Do you carry a S&W J-Frame revolver?

[JBozz]

I do but the grips on mine interfere a little when using a speed loader. One of my j-frames is cut for moon clips and the ones that came with the gun from Smith and Wesson are horrible...hard to load rounds and hard to unload casings. Recently I discovered Original Precision at https://www.originalprecision.com


J.D. makes heat treated stainless steel j-frame moon clips for 38 Special and/or 357 magnum and they are the best I’ve ever experienced. They’re tough and easy to load and unload regardless of the ammo brand you’re using. They’re called J Frame CCW HD Moon Clips and they are great. Check them out.

 

[Y-T71]

Every single day.

642 either in front pocket holster in the summer with shorts or a Bianchi Mod 57 "pancake" holster in the coller months with jeans.

I'm sitting in my chair watching "The Simpsons" right now with it in my side right now.

*edit* I have, and have carried a couple of HKS speedloaders but last couple of years I've been using Bianchi Speedstrips, much flatter profile even if they are slightly slower to use.

 

[.308 Norma]

I do but the grips on mine interfere a little when using a speed loader.

The Pachmayer "Compact" grips I have on my Smith j-frame don't interfere with my speed loader at all.

 

[rperyam]

Yes

 

[jar]

No. Still own a couple but I find my Taurus Protector Poly easier to control and my Detective Special not only far far easier to control but one more round. Both conceal as well as the smaller J frame Smiths.

 

[Krusty]

Yes.
For the past 15 years.

 

[Risky buisness]

Why yes I do. 637 Smith. Everyday here on the farm.
It stays home when we head to town, preferring a full size duty pistol. Lots easier to work with the smaller profile and doesn't get hung up.

 

[mcb]

Moonclips rule!

I have always had good luck with TK Custom moonclips in my 442.

 

[Pat Riot]

Question: How does one carry moon clips without bending them?

I carry HKS speedloaders normally with my 442 and have never had a problem loading with the factory boot grip.

 

[mcb]

Question: How does one carry moon clips without bending them?

I carry HKS speedloaders normally with my 442 and have never had a problem loading with the factory boot grip.

See my post above yours. That is a moonclip in a pocket protector. Keeps round held secure so nothing can strip one off or bend the moonclip.

 

[cfullgraf]

On occasions, I take a j-frame with me. Either a 642 or a 442, both machined for moon clips. I practice with a 437, also machined for moon clips, to save wear and tear on the Centennial models. All three have Pachmayr Compact grips on them.

I use a BMT Equipped moon clip loader/unloader. A bit pricey for some but they are the cats meow of moonclip loader/unloader tools.
http://www.bmtequipped.com/purchase.php

 

[aaaaa]

Daily from when I wake up till I go to sleep, I carry a 442 in my custom pocket holster or perhaps rather it is a trigger shield. Rides lower in the pocket this way than with any normal pocket holster. Oh, the photo was shot before I traded in my 642 for the 442, which is black (less to show in pocket opening than with the silver-colored backstrap of the 642.

 

[skfullen]

Daily for years. A j-frame is still In the rotation when I need deep concealment. Especially in the summer…

 

[Pat Riot]

See my post above yours. That is a moonclip in a pocket protector. Keeps round held secure so nothing can strip one off or bend the moonclip.

Thank you.

I know you’re a big fan of moon clips @mcb
If one sends a J frame to someplace like TK Custom for moon clip mods to the cylinder can rounds be fired and ejected without moon clips?

 

[mcb]

Thank you.

I know you’re a big fan of moon clips @mcb
If one sends a J frame to someplace like TK Custom for moon clip mods to the cylinder can rounds be fired and ejected without moon clips?

Yes, revolvers chambered in rimmed cartridges can be fired with or without the moonclip with the way TK Custom cuts the relief for the moonclip.

 

[Blkhrt13]

442 lots. It’s one of the three in my rotation.

