I still have the original grips on my 642. And I prefer Pachs or similar on all my carry guns.
I have practiced with some hotter ammo in 38 J's, but usually have them loaded with regular 38.
Nothing wrong with some mild Milton ammo for practice - like 130 grain ball. Or wad cutters.
Now the 357 J Frames - I find them as uncomfortable to shoot with 357 ammo as apparently some of you guys find the 38.
I load them with 38 +P.
The 63? I prefer mini mags, but shoot what ever I can find.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Michael deBethencourt and Claude Werner are both advocates of this setup for ankle carry. If anyone is interested, Michael has a pretty thorough analysis of this idea on his blog/site:

Snub Training – Re-Holstering the Ankle Snub – snubtraining.com

I'm using the DeSantis Clip-Grip for that purpose, but I'm less than impressed. I'm thinking of trying this next. Please let us know how this works out at the range.

The more i shot my J frames the less the recoil bothered me.

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Chewy

*Takes a looong breath in*

I have a long history with tiny revolvers, every time I get rid of them.

2004, Charter arms something or other. Bought from my dad...never really liked the thing:


Traded in 2006 on my first 637:


Tried to love it, I really did. I don't carry so it was a range gun only and honestly, 14.3oz is not all the much fun to shoot in such a tiny package (despise the stock grips, BTW. The one in the pic had some old ones my dad just gave to me). Either way, it was sold in 2007.

Moving on. 2010 I buy a Ruger Sp101:


Much better to shoot. At 26oz, I found it much easier to shoot, especially with anything in .38. .357 is a bit of a handful with stock grips, so I swapped them out for Hogue after taking that pic.

Sadly, I just couldn't grow to love that one either...so off it went in 2011.

You'd think the story would end there...but no, I'm an idiot and just cannot learn. later 2011, I get the "itch" again so I get a Bodyguard .38:


Again...at 14oz that thing can be a handful...especially with +P loads. Despising the grips was also a problem because there wasn't anything available on the market to replace them.

I did hold on to that one until 2015...then I traded it...on what you may ask? Yeah...another 637 (see a pattern forming here?)


Again, I tried to love it. (BTW, The fit/finish was just fine as it was with all of them), but the sucky grips got replaced...and just like the rest, I didn't like shooting it and had no plan to carry it.

So it was traded on a 627 back in Dec.

In the end...if I had it to do all over again and carry is NOT my goal. I guess I'd get a SP101. I guess I just don't like small revolvers.

Those LOOK good.

These
Feel good, shoot good, and tame the recoil.

If you want to carry a small revolver I suggest an all steel J frame and carry IWB. For me they are heavier than I want to carry in a pocket. I have a Ruger LCR .357 (for the additional 4 oz over the .38) but carry GD 135 +P and practice with 158 gr standard pressure. Not a great pocket gun due to grip but the grip makes shooting it rather pleasant with .38 even the +P. For pocket carry I have a Ruger LCP ,380-very accurate and reliable,but many find the recoil an issue. But there are other softer shooting .380s that are light weight and work well for pocket carry. So you may want to distinguish a true pocket carry gun from a heavier revolver you can belt carry IWB or OWB. You might find a K frame works for you for that purpose.

I have the 642-1 nl myself... or rather the wife does now. It is wearing S&W Banana Grips which made the little thing very manageable and that is why she absconded with it. I replaced it with a 640 nd and put a set of Pac's on it. I do have other grips... a box full, but, these are the ones I use.

I carry both a M60 and a M637 (642 with a hammer).

Both do what I bought them for, neither is any good as a "range toy".
The guns in the J-Frame series are all working guns.
The SP-101 and 586/686 are much better suited for range shooting or woods carry. The J-Frame is the gun you have with you when you need it.

^^^^what he said. Working my way through a case of Federal 130 grain FMJ range ball. I finish my sessions with 5 CCI Blazer 158gr +P FMJ rounds. To be honest, virtually no difference in control between the 2 loads.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103