Went to the local gun shop to look at small revolvers - need help

Thinking about a small sized revolver mainly for home protection, but may occasionally carry it after I move to CO. This would be my first gun. They had the following three in stock. 442, 60 2" and 60 3". Since my local range closed, I have not found a place to try any of these. The 642 is very light and felt good, and the two 60's were quite a bit heavier but felt fine in my hand. Would appreciate any feedback from owners. Best all around gun for my intended uses? Thanks. Bud

of the 3 revolvers you mention in your post i have only handled the 3 inch model 60 and i liked it very much

With home protection being your main intended use, of the three revolvers you cited, I would pick the Model 60 with a 3" barrel. The longer barrel will add a little length, which will increase your sight radius, and the slight weight increase will help absorb recoil.

Regarding the 642, I would note that any very light revolver will be easier to carry, but at the price of greatly increased recoil. Since this would be your first gun, I would recommend against the 642 for that reason. If you buy something that is difficult or unpleasant to shoot, you will be far less likely to shoot it enough to become proficient in its use.

Here's another thought: For about what a Model 60 costs these days, you could pick up a Model 19 or Model 66. Those K-Frame guns hold six rounds rather than five, and are much easier to shoot with serious loads, even with short barrels. They come up for sale here on the Forum regularly, and I would suggest you seriously consider one.

Good luck to you!

^ Excellent advice.

The 442/642 is an airweight--it is more comfortable to carry, but at the expense of more recoil, so it is not pleasant to shoot for a long session; and I do not like the double action only feature

The 60, 3' is at the other end; double and single action; a little longer and a little heavier and easier to shoot longer.

I would choose the 60, 2"; double and single action; easy to carry

all would be good choices for carry; none would be good choices for a very long shooting session.

Beemerguy53 is right about the Model 19 and 66, and for that matter the K frame 38's as guns for training and self defense.

Bud11 said:

Thinking about a small sized revolver mainly for home protection, but may occasionally carry it after I move to CO. This would be my first gun.

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I would not recommend any of those for a first gun. A used 4" K frame can be had for $300 and would make a much better first gun and an excellent house gun. Once you get proficient with the 4" K frame, then start shopping for a nice J frame to carry (or even a 2-3" K frame).

Edit to add: Welcome to the Forum!

Beemerguy53 said:

With home protection being your main intended use, of the three revolvers you cited, I would pick the Model 60 with a 3" barrel. The longer barrel will add a little length, which will increase your sight radius, and the slight weight increase will help absorb recoil.

Regarding the 642, I would note that any very light revolver will be easier to carry, but at the price of greatly increased recoil. Since this would be your first gun, I would recommend against the 642 for that reason. If you buy something that is difficult or unpleasant to shoot, you will be far less likely to shoot it enough to become proficient in its use.

Here's another thought: For about what a Model 60 costs these days, you could pick up a Model 19 or Model 66. Those K-Frame guns hold six rounds rather than five, and are much easier to shoot with serious loads, even with short barrels. They come up for sale here on the Forum regularly, and I would suggest you seriously consider one.

Good luck to you!

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Of the three new ones, I'm leaning towards the 60 3" so far. Thanks for the heads up on the 66, I'll keep that in mind.

+ 1 for larger frame gun

For first wheel gun I would buy a larger frame gun over the "J" frame. Like stated above, learn to shoot with something that is heaver before moving into a smaller frame gun that may make you not want to shoot it. Ron

P.S. I have a 637 and a 2 inch 60. I like them both but it takes some practice to be in a comfort zone with these small revolvers, at least for me. I do not like the DAO guns and if it were my first I would go with SA/DA.

