Who Doesn't Like Snub-Nosed Revolvers?

[XLMiguel]

Snubbies are fine for what they are - pocket/BUG guns. For day-to-day seriously social CCW, I prefer something with a little more 'reach', such as my Kahr P-9, Sig 239, or Cmdr sized 1911.

That said, I recently picked up a S&W 642, been practicing a bit, and I'm confident I could use it well in an 'up close and personal' situation. Beyond 7 yards, tho, it gets real sporty. I know there are those who shoot them well, but I'm not one of them, and a man's got to know his limitations, eh?

A snubbie is way more convenient, though, than any of the above (just drop it in my pocket with a Bianchi Nemis holster), and I'm on my way. Most of the time, that's what counts, I don't have to 'saddle up'. I'm a candy-assed suburbanite in a low threat environment, and I just feel better with a little something in my pocket in the highly unlikely event . . .

FWIW, my Tomcat is an oz. lighter (loaded), an inch shorter, and has 3 more rounds, and fills the bill just as well. (Speed strips or spare mag=wash). I have found that practicing with the DA S&W has helped my shooting overall A spring kit may be in order, tho -

 

[Ichiro]

My snubbie, a 2" SP-101 in .357 mag, is my only carry piece. I am fairly new to handling and shooting, much less carrying, guns, and am much more confident with a revolver. For me, some of the annoying traits of the snubbie are actually safety or tactical benefits to me. The extra weight makes it "feel" more like a weapon to me, which is good for my mind-set. The clearing procedure is very simple, as is loading/unloading. The long, heavy trigger pull acts as the safety. It's also DAO, so there's only one mode of operation. The simpler, the better.

I also realized that I am more confident and accurate with this gun at short distances if I do not use the sights. With an "aggressive" isosceles stance and point-shooting, I can hit close to where I'm pointing at 15-20 feet. I use the targets that have five separate circles on them. My Ruger holds five cartridges. Coincidence? I don't think so.

I know that if this gun needs to make an appearance in society, it will be a very high-stress situation. As far as I'm concerned, the simpler the platform, the better. No safety, no jamming, and no sight-acquisition. Point and fire. In 90% of SD cases involving a gun, no shots are fired. Of the remaining 10%, the vast majority of shots are fired within 10 feet, with an average of 2-3 shots fired. With these stats, a snubby seems like the best platform for carry, given its simplicity. I want more of them.

~Ichiro

 

[gunnut75]

ruger sp 101 2'' bobbed hammer a great ccw

i have a sp101 it's accurate its a little heavy but "no internal lock" to fail and the frame just absorbes all the recoil so to me it's a winner best wishes to all

 

[Mastrogiacomo]

Funny how it so many people on this thread own and love their SP...

 

[Stainz]

My accurate and fun to shoot snubbie is a 2" 10, sporting the wood service stocks. The 10 was bought new 9/03 - and has stock springs. I can plink away at 12" plates at 110yd and hit them amazingly somewhat regularly, once I determine the drop. For PD, I carry it loaded with five of the +P 158gr LHPSWC's - and one CCI snake shot round - with a couple of #10 HKS speedloaders similarly loaded close at hand. My wife's PD/HD is a 3" 65 similarly loaded.

My favorite PD companion, which resembles a 642 on steroids, is a 2.5" 296 - .44 Special five-shot. I keep it stoked with 200gr GDJHP's, usually GA Arm's load - some 21 oz loaded. These rounds hit coincident POI/POA at 12 yd, and are acceptable, recoil-wise, with the backstrap-enclosing rounded Uncle Mike's Combat grips, like the ones which came with my 10, in place of the slightly smaller OEM boot grips. Odd how just a small increase in grip size can make such an improvement in a revolver's shootability. I demonstrated this to several female day shooters while working as a public range RO at a local range. They each had a 642 for a purse gun - and the slightly longer Hogue grip we carried in the range store did the trick.

The absolute worst snubbie - the second worst recoiling handgun for me - was a friend's 340SC, loaded hot. He recently sold it. He also has the worst... the .50AE DE. When you think it's recoil is over, it hits the stop - and twists your wrist - really rough on my CTS. I owned and shot a .454 Casull SRH for years - and shoot a myriad of .44 Magnum & .45 Colt loads... that 340SC loaded hot was miserable!

Stainz

 

[TonyB]

I have 2 snubbies..the SP101 and a Rossi that is the size of a k frame(it's so accurate I shoot it at idpa)
I HAD an airweight Bodyguard that I traded :banghead:
lately I'm in the mood for another airweight.....been looking for another used bodyguard......real men shoot snubbies BTW

 

[Moonclip]

I had a friend who did not like them, he liked things like 8 3/8" S&W's but he even had to admit they had thier place and he had a few and even replaced his AMT 45 Backup with a 3" S&W mod 60 357mag for a carry piece.

I like them but I like less 3" versions. I feel for most instances they are too big for a pocket and too small for an exposed "duty" style carry. A gun writer once wrote the few times in his life where a gun looked like it might have to be employed in self defense, it was always a snub revolver at hand.

These guns have a way of always being able to be around and handy. My experiences mirror his but in one case the snub revolver was augmented with a 20 gauge Mossberg pump