J-frame: Enough?

Is a S&W .38 Special Snub Nose enough for concealed carry?

  • Yes

    Votes: 311 92.6%

  • No

    Votes: 25 7.4%
  • Total voters
    336
  • Poll closed .
Many will carry their big gun for awhile until it becomes too uncomfortable, then out comes the J frame or the small 380. When I was a working cop in the '70s we all carried revolvers, and when the fight came my way all I had was my issued Colt DS (about the same size as the J frame) w/one reload. It proved to be adequate to the task, but I never let myself be on the street w/an inadequate ammo supply again. Now that I'm retired and no longer go in harm's way my no lock 340PD goes with me everywhere. I also have one speed strip for a quick reload plus two speedloaders in my car.
 
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...it is until it isn't....

Shots Fired: Palm Desert, California 03•30•1996 - Article - POLICE Magazine

Now you can say this was an off-duty LEO but lets just say instead this is your daughter and her ex-husband....can your snubbie with your level of skill handle this....and the officer involved never carried a snubbie OD again and preached this to others...and he even hit the guy 4 GOOD times out of 5 shots fired.... I personally know two LEOs who got in gunfights with snubbies and neither ever carried one again...learn from the mistakes of others...

Go over to YouTube and LiveLeak and look at the robbery and gunfight videos...and then be honest with yourself...will a snubbie hack it...

I carry a small gun when I CAN'T carry a larger one...not when it is "inconvenient" to carry the large one...

Bob
 
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My heart is in revolvers, and yes IMO the 38sp is enough cartridge to get things handled. I do not carry anymore. RI is a difficult place to get a permit. I could do it, but in all the 30+ years that I did have concealed carry permits, I never carried a sidearm every day. That is just me I guess. However, if I were going to carry every day it would be my Glock 36. Why, it is light, reliable, and IMO fires the best all around pistol cartridge ever developed, the 45 acp. Carry one full clip in the gun, and 1 spare
 
SuperMan said:
...it is until it isn't....

Shots Fired: Palm Desert, California 03•30•1996 - Article - POLICE Magazine

Now you can say this was an off-duty LEO but lets just say instead this is your daughter and her ex-husband....can your snubbie with your level of skill handle this....and the officer involved never carried a snubbie OD again and preached this to others...and he even hit the guy 4 GOOD times out of 5 shots fired.... I personally know two LEOs who got in gunfights with snubbies and neither ever carried one again...learn from the mistakes of others...

Go over to YouTube and LiveLeak and look at the robbery and gunfight videos...and then be honest with yourself...will a snubbie hack it...

I carry a small gun when I CAN'T carry a larger one...not when it is "inconvenient" to carry the large one...

Bob
Click to expand...


Bad example. He took a snub and his badge and interjected into the issue as was his duty. Me and my wife would exit out the back of the store/warehouse/garden center post haste. A snub would have been perfectly suitable for the example you posted.

As far as fantasy scenarios, for every scenario you can bring up where my snub is not suitable, I can make something up where your hicap is unsutiable and you should have had a rifle or close air support.

Carry what you want but don't preach that because you are doing it some way, your way is better or smarter.

Me? I am very honest with myself.

1. Dont do stupid things in stupid places with stupid people.
2. Nothing good happens past midnight.
3. Situational awareness and exit plans.
4. Snubby lifestlye
 
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Try finding evidence that it is inadequate. There are numerous stats available as well as thousands of documented individual cases of civilians using firearms in self-defense in print and video where the details are provided. You will be very hard pressed to find even a handful where a 5 shot J-frame was or would have been inadequate.

A lot of people look to police use for guidance as to what is the best handgun choice is for defensive purposes, but I just don't see the two being all that comparable since they have very different objectives and directives. It's kind of like how the self-defense martial arts and unarmed techniques I taught for civilian self-defense are very different from my police defensive-tactics program.

My goal as a civilian is to avoid trouble. I have no intent on intentially engaging terrorists or active-shooters in a long range firefight and even if I did, the current odds of being involved in such an incident are astronomically low. However, I don't see being randomly assaulted, mugged or carjacked and similar types of scenarios as being unrealistic. These events occur at extremely close-quarters, are generally reactive in nature, and I think the (enclosed hammer)snub revolver has some very positive attributes in those types of encounters that no other gun possesses. Even if I was jumped by multiple attackers, I would still want the snub due to the relatively high risk of the auto malfunctioning in that environment, even if most criminals will flee as soon as the gun is deployed or after the first shots are fired. And if they don't, the revolver will almost assuredly go bang all five times as well as offering excellent inherent weapon retention against gun grabs.

If I had to choose one gun for (all) defensive purposes, I would definately choose a small revolver. And if I had nagging underlying worries over capacity, I would simply carry a second one and have absolutely no concerns at all.
 
It all depends on the situation I guess. If by myself, and only thinking of myself, I'm OK with my old model 60 but I'd probably be OK with my P3AT 380 too,,,,most times.

Should the SHTF somewhere in public, and I could have been more effective as an armed citizen (retired LEO) in protecting the lives of others if I was better armed, and could have been, then that would be tough for me to live with.

