The end of the J-frame era

Well started on the job in 1981. Carried a 4 model 15 with a 36 as backup/off duty.Spent 33 years on the job, carried several different primary weapons, but still got those that got me started. Carry my 36 along with an sig 290 rs and feel pretty safe with those two. Easy to carry, dependable and I am only defending me these days so a range of 12 to 15 yards will be my max and ki can put my bullets where I aim, I am pretty sure I am good
 
Gordon said:
I'm not mad at anyone here , nor the poor owner of the Seattle Smoke shop, for responding to disgusting 11 + armed robbers in his downtown store at 2:30 , after they have gone to a city of compassionate community policing. I'm mad at such situations are now routine in a beautiful American City I used to enjoy visiting. But it certainly has given me and others pause for considering a 5 shot snub as a primary or even secondary carry. So as Jeff Cooper taught me about the J frame "derringer " as he referred to it has all become reality. Sure, it beats unarmed, but in a tactical situation, we are always going to want a lot more.
To put an end to the squabbling, if I had a long-term business in a City situation like that shop in Seatle, rather than waiting for the social workers to respond at 2:30 a.m. and having my financial future destroyed (you're dreaming about looted commodity shop owners compensated fairly by insurance for robberies these days), I would attempt to stop such things, and if armed felons threatened, I would be armed and trained to win! That would mean a high fire volume shouldered piece and at least one 15 or greater capacity pistol with a belt full of magazines for both arms. A deep concealed J-frame snub would also be nice under the body armor I'd be wearing with my MICH Helmet and light.. :) desperate times call for desperate measures.
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Probably need high-volume/hi-cap response for multiple armed attackers.
Assuming you want to visit Dante's 8th circle of Hell and have the luxury of seeing it coming...

Film at 11.
 
JimCunn said:
I use my Airweight 9mm J-frame for primary carry.
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Okay, this question has been answered; felt pretty sure it wasn't a factory option.
Have to say, have a 940, and even in a steel revo, it's pretty damned snappy to shoot. I've fired full house magnums in a 340SC, and that is much worse. But standard pressure 115s really aren't fun, although 147s feel like .38 RNL.
Moon
 
I still have (and shoot) my J-frame S&W subby which was made in the mid-70's. Easy to shoot, low recoil, light weight. Probably its biggest drawback is the 5-round cylinder. It still looks new. It's a keeper.
 
I can certainly understand a J Frame not being fun to shoot for many, and reasons why the OP parted with his.

Own three that are fun to shoot. My model 43C and 63 are obviously easy as 22LR offerings. My recently acquired 632UC is a soft shooter as I'm only using 32S&WL wadcutters and having lots of fun with it.
 
My primary method of carry is in the front pocket of my pants. In the past my gun has been a Ruger LCP in .380 or more recently, a Keltec P32 in .32 ACP. However, I've made snubby revolvers my primary carry now, for a few reasons:

  1. The LCP is flat out unpleasant to shoot and thus, I don't practice with it. The main reason I keep it is because they aren't worth much in trade.
  2. The P32 isn't as reliable as my snubbies and difficult to hit anything with past spitting distance.
  3. My current primary is a 1990s-vintage S&W 632 Airweight in .32 H&R Magnum loaded with High Desert Cartridge wadcutters. Even with these .32 H&R loads it's not too bad to practice with. With .32 S&W Longs it feels like shooting a .22, so if I ever get to the point where .32 H&R Mag recoil is objectionable I can switch to .32 Long wadcutters.
  4. My secondary is a 1974 Colt Detective Special with .38 wadcutters. It's reasonably pleasant to shoot and I get groups out to 10 yards, at least.
  5. Either the 632 with its Boot grips or the Dick Special with its wood grips disappears in my front pants pocket and are comfortable to carry all day. A Speed Strip is easily carried in the coin pocket of my jeans.
I also have a S&W 640-1 in .357 but with the Uncle Mike's Combat Grips it won't fit in my pants pocket. I only shoot .38s in it because I'm not a masochist. It was my dad's, so it has sentimental value. I used to have a 640 .38 that I wound up selling to a friend because with Boot grips I found it unpleasant to shoot.

