Picked up a new revolver over the weekend (as well as a new shotgun) and went to the range yesterday for some testing... and it is the first gun I've owned that I truly did NOT enjoy shooting! I should have expected the result when I bought it, but proceeded anyway...

What is it? A Rock Island Armory .357Magnum revolver, 2" bbl, all stainless. It looks nice and shoots very well, but the back edge of the trigger guard beat the hell out of the knuckle of my middle finger! I made it through 18 rounds of .357 before I put it back in the case. I'm sure it would be much nicer with .38spl +P, but I didn't take any to the range with me.

Now I have to decide what to do with it; 1) trade it back in on something else, 2) modify (round off) the back edge of the trigger guard so it doesn't hurt so bad, or 3) find replacement rubber grips which also cover the back of the trigger guard.

I'd rather keep it and not take the loss on using it as a trade-in, but I'd also prefer to not make a permanent mod to the trigger guard in case I do decide to part with it later!
Being a RIA revolver, finding aftermarket grips may be challenging.

Oh well, time will tell what happens to it. Will probably just keep it and keep it loaded with .38spl for the wifey to have at home when I'm gone. She's not a "gun person" and I don't feel comfortable leaving her with any of my semi-autos...

.357 mag in a 2-inch revolver is never a fun experience.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
.357 mag in a 2-inch revolver is never a fun experience.

So I have discovered!

A gun with those features has limited use beyond a left in a car for dire emergencies. I'd sell is for something more useful. 4" is better than 2" 357 magnum.

quote:

Originally posted by abnmacv:
A gun with those features has limited use beyond a left in a car for dire emergencies. <<snip>>

That's sorta what I originally bought it for, so will give it some time and another try with .38spl ammo before taking a loss on it.

I have a problem of the knuckle of my middle finger getting busted up also. It is just the right length that it points directly at the back of the trigger guard on some of my pistols. I do various things to try and mitigate this depending on the handgun, from smaller grips, to filing the area behind the trigger guard, to shooting magnum loads just enough to keep proficient with the particular handgun. 357 handguns, especially the snubbies are going kick regardless and you can do most of your practicing with 38's. As for EDC, or car gun, if you are forced into a self defense situation, shooting the 357's will hardly be noticed.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
.357 mag in a 2-inch revolver is never a fun experience.

Geez, I would imagine not.

My very first center-fire handgun was my 4 in. bbl. Ruger Security Six in .357 Mag. "Back in the day" my buddy and I (he has a Colt Python) used to shoot full-load .357 Mag rounds all day without a thought.

Hell, we were so used to them that, one day, when a guy showed up with a "Dirty Harry Special" (.44 Mag. S&W Model 29) and offered to let us try it, we were like "Yeah, that's a bit stout."

Fast-forward to many, many years later. Without getting into the whole story: I'd gone out and got myself a Glock G22 (.40 S&W).

Next day: Took 'em both to the range. Tried out the Glock. Cool. Then got the trusty ol' Ruger out. Loaded 'er up, pointed 'er down-range, cocked the hammer (SA on first round in years and years), squeezed the trigger, and...

HOLY CRAP!!!

It'd forgotten just how stout the recoil from that bad boy was

Makes .40 S&W out of a full-size pistol feel like a .22 rimfire

I had a Ruger LCR in .38 SPL for a while. They subsequently came out with one in .357 Mag. Saw that and thought "Srsly?"

There's a reason why small revolvers like that are going extinct, they are not pleasant to shoot, even in .38

I had a 2" barrel S&W that I loaded with 38Spl and thought, that wasn't bad at all. Then I loaded 357 and it was a big unpleasant difference.

.357 out of a snubby doesn't have to be miserable. It's never going to be mild, but it can be manageable with the right grip (hand positioning) and properly designed grips. I'm not really familiar with the RIA, but from the pics I'm seeing on the web the grips look kinda like the old S&W wood service grip panels. I've found that the old-school Tyler T-grip (also available pretty cheap in a quality plastic version from bkgrips.com, and they are much more responsive) helps give a better grip purchase on those and keeps the gun from sliding around in your hand under recoil, which is what allows the trigger guard to slam into your finger. You might check with bkgrips and see if they have anything that would fit the RIA.

Also, I find that getting as high up on the backstrap as possible also helps control the muzzle flip under recoil.

Just a couple ideas to try before you give up on it.

Apart from the knuckle-busting, how did it perform? I've been kinda curious about those as they seem to be popping up in a lot of the local shops.

Or just shoot 38 special.
My grandson #5,who is 11 loves shooting a snubby in 38.

Used to have a Ruger SP101 Spurless snubnose. After 5 shots of full magnum loads, I would just stop. I shot .38 special wadcutter loads for awhile, but it was a gun I was not destined to have, I just flat out couldn't shoot it worth shit. Finally gave it to my son 7 years ago when he was in high school and he was able to shoot it well enough.

What a GREAT picture!!

quote:

Originally posted by Greymann:
Or just shoot 38 special.
My grandson #5,who is 11 loves shooting a snubby in 38.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
<<snip>>
Apart from the knuckle-busting, how did it perform? I've been kinda curious about those as they seem to be popping up in a lot of the local shops.

Aside from that one issue I really like it, so will likely hang onto it for at least a year or so...

quote:

Originally posted by oddball:
Used to have a Ruger SP101 Spurless snubnose. After 5 shots of full magnum loads, I would just stop. I shot .38 special wadcutter loads for awhile, but it was a gun I was not destined to have, I just flat out couldn't shoot it worth shit. Finally gave it to my son 7 years ago when he was in high school and he was able to shoot it well enough.

I previously owned an SP101 in .327 Fed Magnum that also shot .32S&W, etc. There was something about the grip on it that wouldn't let me shoot it worth a crap! I liked the chambering okay, except it was hard to find at the time, but the grip sucked, so I eventually traded it in on something else.

If you really have the option to trade it in, perhaps consider the SP101. It’s small enough to be compact but somehow beefy enough to tame magnum loads. I like shooting my SP101; my hands never feel beat up in the least. It’s a tank.

See the post right above yours. I had an SP101 and couldn't shoot it worth crap, so traded it in. I shoot this one fairly well, but it just beats the hell out of my knuckle!

I wouldn't want to shoot any .357 2" revolver, as they are a handful. A .38 2" revolver is much more pleasant and I really like my S&W 442. With the right grips, I have found it cures many issues but I don't know what is available or what fits a RIA revolver.

Try .38 Wadcutters in the RIA. Especially when you have your wife try it.

quote:

Originally posted by patw:
<<snip>> With the right grips, I have found it cures many issues but I don't know what is available or what fits a RIA revolver.

That is what I'm running into right now; not sure what will fit it, especially for aftermarket stuff, and want to go through the "buy it to try it" when I don't even know where to start.