips.

I do have a full size XD40 that rides in an MTAC Minotaur, and that's an outstanding carry combination as well. But rarely is the 642 not along for the ride.

Snubs are fantastic for their designed purpose, and .38spl+p is more than adequate for things that go bump in the night. Early on in my journey, I thought about a small bottomfeeder to carry in the pocket, but never got past the advantages of the revolver: no magazine to come unseated, no safety to mistakenly bump off, no worries about lint gumming up the works, etc. Most semi-auto pocket guns don't have that much more capacity than the 642, and the rounded shape of the wheelgun seems to make it hide a little better in the front pocket than a squared-off semi-auto. THR and other forums saved me a lot of money on trial and error because I decided on the 642 right off the bat for this purpose rather than finally getting to it after other options weren't quite right.

Cheers!

 

[M2 Carbine]

I go back and forth on this. I just can't seem to make myself carry a 5-shot gun. But I wonder if I were to put crimson trace laser grips on it, if I would feel confident enough in my shot placement to live with 5 rounds in the gun.

IMO, only if you practice with (and without) the laser and meet a minimum standard that you are satisfied with.

I am a big laser fan. I have many (good) lasers and practice low light and dark shooting about three evenings a week.

IMO the laser and better yet the laser/light owns the night, but like iron sights, the laser is only as good as the shooter.

In teaching new shooters basic shooting with the J Frame I stress that with just 5 shots a miss is not a acceptable level of shooting.
Those five shots go fast, especially with a couple BG's.

I consider such as this as minimum shooting for relying on a 5-6 shot revolver, with or without a laser.
This is a couple of my students shooting the 3 inch 38 S&W J Frame while back-peddling (iron sights).
The first ten shots were COM and the next five were head shots. The girl on the right put one head shot in the neck but we agreed that was close enough.
(the bullet hole over the shoulder in the left target was from earlier shooting)
Can you believe this was only the second day the girl on the right ever shot a gun?

 

[Ex-MA Hole]

My primary and daily carry guns are a 642 and a 637.

The Walther PPS sometimes get brought along as a backup to the 642.

If I'm in the woods, I bring either my P99 or my model 10 along with my 642.

For me they pocket carry very easy, go bang every time and are as reliable as you can get.

It works for me and I have no desire to ever switch.

 

[Phydeaux642]

My search for a small, reliable pocket auto is over. I have 642s and 442s and think that these little j-frames fit the bill just fine. I recently bought a Sig P238 just because I thought it was a neat little gun. It will not replace my 642, though.

 

[trapchair]

I have just added a set of crimson trace grips to my s&w m49. Now thats a hot setup!

 

[MR.G]

I have tried a lot of different concealed carry guns over the years, and keep coming back to a J frame.