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| That rug really tied the room together.  |
Check out the LuckyGunner ammo test completed within the past couple of months. The Speer Gold Dot short barrel load wasn't all that great. Hornady critical defense usually offers minimal penetration, often less than FBI minimum recommendations. http://www.luckygunner.com/lou...ver-ammo-commentary/ ______________________________________________________ Often times a very small man can cast a very large shadow | |||
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Great video/info. Thanks for sharing. Risk the consequences of honesty... | |||
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E tan e epi tas |
One thing I think we lose sight of sometimes is that the collective we, I hope, have no desire to kill anybody and that in a self defense situation that is a side effect of stopping the aggression. What I am getting at is, although there are absolutely instances where this isn't the case, the great, great majority of folks who get shot at and or actually shot tend to beat feet for greener pastures. Modern testing, modern rounds, modern sharing of information are all awesome and I am not saying one shouldn't research and use the most capable tool possible but the reality is when you view or read about the vast majority of home invasions or self defense shootings the minute the prey returns fire shit seems to get lots less fun for the aggressor who tends to want to leave fast. All I am saying is don't get hung up on analysis paralysis thinking that if you don't have the absolute best gel destroyer then you might as well use harsh language. Software and luck are far more important than the hardware IMO. ........says the gun geek who reads, watches and lets the same tests influence his choices. But the more experience I get and the more real world knowledge I have gleaned the more I lean towards there is really only one 2 rules of gun fighting. Have a gun.....any gun....with any ammo. Realize it's a fight.....fight to win....bullets, bludgeon, kick, spit, bite whatever until the predator decides.......too much effort.....I'm done. And I stand by the fact that the J-Frame is generally the answer to a question asked every day of every decade and it was and still is the answer to I want a reliable, defensive, arm that is simple to carry. It is THE pocket carry gun for many reasons. "Guns are tools. The only weapon ever created was man." | |||
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1. Gel tests are good for comparisons, but it shouldn't be the only source of info. The Short Barrel Gold Dots have a very good track record in actual shootings. 2. The gel used by Lucky Gunner is not the same as the gel used by the FBI, so that should be taken into consideration when assessing their results. "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts." Sherlock Holmes | |||
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My 340 goes with me everywhere, also loaded with 135 grain gold dots. Though I prefer the short barrel .357 myself.  | |||
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| Let's be careful out there |
[URL=  ]older, a bit heavier. A Centennial with a Tyler T Grip[/URL] | |||
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That's a nice little heater! It's a 1950s or 1960s vintage, isn't it? It amazes me how these guns can stay reliable for so long. "Like a horse has its rider, and the sky has its moon, a man has his loneliness, mistaken as pride." -Longmire | |||
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| Let's be careful out there |
50's, just before it became the Model 40. | |||
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So, I finally had a chance to take the noisy cricket out to the range. Goodness me. For a "low powered" round, this little thing has some fangs! (As evidenced by the blood on the trip tang)   I shot 50 rounds of S&B .38 special FMJ at about 5 yards. For some reason, I kept shooting up and to the left. Any shots that got near the center were because I was aiming low-right. (Using Kentucky Windage, as Hickok would say)  Then I shot ten rounds of the Horniday Critical Defense 110 grn +P hollow point. I seemed to hit dead on with this round (with a few flyers...still getting use to the punishing recoil)  I can see why this gun is considered to be a close range firearm. If I had to take a shot any farther than 5 yards or so, I'm not sure I would be able to hit my target, at least with this level of practice. That being said, I'm not sure I want to put a hundred rounds or so per range session through this gun. 60 was painful enough. I can see the advantages to this gun with its small size and reputation for reliability, and I'll surely carry it. But boy, this is no range toy! "Like a horse has its rider, and the sky has its moon, a man has his loneliness, mistaken as pride." -Longmire | |||
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Hogue Tamer grips would help. Sigs, HKs, 1911s, Berettas, Glocks and SW revolvers | |||
