43C range report

[chp]

I just picked up a S&W 43c - a 2" J Frame Centennial in .22LR. I enjoy shooting .22 out of the same platform as my carry guns and this is a nice understudy to my centerfire J Frames. The 43c is based on the 317, but has a black finish and is a Centennial model. It weighs in at around 11 oz, has an 8 shot aluminum cylinder and the front sight is an XS white dot.

The two knocks I heard on the 317 are (i) a very heavy trigger pull, and (ii) extraction problems. The .22 rimfire generally requires a harder firing pin strike to reliably ignite the rimfire round and S&W uses a heavier hammer spring in the .22 J Frames. As a result, the trigger pull will be heavier. However, I found the 43c trigger to be surprisingly nice and serviceable out of the box. I did install a lightened rebound spring which made the trigger pull lighter while not sacrificing ignition reliability (props to the forum member who made this suggestion in a different thread).

I picked up the 43c from my FFL on Wed and shot it on Sat at the outside gun club to which I belong. I shot it from 9 to 25 yards on three steel, miniature IPSC targets, a miniature MGM resetting pepper popper and a fullsize, cardboard IPSC target. When I did my part, the 43c repeatedly put holes in the “head” portion of the cardboard IPSC target shooting offhand at 20 yards. The XS white dot sight is not ideal for shooting groups, but excels in shooting multiple targets at speed and for target transitions.

I shot Fed bulk ammo from Walmart – 36 grain, HP, copper washed. The ammo shot to poa and ignition was 100%. I didn’t count the number of rounds, but based on eye-balling the 550 round box, I’d estimate I shot about 200 rounds. Extraction with easy and positive - no issues. I am very pleased with the 43c and suspect I will shoot it a lot.

The only negative about the 43c has nothing to do with the gun itself – I just think the price is high. I order directly from Buds and it was $565 with free ship. A 642 runs around $370 shipped. The 43c contains no Titanium or Scandium and I’m not sure why the big price difference. Maybe the 43c is more expensive to manufacture – or maybe it’s the law of supply and demand. In any event, the price was high but not too high because S&W enticed me to part with my $565 – and I don’t have any buyer’s remorse either.

If you like J Frames and shooting .22, check it out.

[mag318]

Good report, thanks for sharing. I had a 317 which though a nice revolver I didn't like the shortened hammer spur. I still haven't figured out why they did that. Just picked up a 43c and couldn't be happier with it. The action is smooth and it's amazingly accurate for such a short barrel. I'm sure you'll enjoy yours as much as I do mine. Great little revolver.

[lawandorder]

Have not had a chance to really spend time shooting mine. Did run 3 cylinders full, rapid fire from the 10 yard line and was very pleased with the little gun.

[Stu454]

Thanks for the reports.

I hope to have one of these before the end of the year.