I'm looking at acquiring one of the new Smith 432UCs or 632UCs. My current 632 was given to me by my father a few years ago and thus has some sentimental value. On top of that, only 1471 were made so it has some monetary value as well.

FWIW, I'm an early Gen Xer and learned to shoot handguns in the 90s with a S&W Model 15, which I shoot double action almost exclusively. I own and shoot plenty of semiautos but I feel most comfortable with a wheelgun, preferably a K-Frame. The J-Frame and D-Frame work best for me for carry most of the time but I also have holsters for the medium framed guns when I can pack something larger.

This is what works for me. It may not work for you.
 
I have carried Colt D-frame .38 Specials with the factory service stocks and Tyler T-grip for over 50 years. Works for me. Agent and DS snubs are my primary carries. The 4-inch Cobra is the farm and woods walking "kit" gun with wadcutters and/or Speer shot loads.
1730491524620.jpg 1696563369889.jpg 1734564605609.jpg
I find the J-frames a bit small to fit my hand and I never shot them as well as the Colts. I like having a six-shot revolver and back in the day the backup or off-duty DS or Agent could use the same speed loaders as a Smith K-frame.

I have little need for +P loads and with arthritic hands find their recoil painful from a light gun. All the light alloy frames carry factory 148 wadcutters in the cylinder and have handy nearby standard pressure 130-grain Winchester Service Grade flatnosed FMJ for a speed loader friendly reload which strikes to the same POI as wadcutter.
 
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Not pocket holsterable, it still is a little large with the "Smaller" grip option (I have both), except for possible large cargo pants. It does fit in zippered chest cell phone pockets of some vests . About 20 .oz unloaded in the poly version. I( been carrying mine IWB a bit lately, loaded with Five Federal Handgun .410 defense rounds with four OOO buck in each. I have tested these enough to know that at 7 yards, they take things apart,
Im going to try a few of these Hornady Critical defense .410 pistol rounds of Buck and tipped expanding bullet. :)
"
Delivering effective shot patterns that place all projectiles on a man-sized target at seven yards, the Critical Defense 410 features a unique Triple Defense projectile column consisting of two 35 caliber round balls topped with one non-jacketed FTX slug.

Unique to the Critical Defense 410, the 41 caliber FTX slug actually engages the gun's rifling, and contacts the target nose-on, enabling the patented Hornady Flex Tip technology to assist in expansion for greatly enhanced terminal performance. Each 35 caliber round ball is made of high antimony, cold swaged lead to resist deformation and provide excellent penetration.

Critical Defense 410 Triple Defense - you be the JUDGE!
1744073744387.png
 
I still have my S&W 642-1 that sees duty as a quick “toss it in a pocket” option for a quick run to town. Violent crime in rural North Dakota is pretty rare but can never be ruled out entirely. Its other purpose is as a backup in a Galco ankle rig. One thing it excels at that is problematic with my preferred autos is in contact shots. Clint Smith has referred to a snubby in an ankle rig as his “get off me ya son of a b….” gun. The scenario here is that a physical confrontation goes to the ground, the attacker is in a position to do you in for good, you still stand a better chance of getting that snub out, shove it into his guts and pump the trigger. The auto has a problem with this tactic in that a contact shot can push the slide back out of battery and you are now looking at a dead trigger. Some designs aren’t as susceptible to this such as the Makarov, Sig P230, PPK and others with a fixed barrel but it’s still not as sure as the revolver in this kind of application.
 
I’ve gone through some j frames and ultimately did move on from them. Maybe not forever. I still carry an SP101 around with the bobbed hammer and with Barnes 140 grain XPB’s in .357 at 1100 ft/s.
 
Since very bad back issues have made carrying my 1911s and hi-cap 9mms problematic; I started carrying (again) a J-Frame. These are 432 UC Lipsey/ S&Ws. For the non-S&W aficionados; they're six shot .32 H&R Magnum revolvers. My newest weighs 13 ounces. I carry both the original, and the new titanium cylinder one every day without issue.

IMG_2131.jpeg IMG_2081.jpeg
 
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