It really isn't any harder or more uncomfortable to carry a single stack 9mm with a couple of spare mags, a much better option although really still minimal. It's not much more difficult to carry a Glock 19 or whatever the Smith equivalent is. I don't have a G19 so I substitute G23, although 40 isn't "popular" anymore. A decent compact 1911 with a couple of spare mags is a good option too.

Yeah, a J frame is nice and easy to carry but are you being selfish if that's all you have on you when you have better options? I feel a little irresponsible when I wuss out and carry the little single stack 9 (Shield, G43, PF9) which I confess to doing too often.

Today I'm a little embarrassed to admit I was carrying Taurus PT111G2 9mm in a cheap Galco AIWB and a spare mag (that's 25 rounds with the quick reload). The G23 got put in the safe and the Taurus is my semi-disposable truck gun, although it really shoots OK.

I live in hot, humid S. FL and even here it really isn't that hard to carry a little more gun. I do every day. The 380s and air weight J frames are for going for walks in shorts and Ts (or working in the woods killing pepper trees). Oh, and BTW, the snubbie J frames with snake shot work great on snakes. At 5' or so mine patterns at 6"- perfect.

So, I'm sorry if I sounded critical and I realize I'm in the small minority but that's my opinion.
 
I now carry a Ruger LCR.38 for most out of the house carry. If things are OK and I'm in a area I fell comfortable with that little gun is in a pocket holster.:cool:

Now going into the city or if situation dictates I will now have a .45 XDs with me.

For about 4 years, back in the late 70s my only carry gun that went everywhere with me was a Model 60.38 and I felt I was well armed!
 
oink said:
Yeah, a J frame is nice and easy to carry but are you being selfish if that's all you have on you when you have better options? I feel a little irresponsible when I wuss out and carry the little single stack 9 (Shield, G43, PF9) which I confess to doing too often.
Click to expand...

It depends on the scenario. For what I'm likely to encounter, the snub makes the most sense overall and is actually the most efficient and effective choice IMO.

Consider the following incident. Would you be able to better access, deploy, retain and get off multiple shots with something like a Glock 19 or a hammerless snub revolver? If in doubt, maybe try running a force-on-force scenario drill simulation of the event with both auto and revolver sim guns and see what happens.

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VMJr_Q1iGKE[/ame]
 
No, nothing short of an X Frame will ever be enough. Go big or stay home!

But seriously, first rule of a gunfight is to have a gun, whether you have "enough gun" is up to you. Personally, I wouldn't feel undergunned with a .38 Special.
 
JayFramer said:
Have thought about carrying my Smith & Wesson 642 .38 Special 5-shot snub-nose revolver as my primary carry gun in a pocket holster.

How many of you think that setup would be enough for realistic self defense, or should I get a bigger gun with more capacity or a different caliber?

Thanks!

-Jay
Click to expand...


It's enough for me most of the time but you need to answer that question for yourself.
Just based on the fact that you asked, maybe you don't think it's enough?
99% of the time I carry either a j frame or my LCP. In my situation and the environments I travel in I think it's enough for me. Occasionally I will up my defenses to a Glock 26 if I'm going into a what I perceive as a more threatening environment than my normal travels.
I don't generally carry while around the house so throughout the day I may grab the gun and remove the gun multiple times as I go out shopping or walking, so pocket carry is the easiest method to achieve that, no belt or belt holster to mess with, just slip the gun (and pocket holster) in and out of my pocket, no more difficult than my wallet. If I was a person that woke up in the morning, got dressed and put my belt and gun on and kept it on all day then I would probably pocket carry a lot less but for me pocket carry is so much more convenient.
You need to figure out what works for you, do you put the gun on and wear it all day, do you remove it multiple times a day, do you live in/or visit a dangerous area or is your life relatively danger free?
 
SuperMan said:
...it is until it isn't....

Shots Fired: Palm Desert, California 03•30•1996 - Article - POLICE Magazine

Now you can say this was an off-duty LEO but lets just say instead this is your daughter and her ex-husband....can your snubbie with your level of skill handle this....and the officer involved never carried a snubbie OD again and preached this to others...and he even hit the guy 4 GOOD times out of 5 shots fired.... I personally know two LEOs who got in gunfights with snubbies and neither ever carried one again...learn from the mistakes of others...

Go over to YouTube and LiveLeak and look at the robbery and gunfight videos...and then be honest with yourself...will a snubbie hack it...

I carry a small gun when I CAN'T carry a larger one...not when it is "inconvenient" to carry the large one...

Bob
Click to expand...

I'm not trying to be disrespectful, and I totally get the insistence on carrying a bigger gun. But your examples of two guys that would not carry a j frame anymore, are somehow alive to tell us that. If I were in a gunfight, I'd want more too. Always. But therein lies the rub. We sacrifice some capacity for portability, to be there all the time. Because we don't get in gunfights all the time. But if I were in gunfights all the time, there's no way I'd get up in the morning and think a J frame is all I'd ever need.
 
RGVshooter said:
My spidey senses just started tingling... I can sense the caliber debate coming....
Click to expand...

Always happens when folks don't want to talk about or ignore the more important issues! Shoot what you want. It's really your choice! But the proof will be in the pudding if the flag ever flys for any of us. First rule still is, "Have a gun!"
 
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