 

[JBozz]

The Pachmayer "Compact" grips I have on my Smith j-frame don't interfere with my speed loader at all.

I've tried the Pachmayer "Compact" grips but they don't provide the amount of grip I need with my old arthritic hands. Larger grip with room for my pinky works best for me...just as long as it's not so big that it compromises concealability. To each his own.

 

[JBozz]

Daily for years. A j-frame is still In the rotation when I need deep concealment. Especially in the summer…

Check out Alabama Holsters. Here in the Florida heat, their kydex pocket holsters work well for me. They have a front pocket holster, a cargo pocket holster and a back pocket holster. I have a front pocket one for my J-frames and another front pocket one for my Sig P938. Both are great in shorts.

 

[Tallball]

I carry them often. My knife is my reload. When I used to go visit a relative in a very questionable neighborhood, I carried two j-frames. That is faster than a speed loader, IMHO.

 

[JimCunn]

Three moonclips in a Walmart pill bottle, or just loose in my pocket.
They don't bend.
9mm 637-2 conversion

 

[Rexster]

Q: Do you carry a S&W J-Frame revolver?

A: Sometimes. I did carry J-Frames, much, in the Eighties, Nineties, and very early in this century, often as a second gun. Since 2002, my usual minimum is the Ruger SP101, which is a MUCH better fit, in my hands.

Regarding moon clips, well, I did that for a while, in the Eighties, and would rather not do it again.

My favorite “speed loader,” for five-shot snub-guns, is made by Ruger, constructed of stainless steel, except for the nicely-shaped grip.

Slower reloads can be accomplished nicely with those rubber Slow Strips. Actually, a Bianchi/Safariland Speed Strip is VERY fast for the two-cartridge-at-a-time partial/“tactical” reload.

When I feel like carrying my HKS speed loaders, I opt for a K-Frame snub-gun, or, a Ruger Speed Six or GP100. These weapons have more “work space,” when the cylinder is open.

 

[Rexster]

To elaborate a bit, on the second gun, I write lefty, but throw righty, and chose to carry at 0300, in 1983, because drawing the then-mandated, relatively large, relatively heavy L-Frame duty revolver, from the then-mandated, low-slung duty holster, was not unlike throwing under-handed. Pulling the long-stroke DA trigger took some work, to master, but I learned to do it both righty and lefty, more with the J-snub in my left hand, and the larger duty revolver in the right hand. Now retired, almost four decades later, it makes perfect sense to carry two short-barreled revolvers, regularly. (Sometimes, one gun may be longer-barreled, and/or auto-loading. Up-gunning happens.)

As I see it, a speed loader, or a loaded full-moon clip, has some bulk to it, and concealing that bulk is about as much trouble as concealing a entire small revolving pistol.

I have no quarrel with those who prefer moon clips or speed loaders. My way is a way, not the THE way.

 

[25-5]

S&W Baby Chief. 5 rounds is plenty.

 

[lee n. field]

I do but the grips on mine interfere a little when using a speed loader. One of my j-frames is cut for moon clips and the ones that came with the gun from Smith and Wesson are horrible...hard to load rounds and hard to unload casings. Recently I discovered Original Precision at https://www.originalprecision.com

Modify your grips, or replace them.

Modifying isn't hard. I'm in the middle of doing that to a set of Altamonts for Taurus small frame. Out of the box they do not want to let Safariland Comp II-s clear.

 

[lee n. field]

I've tried the Pachmayer "Compact" grips but they don't provide the amount of grip I need with my old arthritic hands. Larger grip with room for my pinky works best for me...just as long as it's not so big that it compromises concealability. To each his own.

Large (3 finger) grip, that do have clearance for speedloaders? Crimson Trace LG-305 or LG-350. Very comfortable, and do clear every speedloader I've tried. (Yeah, I know, they cost out the wazoo, being Crimson Trace lasers. But I really like them as grips.)