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442.....how many REALLY get used to the recoil ?

K

K-framer

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I bought a 442-1 a little over a month ago, as a light weight, pocketable, CC weapon, to carry when my 3" K-frames just seem too much.

I have been shooting the 442 a lot, to get used to the recoil as well as get accurate with it. The accuracy part has come - today, I managed to put more than 100 rounds of my hand loads into a 4" circle at 10 yards. However, I am still wrestling with the recoil. I put 300 rounds through the little j-frame last weekend, in one shooting session....and about 125 rounds today....so I am serious about getting good with the gun.

I have tried several variations of grips with the 442, including a new Pachmayr "Diamond Pro" grip, in search of a grip which will tame the recoil but not hurt concealability and not screw up the ergos of the standard grip. I find that the standard grip, augmented by the addition of a couple of pcs of 2 1/4" dia. inner tube slipped over it, offers perfect ergos for me, as well as great concealment. Everything else I've tried either does not fit my hand, or is so large that I hate it. The Pachmayrs are great for recoil - but huge.

I have gotten to the point that I can put hundreds of rounds through the gun without much pain, though I only do that for now - once I feel I that I get "up to speed", I will not shoot the 442 nearly as much.

My question is - anybody else here shoot their Airweight or Airlight j-frames as much as I do ? Anybody truly get used to the recoil, without a huge, spongy soft grip ?
 
Not anymore, I got rid of mine after a few rounds. I'll find a heavier J-Frame.
It was nice to carry but I didn't like shooting it. I guess air weights aren't for me.
Steve
 
Does a 360sc qualify? I shoot the heck out of mine. It currently is wearing the original rubber grip but I put a rosewood bootgrip on it and I think I like that better.

I found that moderation helps a LOT with learning to tolerate the recoil with full house .357 ammunition. I didn't have any issue with .38 Specials so I worked up from mildish 110gr .357 Magnum on up to Hornady 158gr Critical Defense by my 3rd range session.

It's been 8 or so months now that I've been shooting it and it goes to the range for a couple hundred rounds every weekend now. I make sure to switch strong and support hands often and shoot unsupported with both hands as well.

It's a little beast for sure but it goes EVERYWHERE with me now.

It sounds like you already have your hands conditioned to your 442 so now it's just 'maintenance' shooting.
 
I really can't explain it but the 442 doesn't hurt me at all, even after a hundred rounds at a time. It's not that I am an experienced shooter either. My wife's 342ti is brutal to me but not the 442. Go figure.
 
I have never really gotten used to the recoil with the stock grips. I can handle the recoil with a set of old Pachmayr grips, up to around 25 rounds. The Pachmayr's don't make much of a difference in concealability. I use a pocket holster. I think it's a great ccw choice.

I do not enjoy shooting the gun but it is very light and I am accurate enough with it out to 50ft.
 
Sold the wife's and mine some time ago but we used to practice starting each session with a box of 148 grain wadcutters for trigger training. Then 2 boxes of 158gr lead RN followed by 10 rounds of the Federal 158 grain lead HP +P. the old old FBI load. Never had any complaints recoil wise. Sounds like you might be shooting the 442 a bit much in one session IMHO. I would shoot a bit closer also. 30 feet is a bit far, again IMHO, as most defensive encounters occur within 10 feet as told to me by the LEO's I have known and from my combat experience many years ago.
 
442 is a great carry gun. Yes the recoil is more than a heavier gun, but a couple hundred rounds during a session is fine...I put on CT LG-405 laser grips...they are supposed to help with recoil, but I don't notice a difference. Love the laser though.
 
Just curious, but what grain bullet are you shooting? I shoot my 637 a good bit. 50 to 100 rounds a session but mostly with 130 grain bullets. I do find the 158 grain bullets a little healthier with the recoil. The 130's are a pleasure to shoot and I do get some discomfort after a while of shooting 158's. I've only used the stock grips and found that wrapping the thumb of my off hand on top of my other at the back of the grip really helps control the recoil.
 
I took up DA revolver shooting seriously a long time ago; read McGivern, Nichols, and Keith. Got fairly good at it, using a 4" and a lot of w/c, also a lot of .357/125s. Eventually my practice routine came down to 15 rounds, ball and dummy, singles from the holster on the timer. That's 30 reps, half of which were hammer falls only. If I was paying attention, it was sufficient to keep an edge on. If I was having an off day, it was enough to prove that, too. Either way, I felt it was a decent little workout, and more firing was probably not going to pay any dividends. Part of the time I did the same thing with a Model 18 .22. Personally I think much more than that, once you know what it is you ought to be doing, is counterproductive.

I've had a 442 since 1996 or so, and although I carry and use it less these days, I still do the same thing.

And yes, it does have some recoil to it.
 
I'm at approx 2k in my 442-2, mostly it gets 130gr fmj range ammo, but it's seen its share of good stout loads, although only approx 20 of the Buffalo Bore +P 158gr.....this load is stout and chrono's 950-1012fps, but actually didn't feel as harsh as the win +P+ 147gr jhp I used to be able to find locally.
I just white-knuckle it and it doesn't pound me too bad, my 325sc and 3" 629 are a bit worse for me.
 
My 442 has Barami hip grips on it, no problem with recoil at all with 38+p. My 340pd has the big cushy crimson trace, no problem with the +p's, the magnums are brutal.
 
