Talk me into a snub...

[OtG]

I'm looking for a deep concealment pistol, with the usual requirements:
small, light, adequate caliber, easy to shoot under stress.
I also would like: inexpensive (i.e. no more than $500, and I'd save for that).

I've been looking at small pocket autos (well, just the P3AT and PM9), but Preacherman's recent thread on the ease of drawing and shooting pocket guns caught my attention (damn him!).
I'd like a small, easy to carry gun, but if I can't get the darn thing out of my pocket when I need to, what's the point?
Also, everyone seems to think that revolvers print less in a pocket, due to their lumpiness.

I'm not a huge fan of revolvers (don't like how they feel in my hand), but I'd be willing to consider one.

Weight is a consideration not for daily carry (right now I carry a steel 5906(farkin' heavy)), but for when I'm hiking, bicycling (sucks having heavy crap in those pockets...), running, or wearing pants/shorts without a belt.

How do the small .38 Special snubs compare in size to things like the P3AT and PM9? I know weight is between the two.

Who makes snubs? I found S&W and Taurus, anyone else worth noting?

Thanks in advance and alla that.


Concealably yours,

 

[Erich]

You asked if anyone else worth noting makes short-barrelled pocket revolvers. I would direct you to Colt. They no longer make them, but it's possible to find great condition Detective Specials, Agents and Cobras on the market for not a ton of money. These guns, in my experience, conceal every bit as easily in a pocket as a J-frame S&W, and they provide an extra shot.

Be sure to find one of the newer models, though, since the DS and the Cobra were originally made with a longer gripframe. Any Agent will work well.

 

[SpookyPistolero]

Another good maker of a very concealable revovler is Ruger. Their SP101 will be hard to beat in terms of ruggedness. I can definitley vouch for the Taurus 85, both my dad and sister use them as carry guns. They are more easy to be accurate with when you get a better, more full grip.

I really hear you on not being a huge fan of how revolvers feel. I want to like them so bad but they always seem a little off in my hand. My sister's full size Rossi .357 (can't remember the model) with the unfluted cylinder is the only one that has 'done it for me'.

So instead I chose a sub-compact glock. I use a G33 as my daily carry gun, and as my IDPA gun. It's absolutely great. My accuracy is just as good as my full size 17 if not better. The round (.357 sig) is just great, but you can search other forums for debates on that subject. Anyway, give them a look if you don't have a problem with the trigger. I actually like the Glock trigger. It's no 1911, but it's definitely not too shabby for over the table work.

Good luck in your quest.

-Spooky

 

[Black Snowman]

SP-101 is a bit heavy, 357 mag can hurt even in it, I'm looking at the new Taurus 905IB 9mm 5 shot with a shortened frame and cylinder for better concealability and lighter weight. Still not as light as one of their ultralight models which should make it easier to shoot.

Snubs are just plain fun to shoot to. Not sure why. I guess it's the challenge of it.

 

[Lobotomy Boy]

I have a Taurus 605C for a carry gun, and I like it quite a bit. It's been 100 percent reliable.

I'd recommend getting a compensated or ported gun like the 605C. It is actually fairly nice to shoot, even with .357 rounds.

I'd also recommend getting a less expensive gun like the Taurus for that sort of work. I paid $260 for mine new. If it gets banged around and scuffed up while being used as a CCW, I wouldn't feel nearly as bad about it as I would scuffing up an older Colt or S&W with some historical value.

 

[Bear Gulch]

Remember that autos get finicky if not kept clean. A revolver can have lint, dirt, etc in it and will fire. This is where most folks start talking about accuracy, but a deep cover guns is generally gonna be used at card table distances.

 

[Black Snowman]

Remember that autos get finicky if not kept clean

I've had the exact opposite experiance. My S&W 646 has been the most finicky gun I've ever owned, getting hung up on unburnt powder and nearly locking up the whole gun or at the very least putting accuracy robbing hitches in the double action.

OTOH the worst my CZ RAMI has done under the same circumstances was to occasionally not fully go into battery which was cured by a little nudge of my thumb.

So, I switched to a cleaner burning powder. My RAMI runs 100% with it, the 646 still has problems and with the new powder has added cases sticking in the cylinder to the list.

Admittedly, the 646 is an unusual beast and a limited run. Still, it hasn't exatly gotten me all fired up about revolver reliability.

 

[jdl357]

s&w m60 all stainless

My hands are small, so this fits just fine for me.

