First time firing my 360 PD bad experience

[malph]

It's save to say that neither the handgun nor the ammo was the right equipment/supply.
Bad advice for a first time buyer. Very bad.

Those revolvers are highly specialized, designed for weight saving when carrying.
The load they take should be considered very carefully.
There is tons of info out there for damages on those revolvers from hot loads.

A polymere semi auto in 9mm would have been more adequate.
.357 Magnum isn't really a primary self defense round anyways, unless you're in wild animal terrain.

100%. Its a specialized revolver. It's a niche gun. That these ultralight revolvers can suffer from crimp jump is not a secret.

It's a physics issue and I'm not sure how you could ensure it would work with all ammo.

It's a specialized tool. I'm glad they exist but it's a really poor choice for a first revolver.

It would be like a brand new rifle shooter choosing a really powerful, ultralight mountain rifle for their first rifle.

 

[larondo]

I'm not a fan of hot & heavy high pressure handgun rounds.
Unless I'd be in wild animal territory, I'd pack a .454 Casull.
Since I'm barely leaving city limits, 9mm or .45 are splendid & reliable rounds.

 

[Ed333]

I owned a titanium/scandium snubby revolver for exactly one week, and had sold it by the end of the week. And that was shooting only .38 special, and not even +P. Have stuck with steel frames ever since.

 

[malph]

I owned a titanium/scandium snubby revolver for exactly one week, and had sold it by the end of the week. And that was shooting only .38 special, and not even +P. Have stuck with steel frames ever since.

They are indeed brutal.

 

[njr]

i feel for the OP. He made a mistake and has taken a physical and financial beating, That said, the clown at the gun store is equally or more to blame. Some shops have guys who know their stuff and are great, BUT, some are buffoons or self proclaimed"experts". I've got a female friend from church. Never shot anything, went to a shop and dude had "Just what you need". Sold her a 642 and +P ammo. She went to their range, fired it a couple times and left-scared to death of the gun and zero confidence in herself. A couple years later she was talking to a (non shooter) friend. He know I shoot a Lot and had her talk to me. I started her on a .22 and we worked our way up, over many session, until we tried her .38 with target loads. Finally after a lot of effort and a lot of practice I got her comfortable shooting her .38 with standard loads. Wrong gun/ammo for a new shooter.

Yeah I had a 360j overrun from the Japanese police tested it by firing some Buffalo bore 38 Special. Doing martial arts for a number of years I was too gung-ho and I think I pulled some ligaments in my hand and forearm. Took months to heal properly. Ended up selling the gun to a machinist in downstate Illinois who probably has Popeye forearms and 200 lb crush grip strength.

Chris Baker of Lucky Gunner loads guns like that with soft shooting wad cutters.

The gun would be really good on the ankle or in a coat or shirt jacket pocket.

When I would carry my 638 on the hip I didn't really like it because it was so light I would forget I was carrying a gun.

For that reason I prefer steel. Couple years ago I loaded up my 36-1 with Underwood hardcast semi-wad cutter 158 grain plus p for defense against road ragers while on my electrical bicycle. I might go with that load again in my 36 no dash. Or maybe I'll keep it in my 36-1. It's a heavy barrel from the lady NYPD Force 1976. It even has a relieved trigger guard for gloves. It's not really attractive they put a matte finish and some sort of coating on the gun for weather or wear I suppose but I bought it for self-defense not for looks.

 

[njr]

Definitely possible now, even in the main cities.
I got my LA city ccw 3 years ago. Never thought I'd see that in my lifetime.

A note on snubbies. So many people recommend them to ladies as a first gun- for which they're terrible. Some guy on reddit wanted to argue with me that a stainless 4" .357 (with. 38s) wasn't a better first choice since you couldn't carry it. I was done with reddit

I know of at least two 'hardly fired' .38 snubs sold by women.

I once took two organizers out from the Bernie Sanders campaign to the nice Jewish gun range in Chicagoland.

Small lady liked the snub nose revolver as I remember. Thought that semi autos were too complicated.

One lady trainer really recommends carrying a snub nose in the purse from which you shoot out into the bad man.

The 12 lb trigger press on an alloy snub nose is pretty ferocious. However on the hidden hammer models it's better than on the humpback because of spring geometry.

I had my trigger pull lightened to 8 lb.

I think a snub nose revolver would be viable for ladies for 90 to 99% of self-defense situations and perhaps even preferable.

However you would probably want to practice with wad cutters in an alloy frame centennial with a good set of grips. If I were them I would practice Sykes fairbairn method out to 3 yards, then maybe some sighted fire culminating in a 555 test.

That said Claude Warner did note that most of the American public ignores revolver advocates and just buys the small 380 ACP semi autos.

 

[DRankin]

That said Claude Warner did note that most of the American public ignores revolver advocates and just buys the small 380 ACP semi autos.