For a CCW, the 642 in grey - or it's black sibling, the 442 - is excellent. Carry it a lot - shoot it to familiarize yourself with it. For an entry into shooting - ie, 'plinking', it's a miserable choice. A better choice would be a cop rookie gun trade-in - like the old blued model 10, the original 'Military & Police' .38 S&W Special 6-shooter - usually with a 4" barrel. Once, they were $150-$200 - now, there are collectors around - expect $300 for a good one. For that, you can often find the same thing in SS as the 4" 64 - often as a security guard trade-in. I bought an unfired current model that way a couple of years back for $309 - a bargain. Some start ~$239 and go up - check pawn shops, too. It's a great home protector - and a fine plinker, too - great entry into revolvers.

Welcome to our world!

Stainz

I've got a 642, but it wasn't my first revolver. It's great for daily carry, but a shotgun or larger caliber handgun is much better for home defense, IMO. And as others mentioned, the 642 recoil can wear you down, even if you normally just shoot standard pressure .38 loads, like I do.

Could you swing a used .357, AND a used .22 revolver? Use the .22 to practice, practice, practice. A .22 is much cheaper to shoot, and you'll learn many of the skills needed for carry.

THEN, take a good look at what you want and feel comfortable with for a carry piece, and make your selection. And that's when I would suggest a 642 -

I would recommend a 4 ich K frame in 38 special as your first revolver because it will handle the recoil well and there are excellent defensive loads available that will do the job. So I would get either a Model 15 or a stainless Model 67 both available with 4 inch barrel. I for one am not a fan of 357 magnum K frames for new shooters as the recoil is quite stout and is not the way for them to learn. If you want a 357 get an L frame 586 in blue or a 686 in stainless with 4 inch barrel.

I also second the idea of getting a S&W 22 revolver like a model 17 or 18 for target shooting as for $20 you can get in hours of practice on trigger control, stance, grip, and sight alignment and a brick of ammo is less the $20 and has 550 rounds.

Bud11 said:

Of the three new ones, I'm leaning towards the 60 3" so far. Thanks for the heads up on the 66, I'll keep that in mind.

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Love my M60, great shooting, you can shoot 38special and I believe should be able to throw some 357 mag in there at some point as well. Excellent advice here from some experienced guys.

A common mistake that many new shooters make is they choose a handgun based on weight. For some reason they have the misconception that a lighter gun will have less recoil than a heavier gun. That only holds true if it's a 22 caliber handgun, once you get up to the power of the 38 spl. or larger, you really do want a heavy handgun as your first purchase.

Personally, I think that the model 60 is too light for a new shooter, it's only 24 ounces and even a relatively tame 38 spl. will have enough recoil to start a new shooter flinching within the first 10 or 15 shots. I'll also point out that the current model 60 is capable of using the 357 Magnum, which has about 3 times as much energy as a common 38 spl. In the hands of a new shooter, the thought of them using it with a 357 Magnum scares me a bit.

Now, others have recomended that you look into purchasing a used model 19 or 66. I heartily agree with this advice, they are superb choices to learn with using the 38 spl.. However, for a new shooter I have a bit of trepidation about whether these are suitable choices with the 357 Magnum. With a 4 inch barrel they will weigh in at about 32 ounces and IMO that is light enough that it's only well suited for the 357 Magnum in the hands of an experienced shooter. If you choose one of these models, spend a year or two shooting it with 38's before you try to step up to the Magnum. In addition, for the first shot just load one single round in the cylinder, because I can guarantee you that the recoil will surprize you.

As for why, following are typical muzzle energies for some of the common calibers in use today. The 38 spl. typically runs about 200 ft.lbs., the 38 +P (a "hot" 38 spl.) typically runs about 250 ft.lbs., the 9mm parabellum is about 300 ft.lbs., the 40 S&W is in the range of 400 ft.lbs. as is the 45 ACP. Now look at the muzzle energy for the 357 Magnum, common practice ammo will have about 600 ft.lbs. of muzzle energy and a hot defense or hunting load can hit or even exceed 700 ft.lbs. The plain truth is that even the "little" Magnum has enough power that you have to treat it with respect, if you don't you could quite literally "put your eye out" by having that hammer spur pop you right smack in the eye because you didn't maintain proper control of the recoil.

