[DaTeacha]

My SIL is getting more serious about shooting. He has decided he wants a carry quality .38 revolver and a gun for some halfways serious target shooting. I've pointed out car analogies between Colt, Smith, Ruger, and Taurus and BMW, Mercedes, Cadillac, and Ford. He's talking medium frame, 2" barrel for carry, something similar with longer barrel and different grips for target play. My daughter will be shooting both guns, too. Their hand size is not too different.

I've made my suggestions, I'm just wondering what you guys think. Price isn't terribly important, but quality is. Level of finish isn't terribly important, but reliability is, as is accuracy for the target gun. Used or new, what have you, tell me the best wheel gun for the money that fits the uses above.

He has a 1911, but thinks the small revolver would be better for carry work.

[Palladin8]

S&W J frame or the new Ruger LCR for carry. For target again S&W or the Ruger GP-100

[ke4sky]

Sounds like an SP101 and GP100 combo to me.

[White Rook]

I would suggest a .357 over a 38. He gets 2 calibers for the price of one.

[tracer]

smith in 357

[TXplt]

Quote:       Originally Posted by White Rook

I would suggest a .357 over a 38. He gets 2 calibers for the price of one.

An SP-101 in a 3" bbl is one of the better compromises between shootability, muzzle blast, sight radius, and portability (AND it's in a .357). You can also get it in a 2" ish version and it's one of the few snubbies (because of its weight) which isn't punishing to fire with most .357 loads. Thing is it's a heavier gun which is great for shootability but not so great for carry--personal preference if he thinks the additional weight vs. shootability is a factor or not. I'm not sure these are that easy to get with bobbed hammers which is also a factor--in general I prefer hammerless/bobbed carry guns (centennial/638/LCR) for carry to eliminate snags.

I'm not much of an advocate of firing .357's out of snubbies just because of the huge muzzle blast and large amount of powder going out of then end. Normally I carry the short bbls with .38 high performance +P's.

The greatest drawback to me with a shorter bbl is the short sight radius and lack of good sights on most stock models. They seem more than accurate enough (although I've found some snubbies don't like some types of ammo) but are VERY hard to shoot well--the short sight radius, grip, and light weight/heavier trigger pull all seem to conspire against shooters while muzzle flip makes follow on shots more difficult. Any or all of these can be mastered but it does take time and training. I have taken to painting most of my snubby front sights red (color of your choice) to enhance the front sight visibility.

I'd recommend 2 guns: A decent 4" .357 and something like an LCR or Airweight (whichever he prefers) for carry. I own both J-frames and the LCR and have found the LCR--although a little bulker--to carry and shoot a bit more easily with the factory grips. It strikes me as a "tote anywhere" type of gun which can easily be carried all the way down to cargo/"old man" baggy bathing shorts in an uncle mikes' IWB. Think the plastic and rubber grips help in this respect.

So maybe A GP-100 or 4" Smith .357 for one and a J-frame 638 or Ruger LCR for the other.

I'd recommend handling several guns to see which fits the best, has decent trigger reach, etc. If possible, go to a range and rent to see which he likes and can shoot well.

Cheers

[dog party]

Concealed carry revolvers: Taurus model 650 or 850, Smith & Wesson 642 (649, 640, 638, etc.), or Ruger SP101. All 5-shot revolvers that can be had with bobbed hammers, chambered in .357Mag/.38+P. We have one from each manufacturer and they all conceal and shoot quite well. The Ruger SP101 is, however, the only one I'll ever fire .357Mag through, only because of it's extra weight. Each manufacturer also has a ported barrell option, but that's not my favorite concept for a CCW revolver.

Target shooting: Are we talking competition? Or just firing at the range? If he's just talking about getting some hammer-fall time in at the range, I suggest loading up his CCW choice and getting more and more proficient with it. If he's talking about competition, then we'd just have to start a list of all the different revolver options he has.

[DaTeacha]

He's planning to do the rent a gun route to try them out, is planning on 2 guns. The larger one will be for "hammer fall" time. I think they should be as similar as possible just to maximize the muscle memory and such from the range time.

Keep the suggestions coming!