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It's not the pistol. Not sure what you're doing, but it's the shooter. The 642 (et al) just doesn't bite. It's also not a five yard pistol. It can be shot out a lot farther than that. The thing that keeps people from being able to shoot farther isn't the pistol; it's that they think they can't. No pistol should be carried for defense (or any other reason) if the shooter can't reliably put rounds on target at any range it might be employed. If the plan is to do something else beyond five yards and only draw the pistol at 5 yards or less, so be it, but don't put others at jeopardy by drawing and firing when there's any question about where you're putting those rounds. What's needed is a bit more range time. The 642 and other lightweight revolvers are a bit different, but are well worth taking the time to get to know. If someone has shot primarily semi-automatics and doesn't do a lot of double action shooting, especially with a light pistol, especially with the type of grip required, then it may be a slight learning curve at first. That will come and go. Don't let that first range session discourage you. A revolver shouldn't draw blood like that, especially a shrouded hammer revolver. I suspect your grip needs some improvement. Proper grip with recoil shouldn't have the firearm moving in your hand. Your hand may rise a bit, but there shouldn't be such movement to cause blistering or bleeding. It's a .38 special, which is the .22 long rifle of centerfire handgun cartridges. Give it some more time and more shots downrange. If necessary, shoot some lower power ammunition to get more familiar with the pistol. It can be fired rapidly and accurately, and its biggest drawback is reloading, especially vs. an auto. That too can be learned. Even if it's just five shots, make them all count. The pistol doesn't become inherently less accurate at longer ranges, but poor handling does show up more at greater distances. The pistol is accurate. Take the time to get to know it, in order to take advantage of that accuracy. | |||
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Nice option... I switch between my 642 and my 340PD all the time (I carry 38 special in my 340PD anyway because the recoil of 357mag sucks) | |||
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Thanks for the caution and encouragement. I agree with your assessment. More practice time is in order before I start to carry it. I'll say this though....I'm glad I didn't go with the .357 Magnum. "Like a horse has its rider, and the sky has its moon, a man has his loneliness, mistaken as pride." -Longmire | |||
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Small j-frame revolvers feel in my hand like a golf club does striking a ball; there's a bit of shock and sting that goes through the entire pistol whe the round goes off. How it feels to each person is subjective. A long session with a snubbie leaves my hand feeling like I've been mowing a lawn for an hour or two, the way that vibration leaves a slightly numb, slightly arthritic feeling. I will say this; the difference between accurate and proficient, and can't-hit-the-broadside of the proverbial barn is measured in millimeters, not miles. By that I don't mean the distance from hits to aim point, but the difference in what it takes to what one is doing. The difference in the hand is subtle. Small changes yield big results. I've had instructors make quantum differences in my shooting with their observations of things I didn't see...I could have gone on shooting for a very long time and not made those changes or those improvements without them. Recently the input of Jerry Jones, Bruce Grey, and a few others made what I thought was a staggering improvement in my shooting, and I couldn't have done that on my own. it took their observation, experience, training, and repeated corrections to break some of my decades-ingrained bad habits, and help instill some new ones. Get with someone who can shoot a snubbie, spend some range time together, invest in their time as needed, and you'll find that what you take away and incorporate into your practice is worth far more than whatever it costs. An instructor doesn't need to be Bob Munden or a world class competitor, either; it needs to be someone who understands the fundamentals of what it takes and can apply them, and most of all can see what you personally need, and help you apply it. It's probably a much shorter leap than you think. | |||
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| A teetotaling beer aficionado  |
The OEM grips on the 642 and others in that line leave a lot to be desired. While small and easy to conceal, they are brutal on your hand. I have forgone the small grips for larger wood grips and just deal with concealment with the slightly larger grips. To me it's like night and day shooting this little revolver. No, I can't shoot 2" groups at 15 yards, but I can hit critical center of mass at that range pretty consistently even at some speed. I carry the Hornady Critical Defense loads.  upload a pictureMen fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more slaves. -D.H. Lawrence | |||
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I just picked up a mint in the old two piece box Smith model 36 J frame made around 1970 for 349 bucks I had to take it home . I dug out my upside down j frame shoulder rig and a Safariland open top I had, speed loader. But the 36 is just to nice to carry . | |||
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| I started with nothing, and still have most of it |
I have a 442-2 that does not have the lock. Also have a no dash in nickel and a 442-1, both with no lock. The no lock versions can be found within all the dashes.  "While not every Democrat is a horse thief, every horse thief is a Democrat." HORACE GREELEY | |||
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I have had my "no lock" 642 for many many years. I gets carried way more than it gets shot. As far as durability goes, it has a lot of finish wear on the back strap and hump from spending most of its life in an ankle holster, but it is still tight and a good shooter. We issue the short barrel 135 grn. gold dots. I just "replaced" it with a p290 but it is not going anywhere. There is always a need for a j frame in your collection. Yeah, I used to have a couple of guns. | |||
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A lot. | |||
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