Yup. And about zero training.

Ask any one of them if they can perform a type three malfunction drill........ or better yet find one of those .380 advocates who even knows what that means.

 

[Law-dog]

I have had 21 surgeries and I think that the 6 spinal surgeries affect my overall body a whole lot, but we both seem to really enjoy shooting and we do what we can when and how we can. I agree with your comments about Buffalo Bore. Tim Sundles is a "hands on" owner/operator and after watching many of his videos, I know that he explains the differences in the Buffalo Bore Ammunition and he has many videos showing his vast gun collection that he personally uses for self-defense, hunting, and ammunition research and development; so I do believe that he knows what he is talking about, and he extremely transparent. I tried the ergo grips on my Model 43c, and they really don't work for me as they feel awkward. Oh well, it was only about a $20 experiment, and Lord knows I've a boxes of "experiments!" One thing's for sure..... when the pain stops, I know I won't be "here" anymore! HALLELUJAH!!!

That was exactly my position. Only $20. They actually do help with the really hot ammo, which brings me to a point, do I really need that stuff? LOL

 

[Law-dog]

I'm not sure why you posted this to me. I did not say I had bullet jump. I said with the 38 length case, you have some room in case of jump. "I" don't need info on how to shoot or hold a gun etc. I think shooting a .454 one handed is fun. Believe me, I have more experience shooting, instructing, duckin bullets than you.

Sure you do. How many years military Mine spanned 29 years. Oh, I have a 454 too.

 

[Law-dog]

Hi. I also had a problem with my 360! Did the same thing, started with 38s, went to hot 38s, went to mild 357s & then a little hotter 125s at 1400, & the cylinder locked up! What happened is that on recoil some how the cylinder stop dropped & allowed the cylinder to jump a little forward, so you couldn't pull the trigger. Called S&W & they blew me off. I stripped it again & checked all the parts & it was fine so I shot more rounds. Over time I put lots of rounds including fairly hot 357s & haven't had any more problems even with 14-1500 125s. But....when I carry it as aback up or in the pocket for a store run, I use the Underwood 125 +P 38s at 1250, just in case. Also, you have some room if you have a bullet jump, with the shorter case. Like I said, after the first time, no problem, but once for a gun you carry is "once" to many. That's why when I carry a 357 I carry my 3" M60! It shoots everything!

And that 3 inch model 60 is about as cute a little gun as they ever made. Mine shoots 158 grain loads about 1,205 fps. It is not pleasant but not brutal either. Love the gun, looks like a big gun but it is not. Adjustable sights are great in the daytime, but I just put a Crimson Trace laser on it and they are great, at night or low light, shoot the thing from the hip all day long. Love the little guy.


The full size ammo is factory JSP 180 grain bullets, and the little guys are 38 Short Colt loaded for the grand daughter.

You can load the Short Colt to 357 pressures, they eject faster than the longer cases.

 

[Jcon72]

And that 3 inch model 60 is about as cute a little gun as they ever made. Mine shoots 158 grain loads about 1,205 fps. It is not pleasant but not brutal either. Love the gun, looks like a big gun but it is not. Adjustable sights are great in the daytime, but I just put a Crimson Trace laser on it and they are great, at night or low light, shoot the thing from the hip all day long. Love the little guy.


The full size ammo is factory JSP 180 grain bullets, and the little guys are 38 Short Colt loaded for the grand daughter.

You can load the Short Colt to 357 pressures, they eject faster than the longer cases.

I have the dash-4 in .38 Spl and totally agree with you. Cutest little thing ever, and it's not unpleasant at all to shoot.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Not going to wade through the entire thread; it does sound that Buffalo Bore had too much of too much.
Will say, owning a 340, and having fired a buddy's 360, the Chief's version is the nastiest kicking little SOB ever (remember, I own a 340....). The Chief version sits higher in the hand than the Centennial.
Smith's Ti guns are often an answer to an unasked question. Just parted with a 325, the darn thing just wasn't much fun. Can't even imagine a 329.
Look, love my 340 as a hiking gun, first two/three chambers with snakeshot, remainder with full charge WCs or 140 FMJ magnums (ouch). It's fine shooting the full charge WCs.
But let's keep the Ti stuff to places where light weight actually makes sense.
Moon

 

[larondo]

I have the dash-4 in .38 Spl and totally agree with you. Cutest little thing ever, and it's not unpleasant at all to shoot.


View attachment 792041

That's a nice looking Model 60 w/ Boot Grip.

Model 65 Lady Smith in .357 Magnum, .38 spl shoots just fine.
Except, more burnt powder will dirty up the front of cylinder quickly. Because of the slightly shorter case length.

I think it's a -7 or -8, hence the trigger lock. Can be modified/plugged. It doesn't create a problem.