Hello again everyone, I thought some of you may be interested in this. I had been helping my girlfriend search for a carry gun (she is waiting for her CHL to arrive) and I came across this little model 37 for sale. We both love older firearms and it was exactly what she was looking for, so we ended up buying it. The condition isn't perfect but it hasn't been abused and seems to have been fired fairly little.
What are your thoughts on the 37? The size is perfect, but she knows the recoil will be snappy. Also, we are both interested in dating the gun. The SN is 724J34 - if anyone could help I.D. the manufacture date, we would appreciate it!

I have one that is very similar -- but with a 3" barrel.

Recoil not bad with 38 special standard pressure.

Haven't tried it with +P, but the gun isn't rated for it so I don't plan to shoot +p anyway.

I think it would be a great carry gun -- perhaps consider Buffalo Bore 38 special (std pressure) semi wadcutter hollow points.

Personally, I find those factory standard square butt stocks fit my hand very nicely.

A thousand old Detectives probably weren't too far off in carrying one years back.

Standard pressure 158s or target wad-cutters will do a great job in that little rascal.

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Eccentric old coot

Possibly 1971-72. The floating J years are tricky. BTW- I carry my Model 37 with the Buffalo Bore load. 158gr, hollow point semi wadcutter. Standard pressure & low flash. My understanding is that it replicates the old school
"FBI load".

So many of us carry Airweight J-frames that a survey might find them to be the number one carry gun on this Forum. NOTHING wrong with her carrying a Model 37. I expect that she will not be carrying that gun in a pocket (so many of us do that); square butts are not as easy to pocket carry as round butt J-frames. Recoil will be snappy but if you stick to standard weight rounds for practice and high quality standard .38 Specials for defensive carry she should be okay - and, if it helps, you can replace the wood grips with polymer/rubber-type grips. That could be significant for her.

***GRJ***

Smart lady.

My mother did not like guns up until her fifties. We were having a family picnic in the picnic area of our local LEO Range. My young teenage daughters were shooting their Model 65 three inch guns. My mother figured that if they could shoot a handgun she could try too. About fifty rounds down range and my mother became a member of the gun culture.

After that she always had my father take her to the indoor range in the city they live in once or twice a month. For Christmas after that I gave her one my Model 37s with a three inch barrel. She got her CHL and carried the gun in her purse if she left the house. It was also her bedside gun. I loaded it with Target Wadcutters and she had a couple of stripper clips loaded with wadcutter with the handgun all the time.

Funny how folks change. She passed away several years ago and now one of my younger daughters has it. As she say, it lite enough to carry, but not too lite to shoot. Still putting WW Target WCs in it.

Rule 303

The gun I carry most of the time is a dehorned RB mod 37. It hides
pretty well in a pocket holster in my jeans pocket. My carry load is
a handloaded cast 148 gr WC at standard pressure but a bit faster
than factory target WCs. Recoil is a bit snappy but certainly not bad.

The M37 is a great lightweight CCW as long as one can handle the greater recoil (over a M36 / M60 steel gun). In a 2" M37 standard velocity 158 grain bullets are what I would use. I also find that the Tyler T Grip helps manage recoil.

As suggested by Tyree67 your s/n 724J34 falls in the first "floating J" series in 1971-1972 . . . 724J would likely have been in 1972.

The Model 37 is a good carry choice with the right ammo as recommended by others. Its light weight makes it more likely to be carried on a regular basis over steel J-frames. Only practice will give her the confidence needed to overcome the "snappy recoil" you recognize will be felt.

Russ

Question: is that a square butt frame or a round butt with "round to square" grips? If it is a round butt frame, you might let her try some r b combats, and/or a Tylet T grip. The little J frame is real adjustable.

My regular carry is a nickel round butt 37 w/ bobbed hammer and Tylers, buffalo bore low flash hollow points. Outside the waistband holster and it conceals well.

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Halfway and one more step