Pocket Rockets

[TBT]

Okay boys ... I’m thinking about picking up a small deep cover handgun that will fit in a front pocket holster for the summer months. Not that the Kimber is that much a problem to conceal, but I’m thinking that I want an option for something even easier.

I’m really leaning toward the 2" snub-nosed revolvers in 357. Problem is I know nothing about revolvers. Nothing. I couldn’t name the components and parts and for the love of god I have no idea how you rip them down and clean them lol. I’ve been an auto guy thus far.

How punishing is the 357 in such a small gun? What are some models to look at? SW, Ruger ... god help me Taurus?

Can you guys recommend some small wheelguns/pistols that might fit this need?

["DoubleAction"]

TBT; The S&W J-Frame 640 Centennial in .357 magnum. The internal hammer will provide for a smooth draw from inside a pocket. The lower profiling 5 round cylinder will also contribute to the concealment of the gun. Speaking for myself; I'm fond of this one for another reason; It can be fired from inside the pocket of a jacket or coat ( Away from the body ).
You asked for a small pocket rocket; This is it. Other versions of the internal, shrouded, or bobbed hammer revolvers might be found by looking at Taurus or Ruger.

[TMan]

What I tend to carry the most is the Seecamp in .32ACP. There are also the Keltecs in .32ACP and .380.

I also have something I've carried some even though I don't have a holster for it (need to order one). It is the Bond Arms "derringer", and is chambered in .410/.45 Long Colt. I've only shot .410 in it, and it is a fun little gun. It perplexes me though because I don't know how it accomplishes what it does. It alternates between the top and bottom cylinders. Once you buy the basic "pistol", you can buy different configurations for it. Now that you've drawn my attention to it - I really need to order a holster so I can carry it in the door side pocket of the Z8.

In the .410 configuration, the holes appear very big to the recipient. I'm sure one look at that along with the loaded shotgun cartridges and it will cause someone to take pause.

This is the model that I have, and it weighs 21 oz:



Their web-site is at: www.bondarms.com/index.html

I'm not wild about revolvers for concealed carry. I bought the little Taurus for that purpose, but don't use it. It is light, but it hurts my finger to shoot it. It weighs 17 oz. This is the one that I have:



Of course if you are really macho, you can go for the Taurus in .44 Magnum. It weighs 48 oz.



I'm thinking of buying one of these as soon as a certain place that "born-again" Christians never go freezes over.

I like Taurus revolvers in general. I was shooting the 608 with .357 Magnum today, and I did better with it than I did with the Sig Mosquito. Of course I shot it first, so the lack of performance with the Sig could have been because of me being old and tired.

I could never understand why anyone would spend the money on a revolver when for the same amount they could by an auto. Then DoubleAction talked me into trying them. Me try - Me LIKE. They have some really sweet triggers. Tough to get that in a pistol and still have a semi-automatic.

Final word: little "lite" revolvers can be punishing even with small calibers like the 38 Special. Small lite revolvers in Magnum can be quite uncomfortable.

[TMan]

admin said:

... It can be fired from inside the pocket of a jacket or coat ( Away from the body )...

Better not be wearing polyester, or you had better be carrying a small fire extinguisher.

Modified to add:

The June 2005 issue of Gun Tests reviews the shrouded hammer .38 Special +P's from S&W and Taurus. They are the Taurus 851 SSUL and the S&W 638-3 at $461 and $620 respectively. Their pick is the Taurus over the S&W. In particular they liked the "snag-proof windage-adjustable rear sight" of the Taurus.

The +P gives you a little more, but not close to the .357 Magnum.

[TBT]

admin said:

TBT; The S&W J-Frame 640 Centennial in .357 magnum. The internal hammer will provide for a smooth draw from inside a pocket. The lower profiling 5 round cylinder will also contribute to the concealment of the gun. Speaking for myself; I'm fond of this one for another reason; It can be fired from inside the pocket of a jacket or coat ( Away from the body ).
You asked for a small pocket rocket; This is it. Other versions of the internal, shrouded, or bobbed hammer revolvers might be found by looking at Taurus or Ruger.

