Thinking about a snubby

[Black Snowman]

I need another revolver and I've been having a lot of fun shooting Kamicosmos' SP101. So I'm thinking of getting a snubby. I'm kinda recoil sensitive. I like a lot of it. I think the SP101 with full house 158 gr mags may just be a bit TOO much of a good thing.

But what I want is a potent snubby that I can shoot the largest round it can handle a lot. Ammo cost isn't important to me, whatever I get I'll experiment with reloads for it. I also wouldn't mined something that will use moon-clips without modification but it's not a necessity.

So, I'm looking at the Taurus 445 .44 Special and the example I've seen at Cabela's is looking pretty promising. It's the Total Titanium version with the matte blue finish. Extremely tight tollerances. It points perfectly for me and I think it would be fun to shoot, but it's ported. I'm not really fond of porting and I don't know how it would hold up to a regular shooting. Anyone have experiance with these?

I'm wondering if I can find anything similar or better in a smiliar price range (around $400). Maybe a S&W 625 in 2". Just curious, will a 625 hold up to .45 Super? The brass is supposed to be strong enough to make it safe in a standard ACP chamber but would the extra pressure damage the forcing cone or the recoil stretch the frame?

A 638 also piques my interest but I'd like something more potent than 38 special while still being a little less stappy than the .357 Mag.

Of course a snubby would further delay my .243 WSSM AR plans . . .

 

[Cosmoline]

You know, an SP 101 in .44 Special would be just perfect, but to my knowledge there is no such animal. I can tell you that my new SP 101 has been pretty mild recoil-wise since I put Hogue's combat style recoil reducer grips on it. The Ruger is a solid piece of steel, and takes up much of the energy itself.

 

[magsnubby]

I'ii second that Cosmoline. The Hogue's will turn a "DAMN!" into a "Well that wasn't so bad."

The SP101 is a great little gun.

 

[R.H. Lee]

The big advantage to a snubby is concealibility; you can drop it in your pocket or waistband and nobody knows it's there. How much bigger is the cylinder on anything over .38/.357? If the cylinder diameter gets too big, you lose the advantage. In fact, there's not a lot more to concealing a 4" than a 2" of equal cylinder sizes.

 

[Black Snowman]

This will first and foremost be a fun gun, with the possibilty of CCW if we get it here in KS, but it's not a top priority. That's why durability is a factor. I want to shoot it a lot

The oddness of the Taurus' appearance was one of the things that drew me to it. I like oddball guns for some reason. If it would hold up to a lot of ammo, it wouldn't be a bad option for me.

Mentioning size, the 625 would be a bit on the large side, being a 6 shooter. Hmm. . . decisions decisions.

Of course what I SHOULD do is pay for the guns I already have, but what fun is that

 

[JoeHatley]

But what I want is a potent snubby

Might want to give the 325PD a look....



Joe

 

[Dot_mdb]

I like my J frame revolver and I have fun shooting it, but it is not a "fun" gun to shoot. If you just want a snubbie to shoot for fun and are not interested in concealment then you can choose any of the 3" or shorter barreled full frame sized guns. They will easily handle the heaviest loads.

But if you have any thought of concealment then give careful thought to the size of the cylinder. A N frame S&W is about .4" larger in diameter than a J frame Smith. K frame snubbies are a lot of fun to shoot and can be concealed also.

If you can feel secure with .38/357 you might find the 2.5" Model 66 to be just the right gun to meet your needs. The gun weighs 32 ounces which is about 7 ounces more than the 101 so recoil will be much less with the .357s and shooting .38s will be very pleasant.

Bill

 

[Jim March]

You will NOT break an SP101. No way, no how.

You *might* get a bad one...it ain't likely, running "the checkout" will ID 98% of all "bad at birth" specimens and if something still slips by, Ruger customer service is very good.

Put rubber Hogue grips on it, start with the 3" barrel version, and you can shoot milder-grade 357s that still give more power than almost all 44Spl loads. Or load good 38+Ps, still highly effective for self defense, and have a very controllable package.

