Been thinking on getting a pocket revolver. Smith 649 Rossi 357 46202, or a charter arms 357 or 9mm . Want to keep all stainless no alloy. Know a little about the smiths not real familiar with the Rossi or charter arms. Any experience or thoughts

I find an all steel loaded revolver to be a bit too heavy in my pockets. I want aluminum or other lightweight option.

Of the options you listed, I'd stick with S&W. I've owned them all, but normally the S&W quality is bit above the others.

I pocket carry a S&W 640 in .357 Mag. I have a variety of pocket holsters. My favorite is a Kramer that I got from Dillon a few years ago.

My pocket carry weapon of choice is an S&W 360J (scandium frame, steel cylinder) in .38+p in a Galco leather pocket holster. Small and light enough to be unobtrusive (I can even make it work in gym shorts), but still big enough to shoot accurately. The Galco holster is stiff enough to protect the trigger, yet thin enough to avoid any unnecessary bulk...it was also pretty affordable, IIRC.

I do like the J-frame as a deep concealment gun...big enough to shoot accurately, small and light enough to conceal, with a trigger pull heavy enough that I'm confident it won't go off in an otherwise empty pocket.

Charter Arms are not something I would recommend- rough action, cheap build & over priced. S&W is obviously good. Ruger SP101 is good, and makes a great club, if you run dry!

I can't NOT recommend charter arms enough. Junk.

Charter Arms is the only brand revolver that I've had spectacularly fail and lock up. I've had S&W revolvers fail because the firing pin retaining pin backed out and wouldn't let the hammer drop completely, but Charter Arms takes the cake with pieces like the hand snapping off and internal parts breaking, timing being way off, excess cylinder and end shake, crappy triggers, cylinders that didn't want to lock or failed open when shooting, etc.

Much as it pains me to say it, if you must go cheap, go get a Taurus 85, because at least it's a copy of a Smith.

Otherwise, get a 642 or something along those lines. A steel revolver in the pocket is extra weight and will have your pocket sagging.

The only reason I'd go with steel is if you plan to shoot it a lot, in which case you might want to think about a .38 spl, rather than a .357. Or just consider the .38 spl anyway.

Looked at the 640 but it’s dao I believe and I would like to stay da/sa if possible. Sorry to hear the charter arms are crappy price range was pretty good on the ones I was looking at. How snappy is the 360j with that light of frame.

Get a 642. It’s light so you will carry it. If you are going to add weight, get a sig 365.

S+W without a doubt, second and only second choice would be ruger.

It’s not stainless, but the Ruger LCR in .327 Fed. Magnum is damn near ideal in terms of pocket revolvers. Worth considering.
You get six of a very solid caliber, instead of five .38/.357. Trigger is very good. It’s light enough to not weigh your pants down.
I pocket carry one almost every day.

I have a Kimber revolver, brushed stainless, 2" barrel, which I've carried; it's quite comfortable in the pocket, albeit a bit heavier than a Smith scandium. They're well made, but they're also considerably more expensive, and at that point you've gone past other good options, including some autos like the P365.

Rossi's are bricks.

I bought one of these Smith and Wesson M&P bodyguards last year and really like it. I thought that being so lightweight it would be a bear to shoot +p through but it’s surprisingly soft shooting. Overall I’m extremely impressed and highly recommend it. I think I paid $350 new.

https://www.smith-wesson.com/f...odyguard-38-no-laser

S&W 640 Stainless .357

Add add that Pachmayr boot grip with the pop-out pinky rest to improve concealment but allow a full firing grip.

Ditched my Smith snubs for the Ruger LCR. Great trigger.

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How snappy is the 360j with that light of frame.

Not too bad. It's .38+P, so it's decently manageable. The 360PD in .357 Mag is brutal...the 360J with .38s is nothing like that.

An all stainless steel snubnose is going to feel like a big brick in your pocket.

Check out the Ruger LCR. It’s an amazing little snubnose with an awesome trigger right out of the box. I owned a S&W 442 for a very short time and hated the thing, especially the trigger.

I have a S&W 642 with the Apex kit installed and it is wearing Crimson Trace LG-350g grips. The laser grips are a game changer for me.

My experience with the little revolvers is with the S&W J-Frames,in .38 Spcl. and 9MM. The steel framed guns seem a bit too heavy for pocket carry to me, even the airweight 642 may be on the verge of being too heavy for pocket carry. Perhaps something like the Ruger LCR/LCRx revolver might be better/lighter...

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
My pocket carry weapon of choice is an S&W 360J (scandium frame, steel cylinder) in .38+p in a Galco leather pocket holster. Small and light enough to be unobtrusive (I can even make it work in gym shorts), but still big enough to shoot accurately. The Galco holster is stiff enough to protect the trigger, yet thin enough to avoid any unnecessary bulk...it was also pretty affordable, IIRC.

I carry the same gun. I did put a bobbed hammer on mine though. The old hammer would sometimes catch on my pocket.

I've had quite a few over the years and really liked them all for different things. The S&W aluminum J frames are great for pocket carry and if you are looking to keep it da/sa, a 649 is a great gun. It is lighter than a steel frame gun that won't pull your pants down and offers a snag free draw-(for the most part, as anything can happen).

My wife keeps a S&W 642 close to her in the house and the trigger is not bad. I removed the factory grip and installed a larger Hogue grip, for a more solid hold but it is not going to be carried for ccw.

I have an older S&W 36 now but couldn't imagine pocket carrying it as it is pretty heavy and there are too many things that can snag on the draw out of the pocket with the exposed hammer. Some people will say you can shoot it while it is in your pocket, if you had to, but then there are other issues to contend with. The exposed hammer getting snagged in your garment, so it won't fire at all or possibly shooting or burning something on your body you might not want to.

I had a stainless steel Rossi and I think Rossi gets a bad rap. I had an older 5 shot Rossi and it was a great shooter and quality made.

The LCR Ruger series are amazing and light, as is the S&W Bodyguard, but it feels like carrying a boulder in your pocket due to the grips. The Bodyguard has a slimmer grip but the soft rubber grips can also be an issue with drawing the gun from your pocket without it getting snagged on your clothes.