8 shot revolver differences and considerations

[jtcarm]

I would not choose a revolver.

Charlie Askins said he soured on revolvers as a young Border Patrolman. He was chasing an illegal down a levee and slipped. The man turned and grabbed hold of his issue Colt New Service, strong enough to keep the cylinder from turning.

Askins broke free and the guy took off running.

Being Askins, he shot him in back & killed him.

 

[vospertw]

Of course, it doesn't take much to put a semi-auto slide out of battery on most pistols.

 

[forrestinmathews]

Well this thread is uncovering good points....such as a .357 in a .38 house. If you are being savvy you should load the .357 with .357's and keep all reloads to .38's. No matter how the reloads are housed....you can always in the heat of the moment feed a shooting iron. If that means ripping rounds out of moonclips or dropping them out of a wrong sized speed loader so be it. Winning is winning.

 

[Beaver-1976]

Macinaw - what holster is that in the picture for the 327?

 

[Macinaw]

Macinaw - what holster is that in the picture for the 327?

BlackHillsLeather.com

 

[vospertw]

Everything is a compromise somewhere.

That should be taught at the start of every training course having to do with firearms and self-defense. Might go a long way towards ending the constant blathering between training schools lot thought.

Thanks for the links, very interesting.

 

[eveled]

Recently purchased Model 327 - took to the indoor range & in just a short time firing it had a bloody crook in my thumb from the skin blistering off. Looked like I had raked leaves for an hour. Changed grips to a smaller set from Altamont - same effect. So if you are going to shoot it a lot either don't get the 2" barrel or don't plan to shoot .357 loads (38 cal not too bad) or get shooting gloves.

The factory grips on the 327snub, chaffed my hands something fierce, so I know what you mean. If you get a pair of Pachmyr grips for it, you will be amazed at the difference. But I found them to be too sticky for ccw So currently I have a set of Altamont smooth grips with a Tyler T grip. Good control, excellent for ccw, and no more chaffing.

Not sure if this is the final set up, but the best so far.

 

[dwever]

Any thoughts on the 327 snub?

Yes. They hurt. And the OP reports planning on practicing at a 2,500 annual round count. I guess you practice with low recoil .38 (240 lbs ft.), which arguably isn't really practice if you carry something with significantly more energy like low recoil .357 at just over double the energy in the Federal Premium brand for example (490 ft. lbs.).

Pain is to be expected at 21 oz. By comparison, and since the OP is buying a home defense gun, a stainless steel Bloodwork UDR version (PC 627) with 0.625" additional barrel length (2.625") is 37 oz. A pound heavier and well worth the extra weight - even for carry.

 

[vospertw]

Yes. They hurt. And the OP reports planning on practicing at a 2,500 annual round count. I guess you practice with low recoil .38 (240 lbs ft.), which arguably isn't really practice if you carry something with significantly more energy like low recoil .357 at just over double the energy in the Federal Premium brand for example (490 ft. lbs.).

Pain is to be expected at 21 oz. By comparison, and since the OP is buying a home defense gun, a stainless steel Bloodwork UDR version (PC 627) with 0.625" additional barrel length (2.625") is 37 oz. A pound heavier and well worth the extra weight - even for carry.

I think you can use .38 smartly in your training and not develop bad habits. If you are working on a drill that requires only one shot, there's no disadvantage. In fact, you are much less likely to develop a flinch or trigger jerk due to recoil/pain. However, when shooting realistic strings of fire ( multiple, faster shots) I switch to carry or equivalent loads so that my follow-up shots have to contend with the higher recoil and resulting pace of fire for effective hits. Using .38 wisely lets me train more each session and more frequently. Pain is not training; you are setting yourself up for bad fundamentals.

Agree with the weight differential vs. recoil. With a HD gun, I'm not too concerned about weight.

 

[Stainz]

The Remington R38S12, a .38 Spcl +P 158gr LHPSWC, contains a soft lead HP bullet which will open reliably when launched from a short barrel .38, like a 642 - or the 2 5/8" PC627 UDR. One round is good enough for my defensive needs. Of course, although once popular, in fact, once known as the "FBI load", today even it's replacement, the Remington RTP38S12, is hard to find. A bit stout in the 642, but easy to follow up with the PC627 UDR.

Stainz

 

[vospertw]

The Remington R38S12, a .38 Spcl +P 158gr LHPSWC, contains a soft lead HP bullet which will open reliably when launched from a short barrel .38, like a 642 - or the 2 5/8" PC627 UDR. One round is good enough for my defensive needs. Of course, although once popular, in fact, once known as the "FBI load", today even it's replacement, the Remington RTP38S12, is hard to find. A bit stout in the 642, but easy to follow up with the PC627 UDR.

Stainz

Yes, they are tough to find. I've gone to the Speer Gold Dot 135 grain +P. They are easy enough to come across online. I use sgammo.com.

 

[eveled]

It's not the craziest idea, and less expensive as well.

Two J frames also carry quite well, in both jacket pockets, were as the 327 snub nose does not.

I had to have the 327, and don't regret buying it, but I really do carry two j frame centennials far more often than the 327.

I could not get by without my centennials.

 

[Cal44]

From the standpoint of defending against intruders at night, I've never seen much need for a weapon light.

I have night lights in the house at strategic points.

There is a hasp on the fuse box to prevent someone from turning off the power.

There are also battery power-fail lights that come on when the power goes out.

 

[vospertw]

Two J frames also carry quite well, in both jacket pockets, were as the 327 snub nose does not.

I had to have the 327, and don't regret buying it, but I really do carry two j frame centennials far more often than the 327.

I could not get by without my centennials.

I had some thoughts of adding a 640 Pro; that would be holster carried with the Airweight in the opposite pocket.

 

[dwever]

Yes, they are tough to find. I've gone to the Speer Gold Dot 135 grain +P. They are easy enough to come across online. I use sgammo.com.

I too use the Speer .38 +P Short Barrel JHP when the Speer .357 Short Barrel is hard to find as it is now.

Currently Midway USA has the .38 +P and the .357 is backordered.