It is VERY hard to top the durability, packability, flexibility and power of the SP101.

 

[38Mike]

Taurus still makes a 445 that's not ported; either in stainless or blued. I had the stainless version when they first came out. Lasted about 400 rounds ( no +P stuff ). The firing pin mechanism broke twice, sent it back to Taurus both times, they repaired it; but I couldn't trust gun as a home protection piece anymore. Could be they had teething pains with a new design and had to work out the kinks........with their R&D funded by me.......

I was sorely tempted by a blued 445 a while back, but I held off due to the above. If someone had a report where they put 1000 rounds or so thru theirs without trouble...........

Mike M.

 

[Black Snowman]

I found a thread on it on 1911forum of all places where one owner had the exact same model I had been looking at, the 445 Total Titanium, and he had over 2000 rounds through his without a hickup.

Only one person had bad feedback on the 445, cylinder bind, and they found it early on. Sounds like your problem showed up pretty qucikly too. Cabela's has a 30 day money back guarantee so I could give it a good workout and if it craps out early on just take it back to them. I'd still rather have the "Ultra-Lightweight" version which isn't ported but it doesn't have the funky matte blue finish which I kinda like.

Or for the same money I can get a nice AR-15 lower or the CZ-52 and SKS I've been wanting . . . decisions decisions.

 

[Stainz]

The only current .44 Special offering from S&W is the 396, a ~ 3" Al/Ti five shooter. It runs around $600, street price. The long gone, but ocasionbally found on dealer's shelves 296, a 2.5" hammerless version of the 296, was discounted to $350 or less on closeout. They both weigh ~21 oz loaded, the 296 (I have one.) really is helped by a slightly bigger grip (As would the 637 & 642 with +P rated ammo.). The 696 was the 'best' of the bunch - for fun shooting. It weighs in at a pound more empty due to it's SS construction. I have one of those as well - it is my favorite range companion. Expect to pay $375 - $500 used for a 696 - if you can find one.

I mention the .44 S&W's - and even the Charter 2000 .44 Bulldog - as alternatives to that 445 Ti .44. I have seen two - neither when new would cycle more than half a box of ammo before it would bind up. The second one changed hands at the range several times - then joined the earlier one and just dissappeared. I was also interested in the Taurus at one point, but all of the .44/.45's I have seen listed in dealers/distributors are ported, a deal breaker for me. My dealer has an assortment of Taurus roundguns - only the .22's appear to be unported. Oddly, CDNN listed several Taurus snubby big bores that weren't ported in their latest closeout catalog.

When I think of a snubby, I actually always think of a Detective or similar .38-ish model. I did finally get one of my own about a year ago - a new 2" S&W M10-11 made 1/03. It is bigger - and a lot heavier than a 637 Airweight - but it is also +P rated - and a sixshooter. With some of their service wood grips, it looks and handles appropriately. It broke in to a great trigger as well. It is uncannily accurate for a 2" barrel - and, the venerable old 100+ year old basic 'M&P' design is hard to beat. S&W dropped that length M10 in '02. Besides, I have one 'lite weight' modern alloy & Ti revolver - that 296 - that's enough for me... I'll take steel!

Stainz

 

[dairycreek]

A general word about "snubbies"!

I have had a number of them over the years. The Ruger SP 101 is a fine, fine weapon. Always a good choice. But it you really want to be a competent shooter with a snubby then you must practice, practice, practice! While the snubby is not more or less accurate than any other revolver the shorter sight radius requires practice to be able to hit what you are shooting at. I eventually became quite competent with them but it took a lot of practice. I had fun doing it but it just didn't come easily for me. Good shooting

 

[tbeb]

If you want a snubby/potent ammo that doesn't recoil a whole lot, then buy a .357 magnum like the 2 1/2" S&W model 19/66 or 2 3/4" Ruger Security Six/Speed Six. Load it with .357 magnum Winchester 110 gr. JHP. (They don't recoil any more than the .38 special+P 158 gr. lead hollowpoint.) I think this combination is every bit as good as a .44 special for civilian self defense, and it will recoil less.