 

[cslinger]

Best darn CCW weapon ever. Small, looks like a wallet in a pocket, .357 even from a snub is no joke, reliable to a fault and down right intimidating with all those hollowpoints looking back at you.

Now you do have to take the time to learn to shoot them well but I really think it's hard to beat a small JFrame sized gun for all the time carry.

Now I feel more comfortable carrying one of my larger semi-autos but my most carried firearm bar none is a Model 60 Smith JFrame.

Chris

 

[cslinger]

JDL357,

Are those hollowpoint snap caps or wadcutters?

 

[R.H. Lee]

I've got one of each

 

[jdl357]

Ok cslinger, here she is with hp's

 

[Oktagon]

...looks like good gun handling practice to me

well i gues you ginger is at least not on the trigger.

 

[jdl357]

My face was not behind the camera. I was well out of the line of fire.

 

[Marshall]

Model 60 S&W .357, it's been good to me.

Hunter IWB

Gould and Goodrich OWB two slot pancack high ride

 

[LynnMassGuy]

I'm a huge fan of old M36's myself. I just love em'!


Regards
John

 

[OtG]

RileyMC:
Which do you prefer for carry? Is there a big difference?
Does the concealed hammer help significantly?

Also, I like shiny. If I need to whip out my gun
I want it to be noticed!


jdl357:
Nice pic!



Again, anybody have a decent comparison between a snub and a P3AT/P32 or a PM9/PM40?

 

[jamz]

I can compare my S&W OLD model 60 to a Colt Pony Pocketlite in .380.

My M60 is a duplicate of jdl357's- right down to the patina. (Though mine has a few more scuffs and dings). Those wooden grips are great for carry, but not exactly comfortable to shoot with.

The .380 to me, has less felt recoil. The M60 seems to have more, plus the way my hands go around the grips, I tend to hit the cylinder release with my thumb a lot, which is painful. I'm ready to buy some houge grips to improve my shooting with it, but those wooden ones just look so...right on the gun, I hate to spoil it.

I'm about as accurate with one as the other, as far as I can tell, but I've shot only handloads though the M60 and factory through the pony.

After shooting the snubby, the .380 felt loose, kinda- like I was feeling the slide action for the first time. The trigger pull in DA on the snubby is pretty bad, but so is the one on the pony. SA on the M60 is great though.

-James

 

[Soap]

I have an old Model 36 with a tapered barrel. One of the best carry guns ever devised IMO.

 

[KLR]

I am seriously considering trading my PM-9 towards a 340PD.

 

[280PLUS]

I'll say it again,,,

I like what is now the S&W 432PD in .32 H&R Magnum. Lightweight J frame. 14 oz loaded.

http://www.firearms.smith-wesson.com/store/index.php3?cat=363022&sw_activeTab=1

I carry it in my pocket always and I forget it's there. In a pair of Carthart relaxed fit jeans it is virtually undetectable. We clocked a 100 gr SJHP from www.georgia-arms.com at 977 fps at 15 feet from the muzzle (1 7/8") of this snubbie. That makes it more powerful than a .38 special and only slightly less than a .38+P. AND you get 6 shots instead of the 5 you'd get with a .38 or .357.

The consensus around here is nobody wants to get shot with it.



btw: Geo Arms claims of 1100 fps on this round are from a 7" barrel.

 

[Frandy]

I was at the range today and sighted in my new S&W 642 with Crimson Laser grips. I shot the 642 for the first time last week (didn't have the grips yet) and realized after 50 rounds that 21' with this lil baby was going to be challenging. Well, today, my second 50 rounds were different. After sighting in the laser grip, it was bullseye after bullseye after bullseye. I'm now a believer.

 

[280PLUS]

Frandy

I just went to S&W to see the 642 - very nice

 

[DHart]

If the 642 is not the king of pocket revolvers... it's right in there anyway.

It's hard to come up with an excuse to NOT have this one with you at all times. Light, but not too light. Sleek and smooth for pulling from pocket or clothing. All buttoned up so lint and dirt have a really hard time finding their way in. You can even shoot it from within your coat pocket if you had to (no time to pull it out). It would be hard to beat one of these for close quarters pocket revolver defense... I don't know of anything better.

 

[R.H. Lee]

RileyMC:
Which do you prefer for carry? Is there a big difference?
Does the concealed hammer help significantly?

otg- The S&W 642 at 15 oz is lighter than the Taurus 85. The 642 carries easily in a pocket or IWB; you hardly know it's there. Hammerless makes a big difference, especially for pocket carry, as there's nothing to hang up or snag while drawing. Both are completely reliable and easily concealable.