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Old 12-23-2020, 01:14 PM
rockquarry rockquarry is offline
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Originally Posted by Hapworth View Post
scarab-SW, although you joined in Feb, this is your first post, so welcome to the Forum.

Fact is, too many older women, and women in general, and for that matter plenty of men folk, too, get steered toward J-frames because they're smaller and therefor seeming "easier" to own, handle and shoot.

For the most part the opposite is true, and first time, hesitant or casual gun owners and shooters are ill-served by a J-frame, at least at the start, unless they are willing to be diligent students.

Although the smaller J may be more comfortable -- particularly in trigger reach -- for smaller hands, it requires greater grip strength and dexterity (not to mention technique) to work the trigger and get good, repeatable hits under fire compared to other, larger frames.

Food for thought.

Anyway, current factory J-frame triggers are luck of draw, but most will come in around 12lbs, and if not, usually a little more versus anything less. They're stout for most folks. They're also less amenable to tuning, though a little can be done, but doing so one is quick to approach potential reliability issues.

Neither the Lady Smith nor the Performance Center "Pro Series" J have tuned triggers or any special work done to them. The "Enhanced Action" models are slightly lighter and smoother in action and it's unclear what specifically S&W does to achieve this but I suspect it's purely in the springing and not what would be called true action work.

I agree with others that a stock Ruger SP101 is far from one of the lightest factory double-action triggers out there, but the mentioned Ruger LCR and Kimber K6s are probably close.

Picking someone's gun for them is usually not as constructive as helping them get the opportunity to try many firearm types and determine -- with consideration to all the factors that go into gun owning and use beyond pulling the trigger -- what suits them best.
Well said. A J-frame gun is a not for a beginner; they're difficult for many to shoot well. For the inexperienced, shooting a J-frame is a good way to develop a flinch. Trigger pull is secondary. A J-frame user might be best served by learning to shoot with the standard trigger. They're very reliable and you won't have to test them to see if they work, even if the pull is a bit heavy. Some believe that a lighter trigger pull takes the place of a shooter's shortcomings, but it doesn't.
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