The 640 Centennial huh? I like the idea of the internal hammer and being able to fire the weapon from a concealed position. Kind of eliminates draw time. This is exactly what I'm looking for. What is a resonable expectation as far as accuracy goes with these small "pocket rockets" and what is the DAO trigger like? Long I know, but smooth?

I'm going to have to do some reading on this one here. What's the J frame though? I always here J frame, K frame etc. Is one better than the other?

[TBT]

tman said:

I like Taurus revolvers in general.

That's a nice looking Taurus man ... what model is that? Is that 357? You like the Taurus wheelguns? I'm having a real hard time getting up the nerve to give that company another shot after getting "screwed" twice on gun purchases that just so happened to be Taurus. Granted though, those were the PT111 and the PT140, both Millenium series and from what I hear Taurus really dropped the ball with those guns and are normally a lot better.

["DoubleAction"]

TBT; Since the internal hammer is double action only, like most bobbed hammers; I recommend an action job on one of these, unless the factory provides you with one to suit your own requirements.

I carried a S&W 640 in 357 magnum for several years, The one I owned was done by Jack Weigand of Weigand Combat. These guns are nothing more than defensive fighting pistols.
My brother had the one I owned at the range this past weekend, shooting rapid fire head shots from 10 yds out.
These revolvers feature the shorter snub nose barrels with the rear sight groove cut into the top strap; Like pointing your own finger at the target when shooting it.
My suggestion is to find one at a dealership and ask to feel it's trigger; S&W is always changing things with the actions from the factory.

[TMan]

TBT, it is an 85BULGRC. Here is the link if you want to read more about it: www.taurususa.com/products/product-details.cfm?model=85BULGRC&category=Revolver

Note that this is the one that really stings my trigger finger. I don't know why some revolvers do that.

To tell you the truth, I wouldn't buy a Taurus pistol. Their revolvers are a whole different story. I just have two of them: the one shown and the 608. I absolutely love the 608; in fact, I shot it again today. I'm not wild about 8 rounds vs. 6 because it is just all that much more to clean. Cleaning is the only thing I dislike about revolvers. I'm sure there will be other things as time goes on and they start wearing out.

I'm thinking that since I'm a member of a private outdoor range, I might get a 44 Magnum. The one I'm thinking about is the Taurus 444SS8.



However, the gun I'm really lusting after is the Navy Arms Schofield model SFM038. I just haven't had any luck getting one. She finally got me an Accelerator and I'm going to pick it up tomorrow. I'll bug her some more about the Navy Arms. Its the technology that interests me.

Whoops, think I hi-jacked another thread. Oh, its okay cause its your thread TBT. ;D

[TA]

A good friend of mine bought a S&W 340PD. It is a shorty .357 with a scandium frame. It really was punishing to shoot. I am not one to be "recoil sensitive", but this gun just plain old hurt. It was a sharp slap. There were three of us shooting and we all had the same opinion. Also, I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from the inside with it.

Very light and nice to carry, but I'll take the extra weight in exchange for control.

["DoubleAction"]

I agree with TA about the light alloy J frames in 357 magnum; The .357 Magnum is just too much of a cartridge for one of these lightweights. The 38 Special in +P might be an option to consider, and one which can also be used in the Stainless 640 Centiniel.
My father carries a Colt Cobra in 38 special, it's one of the alloy frame versions of the steel frame Detective Special. We often warn him against the use of +P ammunition for range practice. Same with his alloy frame Colt Officer's ACP in .45 acp.
One alternative to the 640 would be with the flat profiling 1911 using an Officer's length grip and a four inch barrel in an alloy frame. Kimber makes such a model that shoots almost as good as a full size steel frame. With the large bore .45 acp, you can get the 185gr. Gold Dots in +P reaching velosities around 1100 fps. This pistol should tuck well with an inside the waistband holster. You won't be able to shoot it from inside a pocket though.

