Oh, I definitely want to buy it. Lol. I was asking you bunch of enablers for strength not to buy it.

A snub nose, fixed sight, 22 seems to serve no purpose to me. Yet, I’m now thinking of all kinds of reasons now that I need one.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
Oh, I definitely want to buy it. Lol. I was asking you bunch of enablers for strength not to buy it.

A snub nose, fixed sight, 22 seems to serve no purpose to me. Yet, I’m now thinking of all kinds of reasons now that I need one.

Yeah, you definitely came to the wrong place if you're really looking to get talked out of it, lol . I am happy with my 63-5, but now that you've brought it up I find myself wanting an airweight!

Not helping.

tl;dr? This is not the best tool for any application other than senior citizens who grew up on roscoes and want a carry gun with mouse fart recoil. You can do better.

In another thread, you sold you Shield and gave away your G43 because the Sig365 is better in every possible way than either of those two guns.

Now you're considering a gun in a weaker caliber, with ratshot, with a heavy trigger (to ensure rimfire ignition), to be a "trail" or "kit" gun at a higher price point than a P365.

If you insist on a .22, a LCP II Lite-Rack .22 might be a better fit based on your criteria in the "Convince me to buy a P365" thread. If you must have a .22 revolver, at least step up to .22 magnum. https://www.luckygunner.com/lo...gnum-is-pretty-good/

I don't think you need it.

If you insist on snakeshot, you could carry the first round of your P365 as snakeshot or have a mag of snakeshot. Pest Control Big 4™ Shotshell 9mm Luger would handle it, just would need to manually cycle.

I'm not a huge fan of that idea, so if you must buy a second gun you could roll with a 9mm LCR and a moon clip full of 9mm snakeshot or go with .38/.357.

Again, LCR would be my first choice, because it's lightweight, has a much better out-of-the-box trigger than my 442, and is an excellent value for money. (A 3" LCRx would also be worth consideration.) You might also consider a 3" Model 60 (if not worried about cost) or a 3" SP101 (if not worried about weight).

If camping/hiking/etc. becomes a real thing and you need a .22 revolver, I would second all the remarks re the 317 and the LCR in .22 as better picks over the 43C.

The timing of this thread is ironic. My better half is recoil sensitive, but she shoots my two inch Model 63 without any issues. I was just cruising the auction sites looking for a 43C for her to use as her primary carry. Federal makes a round called the "PUNCH" that tested well so I ordered a couple hundred rounds for her. The 43C is hard to come by so I'll probably have to buy it online and have it shipped to my FFL. I think you should buy it and follow up with a range report.

Oh I love my 365’s. So much so that I have a bunch of them now. The Shield never was a favorite so selling it was easy. The G43 has been promised to my nephew since he just moved to Texas. It does nothing better than the 365 so that’s an easy choice too. I have a 649 and a 640 Pro if I want to go ratshot in a snub nose J frame.

What is tickling my fancy is just how fucking light this gun is. It’s the same reason I bought the 317 when it first came out. S&W had a display where an empty 317 was being held up by a couple helium balloons. Silly marketing sure, but it is light. Mine is 3 inches though so it’s a bit much for pocket carry. An 11 oz 8 shot 22 is easy in the pocket. That’s the temptation. Certainly not because I think 22 is the best idea. It’s the weight.

If you have never held a 317 or these 43C’s you should. They feel like toys. I’ve got thousands of rounds through my 317. Only issue, if you can call it that, is the standard heavy DA pull in a 22 revolver.

The other positive is that I wouldn’t have nearly so many rounds through my kitgun except for speedbeez and their loading blocks and speedloaders. I bought a couple blocks and a handful of speedloaders years back and it makes shooting a 22 revolver a lot a breeze. Added bonus, the 8 shot speedloader works for my 317, my Ruger SP101 in 22, and obviously in this 43C as well. It’s like it was meant to be.

I can pocket carry a 365 but it’s heavy in there. When I carry a “real” gun hiking it’s off body, chest pack or sling bag. The 43C could drop right into a sticky holster in my pocket and I wouldn’t even know it was there.

That’s the attraction.

Edited to add: I reread your post. That thread you mention was about a guy thinking to get a 365 when he already had a Shield and G43. I said 365 is better than both. I never mentioned money because it’s none of my business what you can or can’t afford.