I have a set of Centennial Spegels that I put on my 442 and the wood up to the back of the gripframe and it helps to spread the recoil over a wider area. I like the 442 and I find that it requires more concentration to the basics to shoot it well, hence don't notice the recoil much.
 
" Just curious, but what grain bullet are you shooting? "


A variety of bullet weights and loads. 125 gr. lead, 148 gr. lead DEWC & plated DEWC, 158 gr. round nose lead & plated. Loads go from "range loads", such as the 125 gr. lead over 3.1 grains of TiteGroup or Bullseye....to 3.5 gr. of Bullseye or 3.6 grains of TiteGroup under the 148's or the 158 grainers.

The range loads with 3.1 grains of powder definitely feel softer than the heavier loads, as they should....but I don't feel much difference between the different bullets in the heavier loads.

I carry the lead DEWC, over 3.7 grains of TiteGroup, currently, in the 442. Not a +P load, by the book, but fairly stout nonetheless.

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" and found that wrapping the thumb of my off hand on top of my other at the back of the grip really helps control the recoil."

Actually, I just began using that technique, based on the endorsement of Jerry Miculek (on his website). It does seem to help.

Strangely enough, I have tried a padded shooting glove - that really did nothing for me.

Regardless, I find that the "pain" associated with shooting my 442 only lasts as long as I am shooting the gun. Very shortly after the range session is over, my hand is fine. No problems at all the next morning, for example. So, I keep thinking that I am handling the recoil pretty well, after all. But I wanted some feedback, to see if my experience with it might be typical.

I did consider, earlier on, getting rid of the 442 in favor of something a bit heavier, such a a Model 60. But, I think I will soldier on with the 442, for a while at least. It certainly is an accurate little sucker....and the trigger, which was never rough anyway, has slicked up very nicely. A joy to carry, it is, as well. I just passed 700 rounds through it today, so it would be a shame to give up on it now, I think.
 
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metrotps said:
Sold the wife's and mine some time ago but we used to practice starting each session with a box of 148 grain wadcutters for trigger training. Then 2 boxes of 158gr lead RN followed by 10 rounds of the Federal 158 grain lead HP +P. the old old FBI load. Never had any complaints recoil wise. Sounds like you might be shooting the 442 a bit much in one session IMHO. I would shoot a bit closer also. 30 feet is a bit far, again IMHO, as most defensive encounters occur within 10 feet as told to me by the LEO's I have known and from my combat experience many years ago.
Click to expand...

This is a very good prescription. I shoot even less with my snubbies, perhaps 25-50 rounds, at most. If I can put 5 rounds (one round each) on 5 half-sheets of typing paper at 5-7 yards, I'm done. The nerve damage in my shooting hand and my diminished hearing also force me to cut down my round count.

I still work with a retired FBI training instructor who has taught me that EVERY round in practice has a purpose; no round is to be simply fired against the backstop.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

P.S. Some savvy folks posting on this thread!
 
It's never been a problem for me, and I started out shooting them well. I did have nearly twenty years centerfire handgun shooting experience under my belt before I purchased my own.

My sessions with the Airweight are usually limited to fifty rounds unless someone gives me some freebie ammo to blast away with. I like to quit before fatigue sets in and form starts breaking down.

As I'll generally only have ten rounds on my person at a time, a 150+ round firefight with a J snub is fairly unlikely.
 
The 442 is a carry gun. Make sure it goes off every time & carry it. It is a revolver & should not jam 40 years from now with factory sealed bullets. If you need it you will not notice the recoil or the noise.:D Practice with something else if you shoot every week.
 
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Dewy12 said:
I really can't explain it but the 442 doesn't hurt me at all, even after a hundred rounds at a time. It's not that I am an experienced shooter either. My wife's 342ti is brutal to me but not the 442. Go figure.
Click to expand...

Same here.

Even after a 50 round box or more of 158 wadcutters, my 642-1 doesn't bother me... and it's got Barami Hip Grips so no real cushion at all. Even when shooting some warm Speer Gold Dot hollow points, recoil is tolerable and not bad.

Now my Charter Arms Bulldog .44 special with full power defense loads... if you think a J-frame .38 kicks bad, try one of those.
 
Get a good pair of shooters gloves. You have the training with less pain and if ever you actually have to use the firearm. You want feel the kick at all.
 
I've got a 642-2 that came with a set of really nice laser engraved wood stocks. Looked great but not so much fun to shoot.



I switched them out for set of Hogue Recoil Tamer...recoil reducer...something like that. Much better for shooting. With 125-130 grain P+ ammo it's not too bad.



But then I don't go through 50-100 rounds with this one at a session.
 
4barrel said:
The 442 is a carry gun. Make sure it goes off every time & carry it. It is a revolver & should not jam 40 years from now with factory sealed bullets. If you need it you will not notice the recoil or the noise.:D Practice with something else if you shoot every week.
Click to expand...

Best advice so far.

The 442 or any like it are close in emergency defense guns.
Think 7 yards or less. No, better yet, think in feet because for
Joe or Sally Citizen that's the distance you'll be using the 442.


If you fire 15 rounds well in a practice session that's enough.

Even with a heavier .38/.357 revolver such as a K-frame or L-frame 50 rounds or less on a regular basis should be sufficient.
And it'll be time better spent than blowing off hundreds of rounds.
 
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