.38 Snub Nose Praise!

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ArchAngelCD

ArchAngelCD

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I went to an indoor range for the first time today. I had to travel 33 miles each way to do so but what are you going to do when you just have to shoot?

I was very happy to FINALLY shoot my S&W J frame well. I was so proud of myself that I had done enought practice to shoot my snub nose this well.

Range: Indoor
Revolver: S&W M638-1
Ammo: Speer Gold Dot 135 gr .38 Spl +P (Short Barrel)
Distance: 10 yards
Group: 1.5" on center for the 2 most seperated rounds (note the dead on bulls-eye!!)

Sorry the picture is so bad, the range provides free targets but they are all photo copies, not original targets.

38spl_target1.jpg
 
Nice shootin' Tex.

Curious what kind of grips you've got on yours?

The 642 can be a handful, especially wearing just little wood panels for grips. Bought mine with the big, fat, cushy OEM laser grips, and it certainly is more controllable and a lot less shocking, but replaced 'em with some Chiefs Special wood panels so it easily drops into the front pants pocket.

I try to put at least 50 regular rounds through it each month just to keep up on practice, and have learned the more you shoot it the more you'll like it and the less you'll feel shell-shocked after a session.

10 yards eh? That's pretty dang good for a 2" barrel! Now go for some quick draw and shoot without concentrating on a bullseye hit - that's what's really going to matter if & when needed. Stick that target out there at 15 to 20 feet and do some quick draw double taps - how about double tap to the bulk with a third shot to the head. When you can consistently group within 5 inches under those circumstances then you'll know you've really accomplished something.
 
Good job! I was shooting outside in the 30 degree cold with 30 mile an hour gusts yesterday. The M1A and Model 15 didn't mind! I left the .223 at home, didn't think it would fair so well against the wind. Bill
 
Gotta ask...
Was the dead center your first shot?
Click to expand...
Rick,
Actually, it was the 4th shot. The 3 below the bulls-eye were before it from left to right, then the Bulls-eye and them the shot on the left that clipped the 9 line.
Curious what kind of grips you've got on yours?

The 642 can be a handful, especially wearing just little wood panels for grips. Bought mine with the big, fat, cushy OEM laser grips, and it certainly is more controllable and a lot less shocking, but replaced 'em with some Chiefs Special wood panels so it easily drops into the front pants pocket.
Click to expand...
Nortonics,
The Uncle Mike's boot grips that came stock were just no good to shoot with IMO. I bought some Pachmayr Compac grips but brought them back because even though they were really nice grips they were just a little too big and compromised concealment. If my snub was a Magnum I would have kept them. I won 2 sets of wooden grips off Ebay a few weeks after that. One set were the ones you are talking about, the thin wood ones like on the old Model 36. I also won a very clean set of S&W banana grips for the opening bid of only $9.95. They are very good grips to shoot with and they look great too. Here is a pic I've posted elsewhere on this forum.

DSCN2054.jpg
 
Very nice pic. Beautiful gun and nice shooting. How was the recoil with that Speer ammo?
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Scooter72,
The recoil is a lot more manageable with these grips than the original boot grips. +P ammo was uncomfortable (not painful) with the boot grips but not uncomfortable at all with these grips or with the Pachmayr Compac grips. It was harder to recover quickly with the boot grips but much easier now.
Was it single-action or double-action?
Click to expand...
Ichiro,
I almost never shoot this gun SA. That target was all DA with only enough time between shots to reacquire the target.. It's hard to get the trigger pull correct on a short gun correct so I need all the practice I can get DA.
 
VERY impressive shooting.I can do pretty well with my 637, but not THAT well, unfortunately...:(.Looks like I need to hit the range (freakin' Oregon rain/cold stinks!!!)
 
jrfoxx,
The improvement wasn't all range time. I bought a set of snap caps and pulled the trigger over 100 times a might for several weeks. I quickly learned what I was doing wrong when pulling the trigger and spent the rest of the time correcting the problems. I am totally convinced the snap caps helped more than live fire with this gun. The added bonus was that all those trigger pulls smoothed out the trigger a lot without spending the money on ammo!!! LOL
 
I wanted to not only praise one aspect of the snub but snubbies as a whole. They are reliable, dependable and easily concealed. Their rounds are of a proven caliber and they are very user friendly. Most of the time you can carry the same revolver all year around. I have taken up carrying a 638 IWB and a 637 on the ankle. No better reload than a second weapon. I have had scandium and all steel versions but I have some to prefer the airweights over both.
 
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