That LCP II is fugly and I wouldn’t pocket carry a cocked hammer gun even with a thumb safety and trigger blade. Nope, nope, and nope. I wouldn’t do it with a 1911, 238, and certainly not an LCP II.

I guess I should mention that day with the snake I had a 365 with the extended 15 round mag with me. I just didn’t think it would have been the best option if needed. I also would prefer these day walks to be done without a slung bag. I could iwb but when hiking I don’t find it very comfortable to appendix carry which is my preference. I also just find any gun in the waistband anywhere while hiking isn’t ideal if you have to climb or traverse anything, hence the off body carry. Same thing I do when biking but then it’s a chest pack (hill people).

quote:

I was asking you bunch of enablers for strength not to buy it.

What kind of enablers would we be then?

The best kind of enablers.







I put some #10 snap caps in there and tried out the trigger. It’s lighter than my Ruger and my 317. Smoother as well. It’s still heavy but pretty good compared to what I was prepared for.

The white XS dot works well. Stands out. I looked at a 340PD it had same dot except with a tritium center. I might have to upgrade eventually. For now it seems pretty good. Hard part is remembering the center of dot is supposed to be even with top of rear sight blade. Tomorrow is range day. This one and the comped 365. (Still no Sig 322 in store yet)

quote:

The best kind of enablers.

Glad we could help . Congrats on a sweet little revolver, I'm looking forward to hearing how it carries and how it shoots.

So the sights are set up so you have to cut the front dot in half with the rear notch to keep the top of the front blade level with the rear sight posts? If so, that's the same way my 63 is set up. I don't care for it...it's not enough to sour me on the gun (or even swap the sight out yet), but I find it to be a distracting sight picture and wish they'd gone with something else.

Does your 63 have a U shaped rear sight? This thing has a very pronounced U shaped groove unlike any fixed sight pistol I have ever owned. The round dot when placed into that U very clearly bisects the top edge of rear sight. I did some investigation on the XS website and they clearly say that’s the sight picture out to 15 yards where it should hit behind center of dot. At 25 yards and out they say use the top arc of the dot. We shall see.

I know people install these with squared out rear sights. It seems like that wouldn’t work so well. I also think this sight picture being abnormal is why so many report it shooting low. They aren’t sighting in the way the sight is designed. In their defense, nowhere in the manual does it even come close to explaining this. You have to go to the XS website and search. Hell, the manual included is a generic J, K, L, and N frame manual. It covers all the bases. And none of the bases. My gun also came with the keys for a lock but there is no lock.

I already carried it. Bought a sticky holster and front pocket carried. You can’t even feel the weight.

I certainly don’t recommend 22 for carry, I am not saying that. I will say this is an easy carry when you don’t feel like carrying gun.

It was also my first Sticky holster. My buddy loves them. It works well as pocket holster. It also works pretty well to just wear it inside the waistband. It didn’t move. I will keep playing with it to see what I think over time. It’s certainly a keeper as a pocket holster.

Edited to add: I personally hate the fiber optic fronts that Ruger and S&W use from the factory. That plastic enclosed Hi Viz bullshit is a shitty sight. I wish they would just use a Dawson or some similar facsimile.

My 63 has a squared off rear sight....it's a typical S&W adjustable rear blade. As such, you have to bisect the front dot of the hi-viz front sight to achieve a proper sight picture. It's kinda dumb.

Yup, that’s a horrible combo. Almost as bad as those goofy V notches they started putting on some guns. WTF?

You should pop a straight blade in that bad boy. That’s what my 317 has. I wish Dawson had some FO normal front sight for J frames. That would be perfect.

It’s like S&W started to have a good idea, factory optic fronts, and then completely put their heads up their butts and got the Hi Viz version. It’s not rocket science S&W.

As an aside, all this revolver stuff allowed me to find an adjustable rear Novak sight for my Wiley Clapp GP100. For 130 bucks and some sight removal/installion fear I could put the perfect combo on the perfect revolver. The install scares me though. All dovetails and hammers and punches. Ugh.