Bud11 said:

Of the three new ones, I'm leaning towards the 60 3" so far. Thanks for the heads up on the 66, I'll keep that in mind.

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Next time at your local shop, look at and handle the S&W Model 60 3 inch Pro Model. Then you will be posting about what a nice firearm you own.

Personally I only shoot .38 Special out of my 60 3 inch non pro, never will I send any .357 rounds down range, them guys belong with the K and larger frames.

Off course you can't go wrong with a nice .22, not as versatile as the Model 60 3 inch.

Good luck in your choice.

Photoman44 said:

I would not recommend any of those for a first gun. A used 4" K frame can be had for $300 and would make a much better first gun and an excellent house gun. Once you get proficient with the 4" K frame, then start shopping for a nice J frame to carry (or even a 2-3" K frame).

Edit to add: Welcome to the Forum!

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Whut he sed!

I concure with the majority... if you decide to go the revolver route, then a 4 inch K frame or L frame is the ideal first choice.

There is no bad decision in going with a Model 60.... a good all purpose revolver.

The only poor decision at this point that would be the 442.

My best purchase was a Model 17 in .22 caliber. My second and third best purchases are my K frame and L frame revolvers.

Nothing better to improve your skills than comfortably shooting thousands of rounds in these works of art.

My 649 is my favorite carry option and it wouldn't have been possible without a K/L frame trainer.

J&G Sales had a bunch of Model 10s starting at $200, and 64s at ~$250 IIRC, but the 64s had bobbed hammers. It looks like they're sold out at the moment, but they've had the bobbed hammer 64s several times in the past and probably had the 10s too.

I've got some J frame guns and do enjoy shooting them, but I got my first one after years of experience shooting bigger guns. Starting with one will be really tough unless you (1) get a big fat cushy grip to absorb a lot of the recoil (I like the Pachmayr Decelerator grip for this) and (2) find light loads to start with.

A friend of mine's wife wanted to carry a gun, got her permit and then asked me to go shopping with her. She ended up with a 642, for which she got the Decelerator grip and I loaded some very light 125g rounds for her to start off with. Taking it slow, and dry firing between our range sessions, she got to be pretty good with the little thing and was never scared of it. She now carries it with a Crimson Trace grip and can shoot +P loads in moderation. But if she'd started off with full power (even non-+P) stuff I predict she wouldn't have lasted 3 range sessions before giving it up as a bad idea.

So if you have to start with a little gun, get a big grip to use at first, and try to find light loads to work up from.

Some excellent advice above, buy a bigger revolver for your first gun. As you get into firearms your taste and opinion will change as to what you may want as a carry gun.
Learn to shoot first, make it easy on yourself with an older Model 10 and light loads, go from there. We're here to help!

Best, Rick

I agree with the idea of getting a gun like a 4" K frame to start with. My first .38 was a Colt Official Police with a 4" barrel. My next 38/357 was and still is a M65 4". I shot it for years but it's so nice i hate to drag it around much except for deer season.
I bought a M37 with a 1 7/8" barrel and love it with standard pressure 38's and magna grips. It is noisy but shoots great. I bought it to make a few dollars but fell in love with it. Mine now.
You will get good advice from these guys on this forum, or at least I always have.
Peace,
gordon

fyimo said:

I would recommend a 4 ich K frame in 38 special as your first revolver because it will handle the recoil well and there are excellent defensive loads available that will do the job. So I would get either a Model 15 or a stainless Model 67 both available with 4 inch barrel. I for one am not a fan of 357 magnum K frames for new shooters as the recoil is quite stout and is not the way for them to learn. If you want a 357 get an L frame 586 in blue or a 686 in stainless with 4 inch barrel.

I also second the idea of getting a S&W 22 revolver like a model 17 or 18 for target shooting as for $20 you can get in hours of practice on trigger control, stance, grip, and sight alignment and a brick of ammo is less the $20 and has 550 rounds.

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Will go back and see if my local store has the the 67 or 686 to check out. Bud