[TBT]

DA, I have the Kimber UCII that I carry with me everywhere. What I was looking for was a "pocket gun". The Kimber, with the short frame and barrel is still too large for front pocket carry. That's why I was looking at a snubby.

[TBT]

Some real good info here guys ... thanks. Keep posting options and opinions for me to look into!

["DoubleAction"]

tbt said:

DA, I have the Kimber UCII that I carry with me everywhere. What I was looking for was a "pocket gun". The Kimber, with the short frame and barrel is still too large for front pocket carry. That's why I was looking at a snubby.

I understand; That is why I recommended the 640 as a primary consideration for the pocket. I call the 640 one with a no snag, no drag deployment, which is easily concealed. The 640 is also light enough in the stainless as to not warrant the need for an alloy frame version in the .357 magnum. Grips for the 640 has a high range of options, from the rubber or wood boot grips, to those with finger grooves, and the Pachmayr rubber wrap arounds.

[5ontarget]

ta said:

A good friend of mine bought a S&W 340PD. It is a shorty .357 with a scandium frame. It really was punishing to shoot.

I have a friend on the sheriff's dept, and a few guys carry them as backups (his choice is a G17). Nearly all of them said the same thing, nice and light to carry, but painful to shoot.

[TBT]

for the 640 has a high range of options, from the rubber or wood boot grips, to those with finger grooves, and the Pachmayr rubber wrap arounds.

You know I love grips ... I love the wood grips with the finger grooves on revolvers, just something about them that gets me.

I have to get out and finger one of these 640's. They look pretty nice, looks like exactly what I'm looking for too.

[TBT]

You know though ... the more I look at revolvers the more I just want to pick up a Python and just carry the Kimber. Those Pythons ... something about them. It's like "that is what a revolver should be" or something.

["DoubleAction"]

TBT; I'll try to find some pictures of the 640 I had with the wood fingers grooves, and some I had with the wood boot grips from Craig Spiegel.
The Python in new condition might be difficult to find at a reasonable amount. The best buy I've found in a good shooter is the S&W 27-2 carbon steel 4" inch barrel. A bit heavy for carry but not much more than the Python. The double action trigger on my 27 pulls through between 7 1/2 to 7 3/4 lbs, with one short smooth non stacking stroke. The 27 might be found to be less than half the cost of a Python. While your looking for Pythons, keep one eye open for a 27.

[TMan]

Python - Pocket Rocket. You must have big pockets. ;D

After waiting a long time for my dealer to get me a Python, a friend had a friend that was willing to sell me his. They said it had been shot before, but I couldn't tell that it had. It was in a lot better shape than other used Pythons I'd looked at.

I shot it; swore; then bought new grips. Nice gun, but I can't say I'm more accurate with it than I am the S&W 627. I still can't figure out why the .357 that I shoot the best with is the Beretta Stampede. Maybe it is the nickle plated front sight. Old adage, but it is like it has radar control.

As been said many times before: a super accurate gun is only as accurate as you shoot with it.

At the risk of being banned from this forum: to me, the Python is not what it was cracked up to be. I enjoy shooting the S&W 686-1 more. (It was bought used too).

[psustang89]

I'm partial to the Ruger SP101 in .357 myself.

["DoubleAction"]

tman said:

At the risk of being banned from this forum: to me, the Python is not what it was cracked up to be. I enjoy shooting the S&W 686-1 more. (It was bought used too).

TMan; Your opinion is very safe here, especially since we've talked about the double action triggers before and your preference in using those revolvers in single action.
The Python is highly known for it's light smooth double action trigger strokes. One difference in my later model 6" Python is the longer trigger spur, good for single action work. But still, the Python is in a class of Combat Revolvers, featuring the swing out cylinder & double action trigger. I've heard of some double action strokes on the Python pulling through at 5 lbs, but those are from trigger jobs from people like Reeves Junking.
The S&W 27 that I acquired is a good revolver for the Python to follow, and it's large carbon steel "N" Frame absorbs much of the recoil from the .357 Magnum cartridge.