I had to put a dovetail front post on my son's Swedish Mauser tonight. I'll admit that it still scares me a bit, but I've found that if you get it fit right to start with, it usually goes in ok. I had to file the post base just a hair on this one to get it started, but once I did it went in straight and it's nice and tight. I destroyed a Dawson suppressor height rear one time trying to pound it into a dovetail before it was properly fit...it climbed out of the slot about halfway in and that was that. Thankfully it tore up the sight and not the slide...Dawson did me a solid by making them out of softer stuff.

I also like the 351 PD and the 351 C.

92f...great responses...My only addition (late to the party, I know) would be to recommend adjustable sights on any .22 as the difference in impact points between standard, high, and super high velocity loads can be significant. Enough out at 20 yards to miss squirrels or raccoons.

I bought a M-63 Smith in the last year that had to go back for lead spitting and lock up issues...hard to understand how it got by Smith's QC dept, but it did. A call to their CS guys got me a FEDEX label and they fixed the gun, also did a mini-trigger job on it, all gratis. The turn around time was ~3 months. I like the gun, but don't care for the fiber optic front sight, as it just doesn't allow as much precision as a plain black Baughman ramped sight, IMHO. As it stands, it'll easily do 2" groups at 20 yds (Federal Auto-Match) from an unsupported Weaver stance position...plenty good enough for casual plinking.

As to weight, I find the little add'l weight a real benefit to accuracy. The gun just hangs better for me, especially in DA fire. I understand pocket carry, but I'm an OWB guy and that 3" bbl. just makes the gun that much more accurate with no downside concealment issues.

YMMv, & HTH's, Rod.....Here's a pic with a set of Smith's old time combat grips installed.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Rodfac,

In my experience this is the wrong forum to be talked OUT of buying any gun you want to have. I think you should do it.

I went the route of the 351 PD

This message has been edited. Last edited by: roym,

I hear you guys but 22 Magnum has never been on my radar. I am a 22 fan. Love them. I have multiple 22 wheel guns, Kadet’s, 87’s, MkIII’s, Bobcats, basically I rarely meet a 22 I don’t like.

This one surprised me. When the lightweight 317 showed up it also had a fixed sight 2 inch snub version. Didn’t appeal to me in the slightest. Not sure what exactly changed but I love this thing.

About to go shooting so range report to follow.

quote:

About to go shooting so range report to follow.

Nice, looking forward to hearing how it goes. I also just noticed that yours doesn't have the lock...that's awesome. I know they were offering the 442 in a no-lock version, and it's nice to see that they're carrying it over to the centennials in other calibers as well.

I'm kinda with you on the .22 Magnum. It's not that I don't like it...I have a single-six convertible with both cyclinders, so I do shoot it occasionally. It's just that with rimfire ammo, I can shoot WAY more .22LR for my money than I can .22 Mag, and I'm not carrying rimfire for defensive use anyway, so the added punch of the magnum rounds doesn't do much for me. If I need to go there in a rifle for varmints, I have .223, and I can reload for that to whatever velocity and bullet weight I want.

I dug through my Flikr account and found some pics of my 63, and they show the sight setup. It looks like it's identical to Rodfacs, but mine lacks the nice wood grips. I will say that S&W did a good job with their factory rubber boot grips, though...they fit my hand well, are easy to conceal, and are inexpensive and practical for carry.

Couple things. The rubber factory boot grips are phenomenal. I love to tinker and thought about it but there just isn’t any real practical room for improvement.

Dawson does sell (39 bucks) a pinned replacement. We just have to figure the sight height that is appropriate.

I actually do own a 22 Magnum. My Taylor and Co. 1873 Uberti SAA clone came with the conversion cylinder. Never used it though. Sounds expensive. Lol

Not to be “that” guy but I own exactly one S&W with a lock. A 627 Pro. I immediately did the hole cover mod. I’m pretty sure I won’t ever buy another S&W with the lock, I hate them that much. They had a 340 M&P 357 in there. No lock. Slightly, slightly heavier than the Scandium PD version. I hate Scandium and Titanium in revolvers. Too many rules for their care and cleaning. Yes they are light but light in a 22 is great. Light in a 357 gets quickly to the wrong side of the “this hurts too much to shoot” curve.

Hell, I don’t like magnums out of my 640 Pro. I’m a 38 +P guy.

And it has to said. That 63 is purty. Maybe I have one more lock hole cover mod in me.